Fungus removal post!

[richardHaw]

I hope I will never have to look at this thread again,,, 

i hate fungus
i wonder why the 50 1.2 is so susceptible to it

[richardHaw]

Rick, this is a through write up!  Thanks for sharing.

If I remember correctly, the hydrogen peroxide was used to sanitize the wound.  It should be diluted H2O2, and sold under the name of Oxyfull or Oxydol.

Apparently Nikon uses hard coating also on the internal lens elements.  A well experienced Leica repairman once said that the soft coating is applied on the internal elements of Leica lenses, so cleaning them is very tricky.

hello! some Nikon lenses have sensitive coatings on the back side like the 80-200 f/4 ai-s
yes! it took me a long time to find hydrogen peroxide here in Japan!!! because the company sells them under the name oxydol オキシドル.
Leica coatings can be scratched by lens tissue i was told.

[richardHaw]

A good written story, Richard. !  Very useful.

Thanks, John! fungi is a photographer's bane.

[Akira]

According to my sour experiences, Leica lenses are very prone to fog (at least the ones made until the '80s), not necessarily because of the fungus, but at least they are very susceptible to the humidity.

I've heard that even an actively conditioned dry box fail to protect the lenses from fungus sometimes.  Also, dry box can cause separation of the glued elements.

The best advice I received from that Leica repairman was to use the lenses all the time in order for the fresh air to circulate in them.   

[richardHaw]

According to my sour experiences, Leica lenses are very prone to fog (at least the ones made until the '80s), not necessarily because of the fungus, but at least they are very susceptible to the humidity.

I've heard that even an actively conditioned dry box fail to protect the lenses from fungus sometimes.  Also, dry box can cause separation of the glued elements.

The best advice I received from that Leica repairman was to use the lenses all the time in order for the fresh air to circulate in them.   

Leica is a rich man's brand. i cannot even afford to own one
it is true that drybox is not a guarantee. some friends of mine had fungus on their lenses even when stored in a drybox. so far, I am lucky because i try to take care of my things. i clean them up before storage. the alpha brom chinnamic aldeyde also works.

[Akira]

Rick, Leica is a rich man's brand, not really because the cameras and lenses are expensive, but actually because they eat money to maintain them!   

This thread is also good for me to learn some chemistry.  Thanks for the info on various cleaning methods.   

[richardHaw]

Rick, Leica is a rich man's brand, not really because the cameras and lenses are expensive, but actually because they eat money to maintain them!   

This thread is also good for me to learn some chemistry.  Thanks for the info on various cleaning methods.   

now, clean your 水虫

the myth that leica is unbreakable is not true, maybe it was 50 years ago
a friend of mine has his leica sent to singapore from time to time for calibration, nikons dont need that (shutter calibration). they have to make a realistically priced camera to win over a new generation of hipsters and photographers

[Akira]

Fortunately I haven't suffer from athlete's foot.   

Yes, Leica is indeed a money-eating machine, especially in the countries of humid climate.

[Andrea B.]

What causes lens fog or haze? Is that because of fungus?

[Alaun]

I would assume: uncontrolled,random reflections on lens surfaces (or within lens systems), normally controlled by coatings , enhanced by e.g. fog from water, dust, or what ever else causes the lens surfaces to be not ideal, so also fungus might add to fog.

[richardHaw]

fog is usually just evaporated lubricant and with dirt you will know one when you see it. its usually concentrated on the edge.

[Akira]

I suspect that the coating is too susceptible to the moisture.  Leica camera also had problems of the copper pattern of the PCB being corroded too easily, at least the cameras until the 90s like R4 series, R5 and M6.

I don't know about their products from the 90s and later in terms of the issue.  But at least prior to that, Leica was not aware of the affect of the humidity on their products.

fog is usually just evaporated lubricant and with dirt you will know one when you see it. its usually concentrated on the edge.

I'm not sure if it is caused by the evaporated lubricant.  But the fogging mostly started from the edges of the elements for sure.

[MFloyd]

This might be the solution http://leicarumors.com/2016/04/26/this-bw-uv-pro-premium-device-should-prevent-lens-fungus-leica-mount-compatible.aspx/

[richardHaw]

oh, yeah. i saw that one at nikon rumors today

i was interested in building a UV light box just for that.

currently the alpha-brom cinnam watchamacallit ding dong sachets are working for me and they are cheap.

back home, i can just ask my classmates from dental school to blast it with Xray and that will kill the germs in it.

the negative side of UV light is that it will bleach the paint of the lens or even the coatings when exposed to the light for too long. somebody on the net bleached his zeiss by doing so with a uv light box.

the UV lightbox is like an incubator for eggs in case you guys are curious about how it looks like.