Fungus/Mould - upgrade dilemma

[George Askew]

My main gear is all old [Circa late 70s] and was in regular use until 2 years ago when in Mozambique and Congo, lack of film and decent storage and processing etc, meant the gear was not used and in these hot humid climes fungus/ mould went on a rampage. Apart from this the gear has been well looked after and loved.
I have 2 OM1 bodies, 1 Std Zuiko 52mm lens, 1x24mm Tamron, 1 macro 2x teleconverter, 1 Tamron 80- 210 Tele-zoom, 1 Tamron 300mm Tele;
1 Rolleiflex twin reflex [circa early 60s] - all of these have bad fungus on front and back lenses and most on both sides too.
My Calypso/Nikkor Submersible camera [circa early 60s] is in excellent condition.
My problem.
Digital seems the way to go, but as to upgrade totally will cost a fortune and as technology races ahead all my expensive upgrades will be obsolete quickly.
So, do I try and fix the gear above or ’Museum” or sell it to collectors.
I am currently in Bangkok. Here are some Q`s
1. Is it worth getting the fungus removed?
2. And if polished out what effect will the removed coatings have on image quality?
3. Where do I get it done?
4. What is it likely to cost?
5. If I sell to collectors will they accept with fungus?
6. If above is a No-Win situation what good used top end [Max pixels and suitable for underwater housing with a dome lens], camera should I be looking for? My minimum needs will be:
7. Standard primary lens, 1 wide angle & 1 Tele-Zoom.
8. Able to take rough action handling.
9. Not averse to being used on or near the sea.
10. Best place to get such gear?
11. What sort of cost?

Not your normal easy to answer posting I know – but good advice is greatly appreciated.
:confused

 

[zac08]

Hi welcome to CS.

As for the fungused lenses, I'd say unless there are some collectors who want them for the exterior, you shouldn't be able to offload them easily. And it may not be worth cleaning them if they are badly affected.

Cost wise, it depends on who you get to do the job. David (aka Fatigue) if he's free, he would be a guy to look for.

As for your new camera, you'd do well to check out the various brands available on the market now which supports a under-water casing. Nikon, Canon and Sony would be the more popular choices, but there are others too... so go read up and check out the gears.

But note that the under-water casings can be more expensive than some of the camera bodies. :sweat:


Cheers,

 

[Galdor]

Hi welcome to CS.

As for the fungused lenses, I'd say unless there are some collectors who want them for the exterior, you shouldn't be able to offload them easily. And it may not be worth cleaning them if they are badly affected.

Cost wise, it depends on who you get to do the job. David (aka Fatigue) if he's free, he would be a guy to look for.

As for your new camera, you'd do well to check out the various brands available on the market now which supports a under-water casing. Nikon, Canon and Sony would be the more popular choices, but there are others too... so go read up and check out the gears.

But note that the under-water casings can be more expensive than some of the camera bodies. :sweat:


Cheers,

But TS said that he's in Bangkok now wor.

 

[ed9119]

if you are still in bangkok go to the row of photo print shops opposite Central department store along Lad Phrao ..... there arre a couple of 2nd hand shops dealing in 2nd hand camera equiptment

otherwise, try ebay

most would advise buying the latest toy but see what you need accomplished......... and buy it 2nd hand..... by the looks of it, if you are shooting UW..... no point flooding an expensive top end rig which warranty will not cover anyway

 

[zac08]

But TS said that he's in Bangkok now wor.

Whoops... missed tat. :sweat: