OVERVIEW:
I used to think the story about lens fungus was a lie crafted by desperate camera salesman in an attempt to sell the latest (and most expensive) lenses. To me it all made sense: They don't want me saving money by buying vintage lenses BECAUSE THEIR COMMISSION WOULD BE LESS! Not only so, if they could convince me that putting (infected) used lenses into a camera bag with new lenses could potentially ruin the new ones, it might make me scared enough to buy an entirely new system (including a new camera!) Now, I am not against buying new cameras (which I do from time to time) but only when the "effect" outweighs the cost (i.e. it will make me money). So, I remained skeptical about this story of lens fungus for quite some time. Then something happened to my trusty, old vintage Nikon 80-200 f/4 AIS.
ABOVE: Vintage lenses (especially old 80-200 optics) are becoming difficult to find without fungus. So, when I find one the last thing I want to do is introduce fungus myself!
MY NIKON 80-200 THAT ALMOST DIED
My Nikon 80-200 f/4 AIS, when used on a Panasonic Micro Four Thirds body with a .71x focal reducer, was an excellent low light tool, that didn't cost me anywhere near what the f/2.8 version would have. I used it for indoor photography (meetings and conferences) quite a bit, and I was happy with the quality and results. But, when I cleaned the Nikon 80-200 with a LensPen (following the instructions to BREATHE on the lens) immediately put the lens cap on and put it away (for what would become 3 months of storage) something bad happened. After three months of non-use (due to having switched to a Panasonic FZ1000 for most of my indoor telephoto work) I pulled the old "beer can" lens out of storage and was shocked to find the front element "frosted over" with lens fungus.
I HAD USED LENSPENS SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE...
At first, I had no idea why the fungus would have grown so quickly, when I had used a LensPen on it SEVERAL times before and had no problem. You may be saying the same "I've used a LensPen for YEARS, have ALWAYS breathed on my lenses AND HAVE NEVER HAD a problem with lens fungus!" I had too, and had in fact I had learned about breathing on lenses (to clean them) by watching camera salesman do it at a local (long since closed) camera store. I wondered "Why did my lens suffer lens fungus when many other people have not experienced the same issue?"
YES, LENS FUNGUS IS REAL
At least the question as to whether lens fungus is real was answered, but not in the way I would have wanted. I now had to do CPR on my vintage lens. I was a bit aggressive in the action I took (because of the risk of the fungus spreading) and sprayed quite a bit of 70% rubbing alcohol on it's face...followed by doing the same with the lens cap and then letting them sit until completely dry. Then I did it again, but this time I used a clean lens cloth to try to attack the fungus (in case it would wipe off) and IT DID! The rubbing alcohol removed the frosty layer of fungus on the front element. I felt sure I had damaged the multicoatings on the front of the lens in the process, but I figured it was worth it to at least sterilize the lens and keep it from spreading. Now the questions that remained were: "Will the fungus come back?" and "Should I continue to use a LensPen?"
ABOVE: Here's a little inspiration to motivate you to keep fungus from growing on your lenses (i.e. cleaning them is no fun...sometimes there's no going back).
WHERE DID THE FUNGUS COME FROM?
As I thought about what to do, I remembered reading about how our mouths can be pretty dirty and contain a lot of bacteria and/or pathogens. I formed a theory that what may have contributed to the growth of fungus on the 80-200 lens was a dirty mouth (because it seems that a little of it may come out each time you breathe on a lens.) Also, if you follow up breathing on a lens by using a LensPen that had been used several times before (and put back into the wet and dark environment UNDER THE LENSPEN CAP) I figure that you may be introducing both old and new bacteria onto your lens each time you use that LensPen.
WELL THEN, DO I STILL USE LENS PENS?
My answer is: sometimes, but I don't breathe on my lenses any more as the LensPen instructions say. I do my cleaning with Zeiss Wipes #ad but sometimes I do finish it off with a CLEAN LensPen, (that I've never breathed on).
CONCLUSION:
In the end, the difference in my tests may have been that I put the lens immediately back into storage (after using a LensPen) while it was still moist, instead of going outside and shooting (perhaps in bright sunlight) soon after. Going outside may not only help a lens to fully dry out, but also would also expose it to UV light (which can help deactivate pathogens). I'm very thankful I was able to learn my lesson on a budget vintage lens, and not on a really expensive lens (not that I have any of those). If I would have lost the Nikon AIS 80-200 f/4 lens I would have only been out $60 or so, but I wasn't looking forward to going through the whole process of finding a rare copy WITHOUT lens fungus (which is becoming more and more difficult to do). If, however, you experience this loss with a more professional and more expensive lens (especially one you depend on) it could make or break your career. Therefore, don't do what I did with the 80-200 (breathe on it, use a LensPen and put it directly into storage for a period of a few months.)
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