I want to add a few notes if anybody is interested in cleaning and restoring manual lenses : 1. Make sure to clean that room thouroughly, and also to wear a shower cap if you have long hair. Also a mask that we now wear outside for covid is good to prevent you dropping saliva on you lens. 2. Make sure that you have researched how the lens is built and how it can be dismantled. If you find videos ,play them at 50% speed if necessary. 3. Primes are easier to clean than zooms. Some lenses will have glass elements cemented together and in time that "cement" will turn into weird spots. 4. Make sure that you fix the lens in a well lit room, that you have enough time to spare. Getting interrupted while fixing or cleaning a lens is the most frustrating thing. Do not let anybody touch that desk were you have the lens elements 5. Ponder if the lens worth the effort. Some lenses are cheap and can be found in very good shape. If you are a beginner it's best to practice on very cheap lenses. 6. Some lenses will need re-lubricating. Having a spray of WD40 and just putting one or two drops of this will make the helicoid turn easily. Spray into the cap of the spray can and then put the drop on the helicoid. DO NOT spray directly on the helicoid , it will spill on the lens assembly 7. Cleaning lenses is addictive and well rewarding. It can be a profitable venture. fix'em and flip'em if you are good at this

To avoid return of fungus, put your cleaned lens for a few hours in an hermetic box with 2 or 3 drops of formaldehyde, it'll kill all remaining fungus and spores still present in inside body of the lens.

You should clean the retaining rings too, this is where fungal spores lurk if lenses are infected.

This is the best lens cleaning video I've watched, and there are some excellent comments with additional tips, so this is a resource I'll return to for sure. Only the other day I was watching a photography channel, a big one at that, in which he ran his glass under a tap using washing up liquid, and proceeded to rub it with kitchen towel. You could hear half the viewers gasping in disbelief! It's important to leave those lenses to soak. We're fighting mold in our boat in the tropics all the time and the key thing is to spray and then leave for ten minutes. This ensures the mold is actually killed. If you don't leave it long enough, after wiping it either hangs in the air or settles and starts growing again. Fortunately I store my lenses in a dry box that runs off 12v (stepped down to 5v).

A really interesting video - I wasn't even aware you could clean fungus off of old lens. Thank you Vintage Optiks

I bought numerous lenses with fungus and I cleaned them in a similar way how you described it. The only difference is that I used alcohol only (instead of hydrogenperoxide) which did the job always very well. That way I saved a lot of money and for best optical results I have to clean a newly purchased vintage lens so or so since most old lenses have some dust or light haze. But not all lenses can be disassembled. I have lenses where the front ring is stuck, so no luck here.

I've watched five videos before yours on this topic and yours is the only method that worked, many thanks.

Simple steps to follow, but will try with cheaper lenses first. Thank you 😎

Thank you for the information on cleaning lenses. Recently, I purchased three Nikon lenses (35mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, and 85mm 2.8) which require cleaning which I will do myself. Thank you. FYI, I will be purchasing the items used in your video from Amazon.

That lens lives on. Thanks to you!

Wow - Quite a transformation! Great demonstration!

Fascinating video. Great to actually see the steps of disassembly and reassembly of a lens. I have an Olympus 50mm that bought used years ago that now has fungus appearing. Could be a good DIY project. Thanks for another great video!

Thanks for taking the time and sharing this very useful information! The video itself is excellent as well, a clear and comprehensible demonstration of the steps involved. And a thank you to the numerous users who provided excellent add-ons in the comments.

"Fungus Among Us" - U got me w/ that

Great video. Sadly these rubber front ring tools seem to no longer be available. Any suggestions. This seems like the most difficult to find tool for this.

Brilliant! I have a few ‘bargain’ lenses on the way from Japan that need treatment badly.

Excellent Superb and Amazing! I have 50mm f1.8 and 28mm f2.8 both are vintage lenses having fungus in it. I'll clean both lenses over this weekend. Thanks alot again :)

Great video, I like the format of your videos. Straight to the point and no extraneous BS and very informative. Thanks for posting! Regards, Jimp

Brilliant step-by-step instruction, very useful, thank you.

Excellent. Informative and clear, nicely paced with clear diction. A masterclass in how to present and produce a youtube video. Many thanks.

I live your channel. Very useful and stylish. I'm quickly falling in love with vintage lenses and building up quite a collection.

Probably better to put the cleaned lenses in a different spot. You put the cleaned lens on the spot where it was dirty with fungus previously. Might not make a big difference, but maybe put it on the cloth instead.

Nicely done, nicely done! Clear and clean visuals, excellent narration, job well done! Bravo!

Thank you so much for this video. Really enjoyed it althogether, very well explained and even nice music

Brilliant ! It helped me very much as i recently been gifted with and old Lens with looooots of fungi in there ahah I Will try out to dismount It and clean It as soon as some tools arrive Subscribed !! Tank you so so much Keep up the good work

Hope I can reproduce or at least get close to the result here. A priceless content here and thanks for sharing. Oh and needless to say, checked the prices and your links are the best I could find, besides some being the only ones I could find! So I bought the needed tools via your link here. Hope you get a fraction of that for your great suggestion and again appreciate all the good things you do for all.

Using hydrogen peroxide to kill the fungus is not really required. As soon as you reassemble the lens it will be full of fungus spores again anyway; the air is full of them, everywhere. Even new lenses fresh from the factory may have fungal spores in them already. What is important is that you remove the organic residues that a fungus leaves behind, noticeably acids which can attack the coatings and etch the glass. Distilled water and isopropyl alcohol are fine for that. The key to keeping fungus at bay after cleaning the lens surfaces is to remove the favorable conditions under which it grows. Temperature and light affect growth (UV kills growing fungus, so leave the lens exposed to light regularly helps. This doesn't kill the spores though). The main culprit is humidity. Fungal spores germinate after a period of about 6 days of continuous exposure to relative humidity (RH) over 65-70%. So try and keep RH below that. Already growing fungus goes dormant when RH drops below about 55%, which is one way to halt the growth of fungus that has already germinated. Finally, fungus needs food. Dust and fingerprints are the main culprits here. That is why fungus growth is most often found at the edges of the lenses where the lens retaining ring is; that is where both the spores and dust are concentrated. Keep your lenses free from dust & fingerprints, and keep them below 60% Relative Humidity (RH), and fungus should not become a problem again. (I service lenses as a hobby, mostly Minolta Rokkor ones and have treated many lenses that were affected by fungus when I received them)

Amazing! Great video and very well explained!

Another Great video!! I really enjoy your videos and I appreciate the time and effort you put into these. Very useful information.

Thanks for this! A most useful skill to have.

really good video, i followed every step and managed too clean lens. Thank you

Excellent video. Very clear and well illustrated explanation. Thank you.

One suggestion I'd like to add is after you clean the lens, don't put it back down where you had it when it was contaminated.

Amazing production quality (and good video)

amazing! i had a lens, tokina a-tx 35-70 2.8 that served me 12 years. when i wanted to sell it was infested and nobody wanted to buy it. i wish i could have done this. it was really sad to let go such a great lens.

It's much safer to disassemble the lens completely and rinse it in some alcohol/white spirit, and then wipe it. The whole lens body becomes a home to fungal spores, which have been hanging out in there for god knows how long, and they will definitely grow back after some time if not completely annihilated.

Amazing 😻 I love your vintage lens videos production

Great Video!!! Thank you for sharing your Time!!!

I've been waiting for this one! Thanks!

subbed - cos youre pro and the vibe is right

Excellent presentation, much appreciated! New subscriber. Cheers!

Super cool thank you for this

Perfectly explain everything

Great work. Would have been really nice see a before and after shot with and without the fungus.

Very helpful, thank you.

This is an awesome tutorial! I'll try it someday :)

This is weird, I just opened youtube to search for videos on fungus removal from lenses, and there was your video on the front page of my recommended.

Really interesting, thanks a lot for sharing! One question: wouldn't it make sense to clean the retaining elements and possibly all non-glass elements, too? My idea is that on these elements there might also be tiny fungus nests which could be cores of future fungus infections of the optical elements. You possibly won't get all of these out of the lens body by simply blowing dust out of the lens housing.

Another great and informative video, this one will help loads of people.

Great work .Thank you for this video .

Very useful, thank you.

Great video. Well shot.

Very Informative, Thank you.

Thank you for making such a great video on the subject. I'm about to try cleaning a set of vintage binoculars with a light amount of fungus. I am curious about a few things to do with camera lenses. What effect, if any, will this process have on lens coatings? At what point does the presence of fungus permanently effect the coating and/or glass?

Great video, many thanks.

Looks Beautiful.

Could you heat the lens to an uncomfortable temperature over night to kill any spores that got inside during cleaning?

Very good video, thank you!

Thanks for making this video. I've got a couple of lenses that need a good clean. Not looking forward to taking apart the helicoid on my Nikkor 105, it needs grease bad.

So satisfying!

Make sure that the cleaning fiber cloths are either new or very well washed. If it will have just one piece of sand or other particle it could scratch your lens

Great video , thanks!

I've been taught that hydrogen peroxide is way, way too aggressive for some of the internal coatings. Especially for example, certain Minolta Rokkor lenses. Have you ever cleaned fungus from a Rokkor PG 58mm f/1.2 ?

Really, really enjoyed this video, you exposed a hidden mystery for me. My only "nitpick" would be maybe to suggest not sitting the clean lens where the old contaminated ones had rested, that is since fungus spores are so "contagious" but then again the spores might be still inside the barrel as well. Inside lens cleaning may be just have to become a part of long-term service requirements in today's harsh environments. I now have 4 cannon point and shoots I'd like to do the same to, You've inspired me to try this on at least one of them.

Excellent information, thank you very much

how could i find out if my point and shoot camera has fungus? (the photo is always grainy (grainier than the photos of the same camera i saw on insta) and just watched the video!! This is a great video. it's so informative!!

Great video. Thank you veryy much. Learned a lot.

excellent video, but I would like to point out that you are re-contaminating the clean lens by setting it back in the place where the dirty ones came from.

some questions: 1. shouldn't you NOT resuse the hydrogen peroxide between lens elements (thus avoiding potential fungal transfer from element to element as you clean). 2. should you also clean the non lens metal elements in the hydrogen peroxide too, as fungus can reside on those parts, not just on the glass lens elements...

before using any peroxide or isopropyl alcohol or whatever, better use distilled water. In most cases absolutely sufficient for removing fungus. I have cleaned dozens of lenses. Hydrogen peroxide is too agressive. If water doesnt do the job, then i use common glass cleaner.

great job 👏 n video

I'd have liked you to show the fungus on the element once disassembled, to appreciate the change after cleaning. One would think the fungus shown has already etched the glass and is uncleanable. I hope it is not, because I have some glass like that and need to have hope.

The hydrogen peroxide being corrosive wont damage the coatings? They say saliva is strong enough to break down the coating. I've used alcohol but never h2o2 and wondering if a dip in distilled water after cleaning would be a good idea to rinse off the h2o2?

fungus need darkness so to prevent formation and spread of them expecially in a humid climate, expose constantly the lenses to light even when stored at home. I got this idea after several problems in Africa, reading a book of brazilian writer Milton Hatoum

I need a Lens Sucker :)

@VintageOptiks great Video Thanks! Im a fan of the TLRs, have you ever messed with one of the Mamiya TLR lens? I see them around for cheap when they are full of fungus. If they are simple enough to clean like the barrel lens I would love to give it a try. I guess they would be about the same in construction.

I wonder - when you put the elements back inside the barrel when do you know you've hit the correct position and should leave it and remove your hand? What's keeping them there? Friction? Indentation inside barrel wall? How's that work?

I have a Graflex Optar 190mm 5.6 with fungus. It doesn't look like the glass unscrews but the but the front barrel element does The fungus is on the outside at least but dunking it seems risky.

Good video, but why would you put your highly cleaned lens back on the table just where you picked it up from? Wouldn't there be spores and/or dirt on the table??

Pls make a tutorial of cleaning of fungus & disassembly Fujinon 18-55mm zoom lens for X-T2..thanks!

Top job you almost succeed making it look fun! Of course nothing quite succeeds like a successfully completed CLA. There must be a whole flora of these mutant fungi out there just waiting for the opportunity to invade and diminish photographic lenses. I note some concern with the use of hydrogen peroxide on CZJ lenses which detrimentally altered the lens coating. In your experience are fungi capable of damaging the lens coating of the optical glass of camera lenses?

perfect. thank you!

UV /bright sunlight light works too, just takes a while.

Very useful, thank you

I had what looked like lens rot on my Televue Barlow lens. No mechanical action or isopropanol would shift it, well the fluff was gone but looked like the coating was ‘eaten away’. Used ROR which has ammonia and it was gone, as in like new

Thanks. V helpful

I know it's off topic, but do you have any suggestions for scratched front lens? I've read many things, from leaving it alone,using a black marker on it(evidently a vintage common practice), using an eraser, toothpaste,banana & baking soda, to using modern liquid glass protector. I'm considering buying a vintage 300mm Pentax star lens that has a small scratch on front element. Interestingly in the articles I read, you can actually take a piece of masking tape,put it on the front element, and still take pictures w/o it showing. Haven't tried that yet,so taking the pro who did the article 's word on that. Maybe a good topic for a video?

Great video-thank you 🤗👍

Sur bp de lentilles, utilisez de la salive... De la bouche vers le verre ; pas l'inverse...!

Very useful!

Excellent job, I wished you're living near by, so that you can help me clean my old lenses, naturally, I'll pay you.

From what I hear, the "Lomography" people prefer fungus in some instances.

How do you avoid dust floating straight back in the lens as soon as you clean? Do you have any kind of extractor going above the work area?

How about uvc irradiation for killing the fungus (obviously not cleaning) before it can grow?

Thanks for this video

I just got some old camera lenses that used to be my grandfather's and they are in pristine condition except for fungus and junk inside the glass. They have nice cases but kind of smell musty. If I cleaned those lenses do you recommend not putting them back in their cases, or is there a way to sterilize the cases?

Hi old anyone suggest a reliable place to have the fungus removed? I have schneider Arriflex Cine-xenon 75mm F2 amongst many others. Thank you.

Can you please post an updated list of tools and Amazon links? Please and thanks.

Cool video!!!

Great video👍 I've had fungus on one of my vintage lenses and seen a lot of videos on how to treat it. Many also mix ammonia with the hydrogen peroxide 🤔 just wondering if it is viable to save money by excluding that nasty ammonia?