what does lens fungus look like?

adwb · 11-05-2009, 02:59 AM

I regularly see lenses for sale that have various claims like no fungus and no oil on the iris.
So my question is how do you inspect a lens, and what am I looking for?
Is there somewhere I can find pictures of faults to look for?
Alistair

Erasmo · 11-05-2009, 04:45 AM

It can vary from this:

To this:

But be careful, fungus can be contagious.

*reeftool* · 11-05-2009, 10:14 AM

Love that second shot!

*LeDave* · 11-05-2009, 11:02 AM

Holy... How could the second one get so bad???? Someone left that lens in a bucket of water for a few years?? Fungus will start out as small specks forming into a "spiderweb", that is how you know you have fungus.

Eruditass · 11-05-2009, 11:03 AM

it's looking at me!

*mba1971* · 11-05-2009, 11:19 AM

Come on !

I'll bet a bucket of dimes ( a very small bucket though) that the second pic is bogus ( mushroom cap isserter in lesn and shown from bottom side)

mikeSF · 11-05-2009, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by Erasmo

That lens has been to Mt. Doom, be careful

*imtheguy* · 11-05-2009, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by mba1971

Come on !

I'll bet a bucket of dimes ( a very small bucket though) that the second pic is bogus ( mushroom cap isserter in lesn and shown from bottom side)

Of course. For demonstration purposes and because we all remember that mushrooms are fungi the shot was arranged to make a point. But only observant ppl like mba1971 not only notice but make sure the rest of us do.

Mark me down as one of those who had no idea what it was.

Barnster · 11-05-2009, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by Erasmo

It can vary from this:

To this:

But be careful, fungus can be contagious.

Is that a wild mushroom growing in there?Use it for Pizza topping

*mba1971* · 11-05-2009, 07:11 PM

Maybe we could recycle old lenses into mushroom farms

khaz0r · 11-05-2009, 10:08 PM

That second picture is most likely has been photoshopped for those who think fungus can grow into something edible haha. Nice post though.

adwb · 11-08-2009, 03:58 PM

Well I am disappointed to find out that if times get hard the fungus is not edible but , hay-ho you can't have everything

On a more serious note I have a lens which seems to give images with no apparent faults yet the lens when viewed with the iris wide open and the light from the back [mount side] appears to have water drops in the inside of the front glass??
any ideas? BTW it is not water, I have not been diving,or dropped the lens in a bucket, or in a glass of vodka [it is clear] if it was beer it would be brown.
Alistair

*jotarou1* · 11-09-2009, 10:11 PM

I have a lens that has a small spot inside, spiderweb -like. I will try to take a picture so that somebody might be able to tell me if it is fungus or not.

Thanks,

Juan