[iHAZCAMERA]

The first thing I'll say is, the "torch test" makes any vintage lens look absolutely terrible. There is usually a good deal of dust and small debris in most of these... and where Soviet lenses are concerned, you can count on it. Those that have been "serviced" by the previous owner will often still have dust in them, as well as cleaning marks (visible in a few of your photos) and an occasional finger or thumb print (also visible in one of the photos). Torch light makes these things look much worse than they are, and they'll usually have very little effect on image quality - however, even with all these things considered, the images you've shown do look considerably worse than I'd expect. The most concerning aspect is the short "strands", which could indeed be fungus. Also, some of the spots look a bit larger than simply dust - suggesting either lubricant or fungus - though it's possible this could simply be de-focused dust. Balsam separation, as some have mentioned, is a possibility too. If it's dust and/or fungus, none of the lenses look so bad that they couldn't be cleaned and returned to good shape, if you have the will, time and some basic tools to do it...

Thanks for your reply! I actually own most of the tools necessary to service them myself, only thing I was missing is a set of JIS screwdrivers which I just ordered. I'll be opening some spare lenses I've got laying around and see if I feel comfortable enough to do a few of them myself. As far as I can tell the Helios lenses are one of the easiest to clean so I guess I'll start with those.

There's a few lenses with a lot of sentimental value, these I'm bringing to get cleaned by someone else. I found a guy who's willing to do it for 30 euros per lens which sounds reasonable.

---------- Post added 06-20-22 at 01:12 PM ----------

I've had a few fungus lenses and this looks nothing like them. I'd assume balsam separation or some other issue. But since it's all of these lenses that doesn't even make sense either.

For fungus to become this bad to begin with you'd need some truly horrible conditions (in a wet non climate controlled shed for a long time). I'd attempt cleaning one or two of them.

I'm at a loss myself, I thought I had everything stored away just fine so imagine my horrid surprise when I discovered this haha.

I'll definitely try to clean a few of the easier ones myself!

[BigMackCam]

Thanks for your reply! I actually own most of the tools necessary to service them myself, only thing I was missing is a set of JIS screwdrivers which I just ordered. I'll be opening some spare lenses I've got laying around and see if I feel comfortable enough to do a few of them myself. As far as I can tell the Helios lenses are one of the easiest to clean so I guess I'll start with those

Soviet Helios lenses - in fact, most of the Soviet lenses (Helios, Jupiter, Industar, etc. etc.) - are relatively easy to work on, and there are usually tutorials or tear-downs to be found on YouTube. You won't need JIS screwdrivers for these - just a few decent flat-blade types in various sizes For Japanese-manufactured lenses, JIS screwdrivers are pretty much essential if you don't want to ruin the screw heads...

[pentaxus]

Whatever it is, it is nasty stuff. Gag.

[iHAZCAMERA]

Whatever it is, it is nasty stuff. Gag.

It is

[photogem]

Another possibility:
Vaporized stuff from the foam of your drybox.

30 Degrees Celsius in the house might mean more in your box?

I recently came across foam similar to this which had detoriated completly, it was like very soft rubbery dust, stuck on my fingers.
When foam starts to detoriate, it produces fumes.

As all your lenses are attacked, a strong possibility.

I also encountered this "composting of foam" in PC big towers were it was used to control noice.

[iHAZCAMERA]

Another possibility:
Vaporized stuff from the foam of your drybox.

30 Degrees Celsius in the house might mean more in your box?

I recently came across foam similar to this which had detoriated completly, it was like very soft rubbery dust, stuck on my fingers.
When foam starts to detoriate, it produces fumes.

As all your lenses are attacked, a strong possibility.

I also encountered this "composting of foam" in PC big towers were it was used to control noice.

Damn, I never thought of that! I'll check it out when I get home tomorrow night.

[Digitalis]

the temperature in my house during summers which can easily go up to 30+ degrees even with the AC running and the possibility of haze because of that.

Temps in my house while unoccupied can reach 40+ in the hot dry summers here in Australia. Humidity is the biggest risk factor with fungus along with a viable food source (dust) within the lenses, presence of an existing colony in one lens will mean that ALL lenses held in an enclosed space are suspect. In my experience, lenses with radioactive elements in them seem to be weirdly resistant to fungal attack.

also encountered this "composting of foam" in PC big towers were it was used to control noice.

I have come across this in my PC builds too. These days I usually replace it with perforated neoprene insulation as it is capable of forming a seal against dust and is more chemically stable than the cheap polyester foam.

---

Last edited by Digitalis; 06-21-2022 at 02:50 AM.

[photogem]

Temps in my house while unoccupied can reach 40+ in the hot dry summers here in Australia. Humidity is the biggest risk factor with fungus along with a viable food source (dust) within the lenses, presence of an existing colony in one lens will mean that ALL lenses held in an enclosed space are suspect. In my experience, lenses with radioactive elements in them seem to be weirdly resistant to fungal attack.

