Can lens fungus spread?

Ektagraphic · Nov 13, 2017

Hi Guys-

Can lens fungus spread from lens to lens? I'm most specifically concerned with a fixed lens camera spreading to others. I have looked around online and seem to find conflicting ideas- ranging from yes it can, do no it can't because the lens would have been contaminated at some point in the manufacturing process, allowing the fungus to grow later. What are you thoughts/experiences? Thanks!

Billy Axeman · Nov 13, 2017

I'm not sure a lens could do that on itself, especially when the fungus is inside, but I'm cautious about contaminated leather cases.
To prevent migrating a fungus from the front lens you could put a filter on it

A lens being contaminated during production is very unlikely because they are assembled in a clean-room.

AgX · Nov 13, 2017

All our environment is spread with fungi spores.

What do you do when you go into the woods with you camera? Put it in an underwater housing?

BAC1967 · Nov 13, 2017

You could put them out in sunlight every now and then. Lens fungus does not like UV light, it prefers the dark.

RattyMouse · Nov 13, 2017

Ektagraphic said:
Hi Guys-

Can lens fungus spread from lens to lens? I'm most specifically concerned with a fixed lens camera spreading to others. I have looked around online and seem to find conflicting ideas- ranging from yes it can, do no it can't because the lens would have been contaminated at some point in the manufacturing process, allowing the fungus to grow later. What are you thoughts/experiences? Thanks!

Well, it must be able to spread since the fungus was not on the original lens to start with. Fungus produces spores which travel through the air easily. If the conditions are right, and the fungus produces spores, they will certainly take to the air and spread.

Billy Axeman · Nov 13, 2017

Scary spores.

Poisson Du Jour · Nov 13, 2017

Definite answer is yes. A lens with fungal activity stored in close proximity other lenses and/or cameras will eventually spawn colonies in those pieces of equipment, left long enough and still enough in an environment where fungal activity is favouried e.g. the tropics. It is true that fungal spores exists everywhere at all times and all that is required is the ideal conditions for an infection to take hold, which is why you see mould in bathrooms and around floorboards.

Louis Nargi · Nov 13, 2017

any fungus can spread and grow since its organic

Theo Sulphate · Nov 13, 2017

Read what Zeiss has to say about it:

https://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/us/service/content/fungus-on-lenses.html

If the conditions for fungus already exist, then all of your lenses are at risk.

If you lived in an environment with 35% humidity and no other conditions favoring fungus, then if you had one lens with fungus, it would NOT spread to the others.

Sirius Glass · Nov 14, 2017

Yes fungus can spread between lenses, so separate for infected lens from the rest and have it sit out with the iris fully opened and so the sun shines in. After days or weeks in the sun, still keep it away from the other lenses. Another option is to send it to Carol at http://flutotscamerarepair.com/ for service.

AgX · Nov 14, 2017

Such advise only makes sense if that fungus would be very rare and thus that infected camera would be the only one source for spores.
To my knowledge this is not the case.

Svenedin · Nov 14, 2017

Theo Sulphate said:
Read what Zeiss has to say about it:

https://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/us/service/content/fungus-on-lenses.html

If the conditions for fungus already exist, then all of your lenses are at risk.

If you lived in an environment with 35% humidity and no other conditions favoring fungus, then if you had one lens with fungus, it would NOT spread to the others.

I love what Zeiss says about using cigarette ash to clean a "corroded" optical surface! I have an image in my mind of a workman with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth dropping ash on the lens and thinking "I'll clean it with this"

Kevin Ekstrom · Nov 14, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Yes fungus can spread between lenses, so separate for infected lens from the rest and have it sit out with the iris fully opened and so the sun shines in. After days or weeks in the sun, still keep it away from the other lenses. Another option is to send it to Carol at http://flutotscamerarepair.com/ for service.

FLUTOTS
We do not clean multi-coated lenses. We do not remove fungus or recoat lenses!

Sirius Glass · Nov 14, 2017

Old leather camera cases can be a source of spores, although I never had a problem with them.

Arklatexian · Nov 14, 2017

Theo Sulphate said:
Read what Zeiss has to say about it:

https://www.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/us/service/content/fungus-on-lenses.html

If the conditions for fungus already exist, then all of your lenses are at risk.

If you lived in an environment with 35% humidity and no other conditions favoring fungus, then if you had one lens with fungus, it would NOT spread to the others.

If everyone in this group would read about the biology of fungi (plural of fungus), most of these discussions would go away. Fungi are a part of our natural surroundings and thus are a part of our daily life. You are not going to keep fungus spores off of your lenses. It just isn't going to happen so learn the environmental conditions that restrict the growth of fungi (low humidity, warm to hot temperatures and try to not give the fungus nourishment) . Old uncoated lenses did not seem to have the fungus problems that modern multi-coated lenses seem to have. Why? Find out and everyone in photography today would benefit.......Regards!.......By the way, the scientific word for the study of fungi is "micology" and it is fascinating. The mushrooms in your yard and in the forest are fungi and reproduce by spores also.

Can lens fungus spread?

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