Fungus among us

[Horatio]

Is it just me, or does it seem the majority of items auctioned from Japan have fungus?

 

[Chrismat]

I haven't had that experience with Japanese sellers. The few lenses I've purchased from them have been fungus free.

 

[Wayne]

Is it just me, or does it seem the majority of items auctioned from Japan have fungus?

Absolutely. I searched for weeks to find a Mamiya 6 folder without fungus and finally found one with only 1 small patch, clearly pointed out in the listing. When it arrived it had lots of unseen fungus, but I was able to clean it all off. https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/fungus-humongous.181366/#post-2378052

But its a challenge. It can be really hard to see in photos and it can be really hard to deliberately show in photos.

 

[Horatio]

To be fair, I'm sure it's not confined to products from Japan. Perhaps camera gear from the Pacific NW has similar issues.

 

[MattKing]

To be fair, I'm sure it's not confined to products from Japan. Perhaps camera gear from the Pacific NW has similar issues.

I would expect something from Louisiana or a tropical location would be just as prone to fungus.
It may be that the items in Japan that are free from focus fungus are sold locally.

 

[wjlapier]

The finder for my new to me Nikon F had fungus and came from the states.

I've had one lens come from Japan that had fungus the seller didn't disclosed and they refunded me the total cost of the lens rather than send it back.

I've bought a lot of gear from Japan and almost all ( see above ) of it has been as described or better.​

 

[film_man]

Bought lots of stuff from Japan, never had one with fungus that wasn't mentioned.

 

[CMoore]

I would expect something from Louisiana or a tropical location would be just as prone to fungus.
It may be that the items in Japan that are free from focus are sold locally.

Oh Man. I have been waiting 5 years for this opportunity.
.........................Why would you buy a camera that was Free From Focus.?

 

[Wayne]

Oh Man. I have been waiting 5 years for this opportunity.
.........................Why would you buy a camera that was Free From Focus.?

Aren't a lot of the old n fold cameras free from focus?

 

[MattKing]

Oh Man. I have been waiting 5 years for this opportunity.
.........................Why would you buy a camera that was Free From Focus.?

Thanks - fixed.
If you haven't seen me screw up a post in 5 years, you haven't been paying close enough attention!

 

[Huss]

Is it just me, or does it seem the majority of items auctioned from Japan have fungus?

That's because you are only looking at Mint + items.

You need to look at Mint +++ to avoid fungus.

 

[Wayne]

 

[Karl K]

Not meant to hijack this thread, but here's something similar:

I'd like some advice on selling some of my Leica lenses.
I have several Leica lenses from the '60's, '70's. '80's and '90's that perform very well but they do not pass the "flashlight" test.
There is visible the slightest bit of haze and dust revealed by the flashlight.

I could have each lens cleaned, but the cost of service often doesn't pay with common lenses like a 90mm screw-mount Elmar, for example.

What is the best way to advertise and explain that the flashlight test is not always an accurate measure of how the lens will perform?

I don't want to sell the lens and then have the buyer ask for a return.

 

[Horatio]

That's because you are only looking at Mint + items.

You need to look at Mint +++ to avoid fungus.

Actually they’re Ex+++++ items.

 

[RLangham]

I would expect something from Louisiana or a tropical location would be just as prone to fungus.
It may be that the items in Japan that are free from focus fungus are sold locally.

Yes, I have shopped in Louisiana and throughout the south and I have found a lot of fungus.

 

[Scott Murphy]

I have gotten several Nikkors on Ebay from Japanese sellers and have never seen fungus on any of them.

 

[Wayne]

Maybe lenses stored separately are more fungus free than folder lenses tucked away in their little fungus incubators.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

When I lived in southern Japan, I bought a cabinet that controlled the humidity, after one of my zoom lenses grew fungus only after a year or sitting idle in a clothes closet. I was terrified of this happening to all my lenses. Living in Canada thankfully I don't have to be too concerned.

 

[dynachrome]

In the book My Bridge To America there is a description of how Minolta had to make adjustments to its copiers because humidity levels were higher in Japan, in general, than those of most places in the U. S. A friend who lives in Japan also had special humidity controlled cabinets for his cameras and lenses. I think it's silly for sellers in Japan to list items as being in excellent condition and then a few lines down they admit that the item has fungus.

 

[BobD]

I've never been to Japan but online sources state it has high humidity, more than Florida even.

Here in dry Southern California fungus is rare in locally bought lenses. Same with other SW states. I avoid buying lenses from known high-humidity states unless the seller specifically promises no fungus and guarantees it.

 

[RLangham]

In the book My Bridge To America there is a description of how Minolta had to make adjustments to its copiers because humidity levels were higher in Japan, in general, than those of most places in the U. S. A friend who lives in Japan also had special humidity controlled cabinets for his cameras and lenses. I think it's silly for sellers in Japan to list items as being in excellent condition and then a few lines down they admit that the item has fungus.

Luckily most of the Japanese listings I've seen... And I've mainly been looking at Canon m39 lenses so I'm not going to make a blanket statement... Most of the listings I've seen don't actually do that. They'll say maybe good condition and admit fairly transparently to the flaws.

Maybe that's changed in recent years. eBay is a weird place these days.

 

[mgb74]

Anecdotally, it does seem that a higher proportion of Japanese listing have fungus when compared to the past. I wonder if it's just reaching further toward the bottom of the barrel. I.e. more of the good ones already sold.