Comments on: Beating Lens Fungus

By: zane mathias

zane mathias — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:56:03 +0000

Hi Angela: That’s a great question to ask under the “contact us” column. It’s so gradual that it creeps up on you! It looks like a miniature leafless tree growing in your lens. It gets bigger & bigger & it eats the glass! Aloha, Zane

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:42:34 +0000

How can you tell that you have fungus?! Yuck!!!!

By: zane mathias

zane mathias — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:32:17 +0000

Hi Marjo: You don’t need to add fans. That heat from the 60w bulb creates it’s own fan!(no fluorescents!) That’s the whole idea. I drilled a dozen or so 3/16″ holes in the back of the trunk to dissipate any excess heat. I was going to drill a hole in the side to install the shop light OFF of the floor but after checking the heat levels I leave my light on the floor with no problems. We live on the wet side of Maui & it’s very moist here.. I use most of the lenses in the trunk on a regular basis & I don’t worry about fungus any more! If you open the trunk & thrust your hand in.. It’s not like an oven. you’re going to feel a subtle change in temp.

By: zane mathias

zane mathias — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:05:46 +0000

Hi Soren: I NEVER turn off the light. I may have to replace the bulb twice a year. For me the shop light is a safety thing. If you’re concerned about the heat generated by the bulb….you might drill a hole in the side of the trunk to elevate the light off of the floor. Be sure to drill a series (a dozen or so) of small holes (3/16″diameter plus or minus) in the back of trunk near the bulb for heat dissipation. After running it for a while check the heat around the bulb just to assure yourself there’s no problems. Now get out there & find a really cool old trunk & get to work! Aloha, Zane

By: Soren Hedberg

Soren Hedberg — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:26:12 +0000

So does he leave the shop light laying like that? Is that all the lenses need to prevent fungus? I need to set something like this up, thanks for the great article!

By: Marjo Aho

Marjo Aho — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:36:49 +0000

This is such a great idea! I’m in the virgin islands and just had my 70-200 2.8 L USM IS our of commission for a few weeks while it was being “defunged” at Canon. Fungus is an annoying problem for me as I shoot a lot “on the water” (and underwater, but that is generally not a problem). I have one question: If you build an enclosure like this, I would imageine that the 60 wall incandecent bulb wuld make the eclosed space very hot. Wouldn’t this be harmful to the lenses? What would be the ideal temperature? I am now ispired to build somehting like this out of an big old server enclosure – maybe include some fans into it. Thank you for a GREAT idea!