Is this lens fungus? Pic inside - Summarit 50

[KenBPhotos]

I bought a used (box says it's from '09) 50 Summarit from B&H today and it looked great in the store. I held it up to the light and saw no problems and it was in like new shape so I picked it up. It was only $1200 which I thought was a decent price to get Leica glass on my M8, so I traded in the Zeiss Planar that was still in the return period and got it. I took a bunch of pictures in the city and they came out great, but I get home afterwards and shined a bright light through it and saw this...


Summarit Shot for Forum Question by KenBPhotos, on Flickr

I really brought it out with presence and uped the sharpness in PP so it's exaggerated quite a bit. You really can't see it unless you shine a bright light inside and only from the top. If I shine a light through the bottom it looks clean and clear.

Is this fungus? I think I'm going to take it back either way and just buy it new as it's only like $300 more unless it's normal. I don't see how that could be normal but then again I've been proven wrong on the shutter that I thought was broke but wasn't, the horizontal bands in underexposed shots which turn out to be normal and strong light trails that turned out to be from my windscreen so I think it's best to ask the people that know! I use Canon gear usually and never encountered anything like this in any of my lenses. I don't buy old lenses normally though either. Not that a lens from '09 is that old, but I digress.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Its fungus. Take it back and keep it away from your other lenses. Its caused by a living thing that can spread to other lenses, like a disease.

 

[KenBPhotos]

Oh no, really? How contagious is it though? I cleaned it really good when I got home with the same stuff (lens pens and micro fiber pads) that I use for my Canon system. I actually cleaned all my lenses together because I have a job on Wed. It seems to be only in the inside so I don't see how it could spread though. B&H is gonna get a piece of my mind tomorrow...

 

[KenBPhotos]

How could a 4 year old lens get fungus though?? Are you 100% sure?

 

[jonmanjiro]

How could a 4 year old lens get fungus though?? Are you 100% sure?

Either fungus or condensation marks. I'd say fungus in this case. The lens was stored badly at some point.

With the right combination of heat and humidity, it doesn't take long for fungus to grow in a lens. Just a week or so.

 

[Sid836]

Also, a lens with fungus will not infect others nearby. If you get fungus on other lenses too that will be because the storage conditions favour their growth.

 

[HuubL]

Not sure if this is fungus. I see spots but no hyphal threads indicative of fungal growth. Also, this lens is not old (as in decades old) and unlikely to have such an infestation. I would rather think it's water damage.

 

[KenBPhotos]

That's interesting. It's really hard to see it. I hyped it up a lot with post processing so you could see it better and that's a really bright mag LED light on it. The more I look at it the more I think it's a huge collection of dust. It doesn't appear to be water related to me, but I am no expert in this.

 

[V-12]

I can't see the spidery tendrils of fungus, but it could be.

But to reiterate what Nikos72 has said, fungus isn't catching, it simply needs the right place to grow, and dark humid conditions are ideal, while light and airy are bad for it.

Fungus spores are in the air around us in their billions, they are already inside all your lenses and camera bodies, just waiting for you to store the lens badly before they start to grow into fungus.

 

[nobbylon]

This actually looks like a lens I had once. It was oil vapour deposits from the internal lubrication.

 

[maddoc]

Difficult to say from the photo, where the spots exactly are located. The front-group of the 50/2.5 Summarit has a cemented doublet (6/4 design) and it also could be separation. In this case the spots would be on the plane between the elements. If it is condensation of something then on the convex / concave surfaces. Fungus starts with something like white spots and in a later phase more reminds of a spider-web.

 

[KenBPhotos]

Thanks V-12 for the explanation. I've heard that can happen in damp/warm conditions, but it's so dry in my house it's ridiculous. It's so bad my hands dry out and static electricity forms any chance it can get. I'm in NJ too and it's the winter so it's cold. I also keep those silica gels in my bag where I store my gear so I don't expect any problems to occur with anything spreading.

When he brought the lens out, it came out of the box in that thick velour bag it comes with so it's probably been in there for a while, possibly stored in another state where it's humid and warm and then sold to B&H. That would explain if it's mold. I looked at a lot of examples and didn't come up with a match for what mine looks like though. At least I can return it no problem. B&H is awesome with returns, but how did they not see this? Actually, how did I not see this! If I ever buy a uses lens again I'm going to bring a huge flashlight to check for this kinda crap.

 

[hans voralberg]

Flashlight check should be standard when buying used lens 😉 This however doesn't look like fungus, more like seperation to me, unless the element is falling apart shouldn't affect use.

 

[jaapv]

Not fungus but impossible to say what it really is without taking the lens apart. I would make a deal with the seller about sending it in for a CLA and await the results. B&H should be able to sort this.

 

[jtm6]

It is good to learn how to spot it (no pun intended), what causes it, how to fix it, etc. In this situation, I'd return it, get all my money back ASAP, and look for something different.

Four years though... this is certainly making me paranoid!

 

[Bille]

This is fungus
http://www.truetex.com/lens_fungus.htm

 

[Scheelings]

Scary as hell. I live in the tropics. I've got myself a dry cabinet - but it does make me worried when I take a lens collection out for a 10 day trip...

 

[KenBPhotos]

FYI - I went back to B&H and explained to the guy what was inside the lens. I even showed him the picture I have posted here and he said nooo, no way that's this lens. He didn't shine a bright light in it, he just held it up to the fluorescent lights and saw nothing so he thought I was full of it. I told him it looks like it will need to get serviced and if you shine a bright light in there you will see the problem. He basically just said OK and handed over my store credit.

It turns out he didn't acknowledge anything I said because here it is, back up for sale on their site...

DO NOT BUY THIS LENS!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800924259-USE/leica_11_644_50mm_f_2_5_summarit_m_manual.html

I'm 99% sure this is the lens I returned because they said the lens I exchanged with (I traded it in for another used one they had) was the last one they had in stock that was used and I just bought it today. Plus it had the same rating (he didn't lower the rating even, it's still at 9+).

On the bright side, the replacement lens I got from them is in excellent shape. i think it's even a little sharper and the aperture ring feels tighter also but the best part is there's no hanta virus breeding inside this one!

 

[2tigers]

I just saw the lens on their site. Thanks for the heads up. I find this surprising for a store of their reputation. I bought an old 50mm Rigid Cron from them rated 9. It was clean cosmetically however it did have some dust inside. It was an old lens so no surprises there.