Kyocera T Scope/ Yashica T3 lens fungus?

[fort_wendy]

Has anyone opened up a T3/Tscope? I got one for relatively cheap and was informed about the fungus but it looks more like a smudge on the outer lens which is more like a plastic shield. Is this fixable?

http://imgur.com/gallery/ze4AXmx

 

[p.giannakis]

I can't help you with your question but what I can suggest is to use any old SLR lens as a magnifying glass and check from close. That will give you a better idea if it is fungus or not. The way I see it, it looks more like fungus.

 

[fort_wendy]

Upon closer inspection it does look like fungus. I wonder how bad this would affect photos?

 

[p.giannakis]

Only testing it will tell. But my worry would be spreading to other cameras and lenses you might have.

 

[fort_wendy]

I just received this and an quarantining it. Also, this camera is supposed to be airtight so hopefully it's not as contagious

 

[farlymac]

Since it is at the edge of the lens it might not affect the images taken in bright sunlight as the aperture will be stopped down considerably. As the light source gets dimmer it may start to act like a stuck aperture blade, lessening the exposure.

Depending on the construction design, you may be lucky in that the front half of the casing will separate from the rest of the camera innards. Look for screws inside the battery compartment, and inside the film chamber, then there will likely be snap hooks along the edge of the casing. Squeeze it some to get those to release. There may also be a lever connection between the sliding lens cover and the interior construction, so first lift it a little bit and take a peek inside with a flashlight.

If everything inside is hung off the front casing, then that complicates things. But this style of camera usually has the innards attached to the back casing, or a center bulkhead.

PF

 

[Wouter2]

It is perfectly serviceable as a DIY job. Search for Yashica T3 repair on the internet and you'll find instruction on how to take the innards out of the shell. Basically it's just a lot of screws and a little glue. Then you can clean the shell from the inside, which is where the fungus is located. If necessary you can go into the lens, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've done it twice, nothing to be afraid of. 30 minute job will do it.

 

[fort_wendy]

Thanks for the input, farlymac!

Wouter2, I did find a service manual. It looks complicated like I gotta mess with circuitry and backdoor levers and such. I'm also weary of the waterproofness. Have you documented when you did it yourself? It sounds encouraging.

 

[Wouter2]

You don't have to mess with circuitry iirw, but the backdoor will have to be removed. It's just a pin that you pull out. The rest is just screws. I didn't register how i did it at the time, but recall it as being fairly simple.

 

[Huss]

Also, this camera is supposed to be airtight so hopefully it's not as contagious

The fungus that got in there begs to differ.

 

[fort_wendy]

Huss: oof you're right

Wouter2: ah so the backdoor does need to be removed. In the service manual, there's a little plastic "c" at the end of the hinge that says is glued on and cannot be reused. What's your experience with this?

 

[Wouter2]

You can glue it back on. That's what I did.

 

[fort_wendy]

Cleaned it up! Everything's good now. A bit of a struggle putting it back together but doable. Then I realize there's a little speck of dust on the lens after putting it all back.

 

[Wouter2]

Haha very good congrats! A speck of dust won't make much difference. The Tessar on the T3 is stellar. Best travel and street camera ever. Enjoy.

 

[p.giannakis]

The dust will not appear on the picture. My most used lens (AF Nikkor 50 1.8) has tonnes of dust and other particles and all pics are great under all sorts of different lighting conditions. Enjoy your camera.

 

[fort_wendy]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

[Huss]

Nice! Well done.

 

[farlymac]

I've got one lens that has dust, fungus, and separation issues, yet it returns such great image quality you'd think it was brand new. Have fun with that T3!


PF

 

[fort_wendy]

Thank you, that's very reassuring!