Horrey.... another point for those active lenses which can be used to listen to radio....

I have come across this in my PC builds too. These days I usually replace it with perforated neoprene insulation as it is capable of forming a seal against dust and is more chemically stable than the cheap polyester foam.

Good to know! I will try that.
My "Big Tower" slides into a special wooden cabinet. To its sides it has 1cm thick felt which does the damping quite well. On the front 0,9cm wood
to hide it. So the felt is this 1mm thicker and thus has a good "touch" to the tower.


One of my sons travelled Australia for almost a year. He came across your weather, but luckily it is dry. Well... luck is relative, we now have the risk of fires now as well due to lack of rain. I use strong rescue-blankets covering the windows shielding the sun with the aluminium side away. Works well.

[photogem]

Damn, I never thought of that! I'll check it out when I get home tomorrow night.

Good luck.
About a week ago I had to open a "Meyer Sound MS 1401a compression driver". It actually is a Yamaha JA6681 but modified by Meyer Sound.
When I can find them I undo the modifications which were fine for PA but not for High-End Audio were it is one of the best ever made.


They dampened the inside of the compression-chamber with such foam. It had detoriated over the years and would have eventually clogged the airgap, in which the voicecoil of this fantastic driver has to move. Then it would mean a lot of work (still worth it).


They just didn't think of such consequences.

[Bob 256]

I think you are misreading this. The cabinet has relative humidity controls not simply a meter. It maintains a specific relative humidity which should be maintained regardless of temperature. It doesn’t maintain temp. It does dehumidify. The op was saying to ignore the stand alone humidity readout (which I assume is a separate item) as he thinks it is off by 8% high).

It is possible that the stand alone humidity monitor is the accurate one and the dehumidification meter on the equipment cabinet reads lower than expected.

Ultimately if the cabinet maintained the RH at 30% or lower ( this assumes the RH is correctly adjusted as temps fluctuate) is it likely it is fungus?

My bad. I somehow missed the part about the box being able to maintain RH. Still sorry about the great lens collection. You may find more definitive information when you get into the disassembly of your lenses, and hopefully the situation can be remedied.

[UncleVanya]

My bad. I somehow missed the part about the box being able to maintain RH. Still sorry about the great lens collection. You may find more definitive information when you get into the disassembly of your lenses, and hopefully the situation can be remedied.

It is a puzzle. I don’t fault you myself - threads can get chaotic and confusing at times. Written words a can get misinterpreted without feedback.

[TwoUptons]

I had a Tokina lens with oil deposition on internal elements... it looked a lot like a couple of the photos...

I'm also one of the people whose had fungus that looked nothing like that... it looked like fractal strings of yuck...

I also agree with Mike... nearly all old lenses look horrible with the "torch test"...

So don't despair, and see what your service person thinks...

-Eric

[jcdoss]

I found a guy who's willing to do it for 30 euros per lens which sounds reasonable.

Is this something you can share? I've got a couple lenses with haze and many with heavy loads of dust that I'd like to get serviced and that's a pretty good rate! Also would be interested to hear how your cleaning efforts went.

[pentasonic49]

I think fungus is just a matter of luck. Here in the UK, I keep all my lenses and cameras in the drawers at the bottom of a wardrobe, I have never taken any steps to deal with fungus growths and have never had any. That said, I rarely get any of my photographic equipment wet, and would be sure to keep any damp items out in a dry place with room for air circulation until they had at least 48 hours to dry off before putting them away. Silica jel is excellent for drying damp equipment, provided it is cooked in an oven at about 190C for an hour to expel the water on at least a monthly basis, an electric oven preferred.
Some of the pictures look more like dust than fungus

[TwoUptons]

I think fungus is just a matter of luck. Here in the UK, I keep all my lenses and cameras in the drawers at the bottom of a wardrobe, I have never taken any steps to deal with fungus growths and have never had any. That said, I rarely get any of my photographic equipment wet, and would be sure to keep any damp items out in a dry place with room for air circulation until they had at least 48 hours to dry off before putting them away. Silica jel is excellent for drying damp equipment, provided it is cooked in an oven at about 190C for an hour to expel the water on at least a monthly basis, an electric oven preferred.
Some of the pictures look more like dust than fungus

I've tried various forms of silica gel. Loose things in a perforated tin, tiny packets, and the plastic shells with integral heating elements.

None of them seem to really work. I can't ever get them to dry out once they've "turned color".

Perhaps it's the gas oven that puts too much moisture in when I try to dry the loose beads, but the ones with the integral heaters don't even work...

And my house is air conditioned, so even though it is often enormously humid outside, the air inside isn't terribly moist.

-Eric