What does fungus look like

[duhduh83]

hi,

someone pls help

I just recently got a 2nd hand camera..... sigh.... didnt check properly.....
think theres a mark in the lens...... ok the guy who sold me the camera tried to convince me over the phone that he has seen lens with fungus before and that the lens he is selling me is in good condition.... however on closer inspection (after buying) i found something like some sort of tiny spider web in the middle of the lens..... ok i tried to believe what he says.... maybe its just a scratch or some dust or watever.... nvm.... but curiosity got over me and i decided to check again today.... i found there are some white spots and the rear end of the glass (the part that is closest to the mount of the camera). the spots are not very obvious..... have to tilt it at an angle to really be able to see it..... ok the reason why im posting this is because after a long talk with my friend in school today, i think i better check this out and not rely on everything other people says..... also, when i contacted him afew days after buying whether i can change the lens he said cannot.....

anyway the guy who sold me the camera claimed to be a national geographic shooter.... and he claims to know afew of the moderators in this forum. if its really fungus.... then im really disappointed because i trusted him not just because he said he knows what fungus is but because during the process of buying..... i had a conversation with him and he taught me how to take good pictures and what does it take to be a good photographer..... through this i felt he was a sincere and honest guy since he didnt just rush to sell the camera off.... he also had the intention of teaching me more..... well if he turns out to be just a wolf in sheeps clothing then im really very disappionted.... anyway after selling he said he has to fly of to some country already..... and will try to contact me sometime later.......

so.... someone pls advice me what to do..... was i cheated??? i dont know..... maybe i shouldnt have trusted his words from the start...... national geographic photographer??? im starting to have doubts..... ok i dont wanna try to say hes lying just because the lens is in bad condition..... so wanna hear from you guys....

thanks

 

[yanyewkay]

i only recognise the spider web thingy syndrome.. that sounds like fungus to me..

 

[duhduh83]

is it really fungus? wa lau.... sian loh.... so far 2 people have told me its fungus....
better go to TCW soon to check things out..... anyone knows whether keep this thingy in my dry cabinet will affect the other stuff??

 

[duhduh83]

no advice??? someone say something pls

 

[yyD70S]

..... anyone knows whether keep this thingy in my dry cabinet will affect the other stuff??

I wouldn't attempt it. Period.

 

[dennisc]

Sounds like a fungus allright. Maybe you can post some pics here just to cfm? It looks like strands of hair or spider web. In the meantime you may want to store it in an airtight container with some silica to delay the damage prior to bringing it for a cleanup or something.

 

[smtan24]

Sending the lens for cleaning will cost you anywhere from $30-$80 dollars. How much did you pay for the lens.

 

[yanyewkay]

nobody can confirm anything just based on description alone. We're all only guessing here.

I know a friend who placed his fungus infected lens in his dry cab as usual and it didn't spread. I'm not saying you should but I'm just quoting you an example of someone who did it.

He told me the fungus sized seemed to have reduced over the years. It might by psychological so dun read too much into it.

 

[duhduh83]

just wondering if any moderators here know any national geographic photographer.... lol

 

[eng_keow]

Fungus looks like this:

http://www.prairienet.org/b-wallen/BN_Photo/Fungus1.jpg

This second one is a very bad case. If lens look like this, can throw away liao!

http://www.geocities.com/dainisjg/fungus1.jpg

Hope that your lens is ok. All the best. Best to get pro to check it like TCW.

 

[trlnlty]

if its really fungus, i think you should post his name here so people will know not to trade with him.

when you say he has seen lens with fungus before.. did he mention his lens or lenses in general with fungus?

 

[duhduh83]

he said his work with national geographic deals with hash weather conditions, as such he has really seen real fungus... and he deems that some minor markings are not "real" fungus..... im really not sure..... but i dont wanna jump to conclusions and just name him without finding out the truth first.... seriously i just wanna go to TCW to confirm..... just wondering any moderators here are aware that there is this guy who claims to know moderators of this forum and claims to be a national geographic photog.....

btw i developed a roll of negatives recently and just got it scanned in school. the results are really bad..... super grainy, very "unsharp"..... i used a fuji NPC negative at iso 160 so now im not sure what are the factors influencing the picture..... is it got to do with the lens, the film, the developer or scanner? I developed my film from ruby and the schools scanner is a dedicated film scanner and ive seen people with real good scans..... so, it all points down to either the film problem or the lens problem..... someone good at these please assist me.

 

[mich_2103]

I have got a very good gut feeling that you have been conned...

 

[duhduh83]

seems like no moderator is viewing this thread....
anyway i only have myself to blame for believing in others so easily.
do you guys think this lens can be sold? i mean i will be open to say that there is a mark inside the lens.... if so, how much can it be sold for?
btw, if anyone knows any moderators of the forum kindly help me check....
thanks!

 

[duhduh83]

actually the reason why im not naming him is because i needa confirm the facts.... so if youre a moderator pls kindly confirm this..... so that i can warn others of being conned by him too....

 

[tokrot]

Just post the picture. No one can say for sure from what you have described. It's just all guessing work.

 

[hondasleeper]

Dedfinitely sounds like fungus. If I were you I would send it to get cleaned. DON'T let it stay there too long, if you do the fungus will etch into the elements. Then you'll be really screwed. And as far as your film looking grainy and unsharp. I doubt if it is the film, could be the the scans. Did you actually look at your film under a loupe to check for sharpness? I would get prints made from the film to see where the problem is. Don't automatically assume that the film or camera is the culprit, there could be other factors.

Just my take on your problem.

 

[Dunnomuch]

actually the reason why im not naming him is because i needa confirm the facts.... so if youre a moderator pls kindly confirm this..... so that i can warn others of being conned by him too....

First, don't panic. How much did the lens cost you, and what lens is it? if you're talking about the kit lens for a film body, and the lens is only worth $100 or so, then $80 to clean the lens is hardly sensible. if it's an expensive L lens that has fungus and you paid high dollar for it, then the situation is considerably worse.

Not to trivialise your plight, but sometimes we need to put things in perspective. if the lens is worth repairing, then usually $80-120 is the max you will need to spend. if it's not worth repairing, let's hope you didn't pay too much for the lens. put it down to a learning experience. after all, some lessons in life cost us money, but the good thing is we know not to make the same mistake twice.

i bought camera sets before because it made sense at the time. i knew some lenses had fungus, but then others were fine, and the seller wanted to let go of the whole lot. look at the big picture and you will see that you can't always win?

I sympathise with you though. Hope it all works out in the end.

bear in mind, if the lens is old and it has fungus, then you also need to check for fogging. fogging affects the element coating, and usually there is no way to repair that element. if the element has to be replaced, then fungus is a small issue already because very often the element or otehr parts are no longer available.

 

[duhduh83]

actually the lens is a tokina 28-70mm f2.8 the seller claimed that its a very good lens in good condition. i saw that it was alot brighter than my kit lens so i bought it. i also thought of cleaning but then 80-120 dollars can get me a prime 50mm..... so i really dunnoe..... can i sell it? really confused.....

 

[duhduh83]

Dedfinitely sounds like fungus. If I were you I would send it to get cleaned. DON'T let it stay there too long, if you do the fungus will etch into the elements. Then you'll be really screwed. And as far as your film looking grainy and unsharp. I doubt if it is the film, could be the the scans. Did you actually look at your film under a loupe to check for sharpness? I would get prints made from the film to see where the problem is. Don't automatically assume that the film or camera is the culprit, there could be other factors.

Just my take on your problem.

i was just thinking could the developer forgot it was a 160 NPC film and had over agitated the developing process and thus it became grainy and unsharp?