Fungus in my "new" Rollei Zeiss Planar 80mm?

I just acquired a used copy of the 80mm Rollei Zeiss Planar. It arrived last

Friday, but I had my first chance to look it over closely and use it a little

today.

 

It didn't take me long to discover this "fuzz" that appears to be under the

front element. I have searched PN for other "fungus" threads, but didn't see

any threads or links that contained an image with a suspected fungus shaped

anything like this that I've encountered.

 

The suspected growth, pictured, looks like tiny cotton fibers, or perhaps

frost. They are 1.5-3mm long.

 

If anyone has seen something that looks quite like this under their lens

elements, I'd sure like to know what I might be facing.

 

Thanks!

Mark<div></div>

What you have without question is fungus. Fungus loves the coatings on medern lenses. Some more than others. If the lens was cheap enough and it does not yet affect the image, quit thinking about it. Is this a SLX, PQ or PQS lens? If the SLX, its worth under $100. If PQ, $200 and if PQS $300+. My opinion.

I would have the lens cleaned as soon as possible. Fungus has a tendency to grow.

 

Ulrik

That will grow so return it as defective or have it cleaned. There is damage already that can

not be repaired but the fungus can be killed and cleaned out,

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I'm afraid it is fungus. As said clean it as soon as possible. In expert's hands the cleaning is most effective. Fungus can manifest in several forms. I once bought a mint Yashica-Mat TLR which looked clean, until I discovered some pattern which looked like fine scratches on the inside of the lens, seen from the film chamber with a torch. At first I thought they were cleaning scrathes, but the camera repairman stated that they were fungus and had the "scratches" cleaned. The taking lens is shining like new now. Good luck.</p>

I would agree with Jorge i.e. if it does not affect the image, leave it alone. If it bothers you much, send the lens to John van Stelten/Focal Point for cleaning, or better yet...return to sender.

Thanks gents! I greatly appreciate your helpful info confirming my suspicion, and your advice on how to proceed from here!

If you decide not to have it cleaned, please let us know how quickly it spreads! It currently won't affect your pictures at all, but it will later on.

You should never decide not to clean it!<br>Unless you now decide not to clean it. It's something that does not allow putting off 'till later.<br>Now, there only are filaments of fungus on the glass, which can be removed quite easily, and completely.<br>Soon, these will start etching the glass, and even though you then still can remove the fungus, all you can do with the lens is toss it in the bin.<br>So if you decide not to clean the lens now, you might as well not decide to clean it at all, and accept the inevitable loss.

Q. G. said "Now, there only are filaments of fungus on the glass, which can be removed quite easily, and completely" I disagree. funfus grows on the coating, not the glass. Once there, it can never be removed. Fungus is a living organism. It can be killed by a variety of methods and if the lens is not returned to the environmental conditions that promoted the fungus growth in the first place (humid closet, basement, or living in the tropics) all one must do is remove the humidity from the equation. It will cease growing.

Glass, or coating, doesn't really matter.<br><br>Yes, you can stop it growing by removing things it needs, like moisture. Very hard to keep up, though, if you ever plan to use the lens again. ;-)<br><br>To kill the fungus using UV light, and leaving it sitting there, is possible. But it will always return: the spores it sprouted from are not that easy to murder.<br><br>So you will absolutely have to (!) clean the glass/coating thoroughly!<br> And you indeed can.<br><br>The big problem with these fungi is that they produce 'effluents' (fungus poo ;-)) that (among other things) etch the glass. Leave the fungus there to long, and there is permanent, irreparable damage.

QG There are very few lenses where the cost of removing the coating and recoating the lens is less than the value of a replacement lens set. For example, a Hasselblad 150 Sonnar can have its lens set replaced for under $1000 while having the coatings removed and replaced costs just under that. So why do that when you can simply change the lens set and end up with a new lens under Hasselblad warranty? Of course, for cameras where the lens set is no longer available, that option does not exist, but one can find a non-fungus replacement lens for about the same cost. I have had many lenses (specially Rollei) with fungus growing. The best use for these is as a parts lens.

Jorge,<br><br>If you catch this thing early, all you need to have done is have the lens cleaned. That is not very expensive at all.<br><br>The fungus is growing on top of everything: not <i>in</i> (or from) the coating, or glass. Only if you wait till it starts corroding the coating and glass will you need to have things replaced.<br><br>So never wait, but see that it is taken care of as soon as possible!

Thanks again, everyone, for the replies and info. At the same time I posted this original query, I also emailed the jpeg to John Van Stelten at Focalpoint Lens. Like all of you, he also confirmed my suspicion about this being fungus.

 

Since I plan to keep this lens for the long-term, it is in transit to him for cleaning. John says he has about a month turnaround time right now, but I'll report back on how this turns out.

 

Happy new year...

Mark

If what you have is true fungus exposing it to a bright UV light source for a fairly long time will kill it (Think sunlight). I think that the front element of a Plainar is air spaced and comes out by removing the front ring. Plainars are not rotation-position sensitive in relation to the elements. You can remove the front element in a clean location, clean off the discoloration by gently washing it with a drop or two of lens cleaner on a cue tip, drying it with a micro-fiber cloth, brushing off any dust on the rear of the cleaned element and replacing it. BUT use care and have a soft towel under everything for a cushion. And for goodness sake use a real lens spanner wrench.

Followup on my previous contribution: (sp)Planar not "Plainar." If yoy have cotton slide handling gloves it will make that task easier and you will not redeposite fungus back on the lens along with skin oils for food.

Thanks for the additional comments. I had promised to report back on the outcome with this optic.

 

I received the lens back from John at FocalPoint on schedule - turnaround took right about a month as he had said. He cleaned the optics for me, and removed the fungus.

 

The fungus had etched the coating (i.e., the fungus growth pattern in the above jpeg is still visible, but it is much more faint now). But since this is so far to the edge of the front element, both John and I agreed that it wouldn't affect performance and didn't warrant the (significant) expense of recoating the lens.

 

So, I have a clean lens, and I do recommend John at FocalPoint, Inc. for this sort of service.

"All's well that ends well", and all that.<br>You often hear it said that the 80 mm focal length makes a dreary, boring lens. But i don't think that's true at all.<br>So congrats, and many happy years with the Planar!