White stuff "growing" inside lens.

[seany65]

Hello all, I've got an ansco super regent that I've had for a couple of years. I sent it to be adjusted and have the focus freed up almost as soon as I got it.

When I first got it I used a hand-held reversed 50mm nikon lens to check for fungus on the glass elements and I didn't see any.

Since then it's had a couple of rolls through it and mostly been on a shelf in a walk-in closet (which has the door wide open at all times).

I recently noticed what look like a couple of tiny bits of white cotton on a black thing inside the lens, which I presume is a light baffle.

When I got it back from the tech I had a quick look but I didn't notice any white stuff.

Is there anything at all that can grow in a lens which is white, or is the stuff probably bits of cotton bud used by the tech to clean out the old, stiff grease?

Unfortunately I'm not able to take any good close-up photos of it, so anyone that can help will probably just have to guess.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[DownUnder]

It is probably the start of a fungus growth.

If you value the camera and intend to use it in future, send it to be cleaned without delay.

 

[seany65]

Thanks, ozmoose.

Dunno why, I always thought "fungus" would be green. lol.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I'd take your reversed 50 to it again and see if it is cotton from a swab. If it looks like cotton fiber, it very likely is. From your description it sounds like the white stuff is coming from the edge of the lens assembly, not on the glass itself.



Contact the tech and ask what they think might be up. They might be able to tell you how to open this up easily and blow/tweezer it out. Or they can get it back in their shop and take a look and clean it out.

 

[View Range]

Lens fungus is not green. There are traces of spiderweb-like tracks and/or some asterisk-like spots. It is on the glass surfaces and usually visible just be looking at a light through the lens. Eventually the glass becomes etched and is permanently damaged, but most often it all can be cleaned off with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.

 

[Mute-on]

Look up lens fungus so you know what it looks like. White cotton fibres could describe it if it is appears as tendrils radiating from a central dot on the surface of a lens element.

Unless you live in a hot and humid environment (even if only over summer), it is very unlikely that fungus would grow in the storage conditions you described.

 

[seany65]

Thanks to everyone for the further replies.

I have seen fungus on lenses that came with an Ambi Silette, and to me it looked marginally greenish, and it also looked nothing like this white stuff.

I had used the reversed 50mm lens to look at the problem when I first noticed it and that's why I had to ask on this forum in order to double check, as I don't know enough about what can grow inside a lens.

This "white stuff" in the lens does seem to be rather further inside the lens than I'd expect (though I'm no tech so I may be wrong), for it to be from a cotton bud used to clean out old, stiff grease, as it's on the edge of what I'd call a black "baffle". Imagine the exact centre of the glass of the lens as being the axis of the lens (is this the correct term?) and the outer edge of the glass being directly in front of the inner edge of the "baffle", this inner edge is where the white stuff is. I'm sure you'll agree that this an odd place for fungus or cotton from a bud to end up.

I have no idea who the tech was as it was fiddled with either last year or the year before and I'd taken it to a shop who then sent it out.

I'd be far too chicken to open it, as I'd get it back together and I'd have half the bits left over, and even if I could reassemble it with all the bits in it it wouldn't work anyway.

I will probably ask the views of the staff at the shop at some point.

 

[Beemermark]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I doubt if it will affect your pictures even if it is cotton. If fungus it'll take years to grow to the point that it will have an impact on your pictures (ditto for other debris). I'd ask your tech; if he'll fix it for free then get it fixed, otherwise I'd just ignore it. The camera is not terribly expensive considering the cost of repairing it.

 

[seany65]

Thanks for the advice, beemermark.