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How to Deal with fungi? Tiffen ND 4x4 - is this fungus of not?
  • MonosapiensMonosapiens

    Hi Guys, i just checked and cleaned my stuff - and saw something weird on my 0.9 tiffen nd. Can anyone of u identify if this is fungus? - if it is: what are the appropriate next steps? Get rid of it so it does not infect the other Filters?

    I would be grateful for a reply!

    20160925_181401.jpg
    1747 x 1708 - 2M
  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • DrDaveDrDave

    Looks like a fingerprint, but you never know...you could make a few fingerprints and see if it looks similar. Fungus can damage glass and coatings, so proceed at your own risk, If you think it might be a fingerprint, if it doesn't come off with a Zeiss wipe, then try Eclipse, Purosol and ROR in that order with a lint free cloth. If you are leaning towards fungus, use hydrogen peroxide. Test on a tiny sliver of the edge to see what the effect will be. Some people leave the item in the sun, I typically get rid of anything that looks like fungus, sad to say...

  • balazerbalazer

    Fungus does not spread from gear to gear. Fungus is in the air. It's everywhere. You can't eradicate it. What you need to do is prevent it from growing by controlling the temperature and humidity.

  • MonosapiensMonosapiens

    finger prints look different and sadly it seems to be in the inside of the glas - I'll keep an eye on it - and store it in a dry place.

    Thank u so much for your replies!

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Monosapiens

    Fungus can not live inside glass filter, nothing can :-)

    If you ask me, you can do quite severe things with such places on filter, it won't be visible on image.

  • ScotScot

    I'm thinking that could be separation if the filter has layers. Did that filter ever have stress or perhaps knocked on that side?

  • DrDaveDrDave

    @Scot that's an interesting idea. @Monosapiens if you can't get to whatever it is, leave it in the sun.

  • MonosapiensMonosapiens

    Thanks for the input vitaliy, scot and DrDave -

    I think the filter has the nd element in between two glas layers (Sandwich style).

    The edge of the filter is a bit rough . I think ill try to seal the edge with glue - and check if the fungus spreads any further...

    At least its just a small part of the edge (there are some more very small fungus spots around the edge - the photo is of the biggest one). So up until now - it shouldn't matter optically anyway. But - the feeling that gear is potentially dying kind of beyond my control - hurts ^^'

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Good article about fungus removal - https://outfor30.com/2016/09/24/a-fungus-among-us/

  • zcreamzcream

    Another tip - clean your kitchen bench and do it there. I live in a small city apartment and thats usually the best place for lens projects. Do not do this on a crowded computer table as its easy to run out of space or drop something.. Great article @Vitaliy_Kiselev

  • MonosapiensMonosapiens

    A friend of mine (studies Nanotechnology) came up with the idea to bake it in the oven. I put it to 120 degrees Celsius (circular air) for 15 minutes. - But i stepped the temperature up rather slowly first 50degrees then 80 then 100 then 120 for 15min. - and let the oven cool with the filter inside.

    As far as i can see there is no damage to the filter (Tiffen 4x4 ND.9). And the fungus should be cooked up for good. I sealed the edges with 2k glue (JB Weld) and now its drying.

    I'll post again - if anything happens - or nothing too ^^'

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