WARNING: That lens fungus spread way faster than I expected in 60 days

I got a nice old 50mm f1.4 back in March with just a tiny spot of fungus near the edge. Thought it would be fine for a while, didn't rush to clean it. Checked it again two months later and the fungus had spread across like a third of the rear element. The before and after photos were night and day, hazy and soft where it used to be sharp. I learned the hard way that storage humidity matters a ton, my cabinet was sitting around 70% after I tested it. Now I toss silica gel packs in every case and check lenses monthly. Anyone else had fungus jump that fast on them or am I just unlucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sean4d ago

It's like when you ignore one weird paint bubble on the wall then your whole ceiling is peeling a month later.

beth_park4d ago

@violag80 you're spot on about the type of fungus mattering, I had a 28mm that sat for a year with a tiny spot and it barely grew at all. my 50mm was definitely some super aggressive strain that woke up fast once it got comfortable in that cabinet. have you ever compared the humidity in your drawer to a meter, or did yours just never spread no matter what?

violag804d ago

oh man, idk, i feel like people overreact to lens fungus a lot. i've had a lens with some spots for like 2 years now and it still takes perfectly fine photos unless i'm shooting directly into the sun or something. i keep my gear in a drawer that's probably 70% humidity half the year and haven't noticed any spreading at all. maybe your lens was already cooked when you got it and the fungus was just waking up? or could be the type of fungus matters too. some are just slow and lazy. not trying to downplay your experience but i think a lot of collectors get way too scared about a little haze that you can easily fix with a UV filter or just not pixel peeping.