Overheard a customer say 'my lens has fungus' and realized I've been cleaning them wrong for years

I was at a camera swap meet last weekend in Portland and heard this older repair guy tell someone that most fungus on lens elements is actually just dirt and grime that looks like fungus. He said he uses a 50/50 mix of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol on a microfiber cloth, not those expensive cleaning kits. Made me think about all the lenses I've seen come through my shop that I probably could have saved with a simple clean instead of sending them out for a full CLA. Has anyone else run into this where something you thought was a big issue turns out to be a quick fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_ward8017d ago

A buddy of mine thought his vintage Pentax lens was toast because of what looked like fungus spots inside. He tried the 50/50 mix out of desperation before spending money on a repair, and it turned out the spots were just dried up residue from old lubricant that had migrated onto the glass. Cleaned right off with no issue and now he tells everyone with a dirty lens to try a gentle clean first before panicking.

ryan_sanchez17d ago

Honestly that guy might be onto something because I've seen people panic over normal haze that just looks like spiderwebs under certain light. The 50/50 mix is basically what a lot of repair guys use on coated elements anyway, expensive kits are just that with a fancy label. Ngl I've cleaned a few "fungus" lenses with just that and they came out perfectly clear, no damage at all. People spend way too much on gear fear when the simplest stuff works fine.