I used to live under the false presumption that my lenses were sealed. I now know they are not. Now, if you have a compact camera, this basically is not problem for you. If, however, you have an SLR camera with changeable lenses, you need to keep those lenses dry.
I appeared quite suddenly, but not even knowing what it was at first, I did not realize anything bad was happening. The fungus looks a little like tiny spider webs or maybe some kind of dusty looking crystal. I now know we have fungus among us.
The warranty does not cover such problems. So, I will have to have it cleaned, and that prospect is not a bright one. It is going to cost me, but unless I have it done, my lenses will have an involuntary “fuzz” filter on them.
I have heard from other photographers that the fungus can actually eat into the elements. I do not really know if that is true or not. I would assume it cannot damage glass, but maybe it can damage the coating on the glass.
Oh, what a sad day this is. All this was quite preventable. I will now be adding dehumidifiers to my camera bag to keep everything nice and dry, especially when working in more humid environments.
That is very interesting! I never would have thought that fungus would attack lenses! Was it both your lenses or just one of them? Are you having to send it in to Nikon to have it repaired?
Both lenses. It is enough to make me sick. My 85mm is really bad…that is, when I showed it to folks who have seen fungus before, they have never seen anything like it. My 50mm has one, very small spot.
Nikon has certified repair centers, and basically, I will take it in to one of those and get a quote on how much it will cost. I have heard everywhere from “you might as well buy a new lens” to $150. I talked to one of the certified repair shops over the phone, and the guy said I could drop by, let them see it, and get a free estimate (because it basically has to do with the time spent to repair it. Trouble is, I do not live near a repair center, so doing that is a little tricky.
Your in Oklahoma right? Would you have to go to Oklahoma City or even Dallas to get that done? That’s too bad about the 85mm… do you think it is salvageable?
Well, right now, we are all over Texas and Oklahoma (and just returned from Colorado). Oklahoma City has a couple places that could do it, but closest to us is either San Antonio or Dallas/Ft. Worth, and maybe Austin.
To my knowledge, the 85mm is still quite salvageable, but I obviously do not know much and will need to talk to the experts.