[magkelly]

First 200MM lens in my hand, that fits a camera I own and it's got a serious case of creeping MOLD spores. Brown spot, deep inside the inside lens, with spiderweb like tracks, the perfect textbook illustration of lens rot. (Figures...)

I swear if I can find a screwdriver small enough in my house I may take it all apart just to see how it works. It's totally useless otherwise so I figure I might as well use it for a lens parts lesson, right?

So question, after I am done dissecting it, what do I do with an old lens that can't be used? Is there something you're supposed to do to recycle these safely? I've never run into this before and I am not sure what I am supposed to do with the thing. Can I just pitch it or is that really bad in terms of the chemical makeup of the lens and the environment?

It's an OSAWA MC 1:45 80-205MM Macro #5241803

I don't even recognize them, but it's a lens for an old Minolta, but even if I did I doubt that it would be worth sending it back to them for repair. I don't just want to dump it though if I can dispose of it properly. It's really too nasty to use though.

Pity, it even had macro....

[Adam]

I don't think there's anything hazardous inside the lens- just but the glass in the glass container and throw the rest away Or, just keep some of it to play with!

[pacerr]

If you're the sort that's inclined to play with tinker toys there's all sorts of things you can do/make with the parts. There's no waste hazards or disposal issues. (Although sooner or later someone here's going to swear the fungus is contagious. If that bothers you, a little Clorox wipe should solve your worries.)

Kids have a ball with the various lenses. Just remember they can start a fire with a lens and a little sunlight.

Metal/plastic shells can be combined with filter rings, body/rear lens caps and epoxy to make custom hoods, extension rings and lens adapters.

Rubber focus and zoom ring sleeves can be used to replace worn/torn sleeves on other lenses. (Or just confuse the heck out of anyone trying to match a pattern to ID a lens!)

You'll need a cheap set of micro-screw drivers available at any tool store. The #0, #00 and #000 Phillips head drivers will (almost) work most of the time but the cross point screw heads are actually JIS (Jap. Indust. Standard) type. A pair of draftsman's dividers often serves as a spanner wrench.

Google "lens repair" for some illustrated guidance and ideas. Have fun.

H2

[Zav]

If you go nothing to lose, why don't you try to clean this way and give us your opinion:
Shooting with a Pentax K10D: Cleaning from fungus: Zeiss Biometar 80 f/2.8 ...
That's the only guy I've seen using cold cream and zippo fluid to clean a lens.

[pacerr]

Here's a report on cleaning up lens fungus and comparison results. H2

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/59416-fungus-comparison.html

[Lloydy]

[summonbaka]

Have a check on the "Dead lens club" they will tell you otherwise. Fungus in a lens will indeed lower a little in sharpness for a lens, but it wont "destroy" it. Unless it's broken already, have a go at it. I say this by personal experience having quite some amount of dead lenses myself, they come a lot cheaper and they are ase usable.

[Clinton]

Love the cup holder. We are amused!

[Class A]

Love the cup holder. We are amused!

+1

[stevebrot]

Be aware that it takes a special brand of fungus to grow on the desert environment of a lens. Also be aware that fungi produce spores. If you decide to dis-assemble and clean, be very careful to avoid carrying spores to your other lenses. I would take that consideration as far as to not storing the fungus-infected lens near your other camera gear.

The chlorox wipes and good hand-washing with a thorough clean-up of your work area afterward are probably good ideas.


Steve

[taurus9]

Lloydy, that is too funny!

[rhodopsin]

Take photos of dis-assembly to aid in re-assembly. You might get lucky fungus is only on easily accessed lens surface. Clean surface using lens cleaner like Eclipse & pec-pad, and repeat using cold cream or lighter fluid first if stain is stubborn. Then re-assemble & go take some photos with clean lens.

Chances are very high all your other lenses are already infected with fungus spores present everywhere; they don't grow because you store them in dry low-humidity environment and always seal lens in plastic before bringing it from cold into warm places and let the lens temperature reach warm temperature before unsealing plastic, to prevent condensation needed for fungus spore growth.

[magkelly]

It's a new "old" lens and it hasn't been in any contact with my film kit at all since I brought it home. It's very humid here sometimes, particularly during the summers, so I always inspect everything I own closely once a month and before I store anything new with anything I've had for a while. I haven't had any problem with lens fungus before, but I am sure given our semi-tropical climate that it's pretty common.

The lens was a throwaway actually. A guy just gave it to me along with another lens and a Minolta SG-1 he'd recently inherited. The zoom actually belonged to another Minolta kit altogether, his own, and he just added it to the camera stuff he was giving me so I'd have a nice zoom to go with.

After I realized this one was infected I called him back up and told him his other Minolta camera kit might be just so he knows to check. He did give me another M42 lens but that one seems fine and it was stored in a hard case, in a different location, with some Pentax gear he has, he says. I don't think there was much chance of any cross contamination, thank goodness.

From what he said it's doubtful that 200MM Minolta and the M42 were in contact at all. They were in completely different camera bags even when he gave them to me so I think I'm safe. Doesn't look like it's infected anyway. Unlike the gear he gave me from the other guy the M42 135MM looks very clear and is very clean.

The Minolta and basic lens are going to Goodwill actually. It's in terrible shape the SG1. I'm not even sure it works and it was so was filthy it really needs a complete overhaul before anyone could use it. Since it only has one lens and doing that would cost a small fortune I'm just going to donate it with another broken camera that someone gave me a while back.

[JohnBee]

HAHA!

HA!

ha!

I'm so doing that too!

[Lloydy]

HAHA!

HA!

ha!

I'm so doing that too!

All I did was strip the old lens, I just bought it to salvage the bayonet, and stick the bits of the body together with black silicone sealer. I left the front element in to keep the pens from falling through, and at a push I can use it as a magnifying glass as well.

And it cured the terminal fungus !