would you buy a fungus infected lens

seanE · Jan 31, 2016

I know this sounds stupid, But I'm on a tight budget, I know if the acid has eaten the coatings its bad news.
But would it be good enough, il be mostly using it on B/W inferred film.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Voigtlander-...892018?hash=item1c604002b2:g:zucAAOSwX~dWo-Oi

benjiboy · Jan 31, 2016

No, under no circumstances would I buy this guy's problems, and if you add to price the cost of cleaning the fungus off it's not such a bargain there's always another bargain down the road.

CropDusterMan · Jan 31, 2016

Why start a good photo with a potential handicap?

AgX · Jan 31, 2016

seanE said:
I know if the acid has eaten the coatings its bad news.

Affected coatings would not be a big problem, but corroded glas.

With other words, one complete lacking coating surface will hardly be visible, a complete affected glass surface well.

one90guy · Jan 31, 2016

I would keep looking for a better bargain.

David

paul_c5x4 · Jan 31, 2016

Shop around. There is another 15mm Heliar currently at £56.55: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voigtlander-Voig...liar-15mm-F-4-5-Aspherical-Lens-/151966205601 which might be worth a punt.

seanE · Jan 31, 2016

Thanks guys, il keep looking, If I got a picture ''if posable'' of the fungus would I be able to tell if it was serious, and if it would it have detrimental effects on the final image?

Sirius Glass · Jan 31, 2016

No, do not buy someone else's problems. You can do better if you wait a little longer.

removed account4 · Jan 31, 2016

if the lens was cheap enough, sure i would buy it. but if it was expensive and i expected to have it perform
as it it was fungus free for its lifetime with me i wouldn't touch it. i've lenses with "issues" its part of the
way they are and i accept they aren't pristine or "issue free" and i get great images out of them.
that said, at the price that guy is asking for the lens, i would pass and get something else.

jwd722 · Jan 31, 2016

If it was cheap (really cheap) it would make a nice soft focus lens that would get softer as time goes on, might be cool.

But if it's not cheap (REALLY CHEAP) it's just a photographic petri dish.

sagai · Jan 31, 2016

I would not bother neither ... life is too short for shoddy stuff.
Unless it would be a collectible item for whatever historical reason that might outweigh this and I would interested in collectible items that I do not at the moment.

Bill Burk · Jan 31, 2016

Looking at the pictures on the auction link you provided, it is difficult to see any fungus. So this seems to me a seller who is acting in good faith and providing full disclosure. Sure doesn't look bad. Might be trivial in this case.

fotch · Jan 31, 2016

No, your cheating yourself.

Ian Grant · Jan 31, 2016

I'm not sure why think you want or need a 15mm lens, it's quite extreme, Reading your posts here it's probably like trying to run before you can walk.

My wife loved my 17mm Tamron lens thought it was wonderful it was so wide, and demanded to use it as her standard on her Pentax ME Super, then when she had her films processed she complained what she really meant to photograph was so small and inconspicuous.

Extreme wide angles are great lenses but you only use them when you really need to or have a project where you can make use of their perspective distortion.

Ian

Sirius Glass · Jan 31, 2016

I agree with Ian. I rarely used my 21mm Minolta lens and very rarely use the 20mm focal length with the 20mm to 35mm Nikon zoom lens.

David A. Goldfarb · Jan 31, 2016

I've bought a 400/4.5 with internal fungus and some coating damage on one element, had it cleaned, and I've used it happily ever since, but it's kind of a hit-or-miss proposition until you've tested it, and it's more likely to be problem with an ultrawide than it is with a long tele. My 400mm was otherwise in perfect condition and was cheap enough that I could justify the cost of the cleaning and could accept the risk that it might not work out. With an 15mm lens, the fungus damage is more likely to be within the DOF range of the image than with a long tele, so it's more likely to cause a problem.

Ronald Moravec · Feb 1, 2016

NO NO It may infect the camera and other lenses in the bag.

At one point Leica would not take one into their shop for repair for fear of contagion.

AgX · Feb 1, 2016

We all live in a sterile world.

MattKrull · Feb 1, 2016

In general

Well, I guess I'm the odd man out, because I won't completely discount an infected lens.
To be sure I won't just buy any infected lens. But if it is just the front element (inside or out), and fairly light / kept to the outside, I will. I have the tools to remove a front element (rubber presses and spanner wrench), and removing light fungus is not actually hard (rubbing alcohol and/or peroxide applied with a pec pad).
I expect that whatever surface had fungus on it will not have any coating left, so I would not purchase a high end lens and expect it to act like a high end lens after fungus.
http://www.zeiss.ca/camera-lenses/en_ca/website/service/fungus_on_lenses.html

480sparky · Feb 1, 2016

I would not BUY a fungus-infested lens, although I will admit to owning two that were GIVEN to me. I merely spent some time opening them up and cleaning them out. They have ended up being two of the sharpest lenses in my line-up.

Kirks518 · Feb 1, 2016

Yes, i would.

Reason #1 -

MattKrull said:
Well, I guess I'm the odd man out, because I won't completely discount an infected lens.
To be sure I won't just buy any infected lens. But if it is just the front element (inside or out), and fairly light / kept to the outside, I will. I have the tools to remove a front element (rubber presses and spanner wrench), and removing light fungus is not actually hard (rubbing alcohol and/or peroxide applied with a pec pad).
I expect that whatever surface had fungus on it will not have any coating left, so I would not purchase a high end lens and expect it to act like a high end lens after fungus.
http://www.zeiss.ca/camera-lenses/en_ca/website/service/fungus_on_lenses.html

Reason #2 -

480sparky said:
I would not BUY a fungus-infested lens, although I will admit to owning two that were GIVEN to me. I merely spent some time opening them up and cleaning them out. They have ended up being two of the sharpest lenses in my line-up.

From the description, it seems like it's barely got any fungus, and it sounds like it's either just started or died a quick death. I have no idea of the going rate for the lens in question, especially in Pounds, but if the asking price is a considerable discount from the norm, I would certainly buy it. Besides, others for sale may have fungus too, but the seller doesn't know, doesn't see it, or doesn't know what lens fungus is. At least this seller is telling you the true (and possibly complete) condition of the lens.

Kirks518 · Feb 1, 2016

With the above being said, I'd probably buy this one if I was the OP: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161965428...l?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=161965428974&_rdc=1

ic-racer · Feb 1, 2016

If it were $175 USD I'd have it already.

kb3lms · Feb 1, 2016

No, I would not buy a fungus lens. I've only ever gotten one, and it was included with a body that I wanted. I wasn't terribly interested in the lens. Although it was advertised as "not affecting image quality" it most definitely did. As many have said, hang on and you can usually find a better example.

resummerfield · Feb 1, 2016

No. Shop around and find another clean one.

would you buy a fungus infected lens

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