Fungus Scare! Where to Keep my MF Gear

Hi Everyone,

Well my second hand lenses seem fine and I'd like to keep 'em that

way. Although I use my RZ67 fairly frequently,(I shoot a roll or two

very week but with different lenses) what's the best way to keep them

when not in use? Right now, I keep everything in the large LowPro

bag. However, I recently read that fungus thrives in dark places and

lenses should be kept out in the open air. I live in LA so we have

moderate temps except for summer when it sometimes hits the 100 mark

and higher. It's a dry heat though. I spent a lot of money (at least

by my incomes standards) on my MF gear so any advice on where I

should keep things between uses would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Marc

PS - just to be safe, is it recomended to clean my lenses at regular

intervals? I mean professional cleanings where the lens is taken

apart and the inside cleaned? While still an outlay of money, it may

save more in the long run opposed to replacing lenses due to proper

neglect I figure. If so what's a fair price? MF gear seems to be of

higher quality then 35mm so I'm all for giving mine the proper TLC to

maintain this quality.

It only rains about 11 inches of rain a year in Los Angeles. The downside is there is alot of dust. Use your equipment; and you will not see fungus. Store it away; while wet and dirty; in a dark case; in warm weather; is a good receipe for fungus growth. Humid areas of the USA will get more fungus growth. An old camera; that was stored in an unairconditioned house area; in the midwest; deep south; hawaii; for a decade; in a leather case will usually have fungus damage. These cameras get found in estate sales; and then pop up on ebay. Fungus can ruin and etch the glass; drop the sharpness and contrast. LA has alot of sunshine; super low humidity; so a lens that is used will almost never get fungus. The appearance of fungus is mostly reserved for collectors/fondlers; who dont use their cameras; and also for those stored away damp cameras in leather cases; in humid areas.

In LA; the long term average total rainfall for July is less than 1/50 inch of rain.

Marc, I live in L.A. too. I understand your concern because I've invested in a Bronica system I would like it to last a lifetime (another 50 years?).

 

Wet clothes, film, etc. dries fast here in L.A. Haven't you noticed? Here, I can re-use my T shirts 2 or three days. Back East, you have to change your T-shirt twice a day in the summer.

 

When I see photo gear being sold on Ebay, I feel much more confident in it if it's from the Western States or Texas than the deep South, Florida, or the East coast because of the fungus/rust issue.

Marc,

I've got the same gear as you and then some. On top of it I live in Asia in a sub-tropical environment and shoot on jobs often in a tropical environment (example- Bali).

 

Today it rained and on and off all day and we have around 90-95% humidity. When the warm - wet season comes in (summer here) your belts and leather shoes can grow a full blown fuzzy green coat in your closet. No joke.

 

So what do about camera gear.

 

I'd say throw some silica gel packets in your Lowe Pro bag and your fine. If you run AC in your house then it should be fine as well. In Cali/LA it's not something I would sweat too much.

 

So for the cheapest easiest way to go - try silica gel. It's those little non-edible packets that often come in a new pair of shoes. Here in HK we can buy the in bulk bag in the supermarket.

 

If you want to move up a step you can get an airtight dry box.

Or you can even go high end you can always get a dry cabinet (this'll have a gauge on the front).

 

But easy and cheap is sillica gel.

The best advise is as a couple people here recomended, using the silica packets inside the cases. Also be sure the foam in your case is faily new and clean, not funky smelling or old n rotting, that is the first sign of a fungus environment to be avoided. Wrap your equipment in zip lock bags with some packets of silica and you'll be fine.

It�s plenty humid here in coastal SC, and I�ve worried about fungus, too. But, if you can afford lots of nice MF stuff, you probably have air conditioning, too. I�ve kept my stuff in a dark closet for the past ten years with no trouble whatsoever. Its only when things get stuck in an attic or out in the garage that you have problems.

Not all parts of LA are as dry as the above responses indicate. If you live within about a half-mile of the ocean, the coastal fog can cause serious problems, particularly during the winter; and houses near the water tend not to have air conditioning to help dry them out. Having said that, I have not had a problem with fungus in lenses (I depend on just using the equipment, except for seldom-used long telephotos that I store in Pelican cases with cans of silica gel), but I have had some mildew on leather goods that have been stored in closets.

Remember that you have to bake out your silica gel every now and then or it will be useless. Get the kind with an indicator so you can see the condition- blue=good, pink=bad. Not much point in trying to keep a non-watertight bag dry. Put it (the whole bag) in a plastic bag with plenty of gel. Avoid storage in basements or get a dehumidifier if necessary. I keep my storage area at about 40-45% RH and have no trouble (knock on wood...)

Don't get too panicky about fungus . I live in humid GA and went for years without AC. My ole Rapid Omega has so much fungus it looks like it belongs in a biology museum , but it still takes sharp pictures.

Bill Maxwell told me that you need to keep the camera in bright light often, as well as fresh air. This cuts down on the fungus.

I have been into this fungus stuff in great detail for a friend whose Nikon pro lenses all suffered it. Myself, I have had about 15 lenses in camera bags stored in colder climate for 25 years and never found fungus. But my friend had his lenses in the same climate for 2 years and has had on-going problems.

A very experienced lens technician who handles Zeiss, Nikon, Canon and Leica work here in Melbourne (Australia) sorted out the problem after another technician did 2 cleans within 1 year. The killer is cold and humid climates and poorly ventilated homes.

His tips are (and have worked out 100% over the past 2 years now):

1. always keep many gel packs in each camera bag compartment - watch them for swelling which indicates moisture. 2 You can buy very large gel pack type units that are very useful to keep in the wardrobe or cupboard where the camera bags are stored. If you live in a cold or humid climate - use these. If you live in a period home (100 years old or more) it is likely that ventilation is limited so having a miosture trap is very important for lenses that don't get out often. 3. The simplest regular thing to do is to place lenses in a sunny spot for a day or 2 with both lens caps removed - the sun's UV rays kill fungus. 4. If you have an on-going problem set up a UV light box = a box with a UV globe light inside it. Put the lenses in that with the caps removed for a day or 2. It kills fungus very effectively. BUT always remember that UV rays do damage rubber seals over time - so don't over do it (ie 2 days exposure every few months is fine).

 

He says that lens glass is porous and that is why fungus is so hard to get rid of once it first appears. Cleaning the inside of lenses only fixes fugus for a limited time - micro amounts of the fungus will still be in the glass so will begin to grow again. So after they have been cleaned you should put them in the sun or a UV box.

 

My friend did this after the second clean and it has worked fine.

The technician also said you should not have lenses disassembled and cleaned unless there is some very specific reason to. Most repairers do not have 100% dust free workshops so there is a risk dust will get into the elements - an unnecessary risk. Hope this helps.