How to Clean a Vintage Lens with a Huge Fungus Infection

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  • Опубликовано: 2 фев 2025

Комментарии • 349

  • @rady_angkorian
    @rady_angkorian 2 года назад +219

    Not only did you clean the glasses of the lens, you also restored the entire lens and reuse this amazing piece of vintage gear. Keep these kind of content coming, Mathieu!

  • @berner81
    @berner81 2 года назад +100

    Did the same with my Biotar 75/1.5 last year. The fungus damaged the glass permanently leaving some marks. Still, the lenses performs great and I paid basically nothing for it. Always worth trying to save these beauties. Good job, sir!

    • @berner81
      @berner81 2 года назад +3

      @@nathanwatson3298 i was totally aware of it. That's why I jumped on the rusty lens I found online. Here in Germany there is a good market, but even here the prices for those old treasures are really crazy everywhere.

    • @nathanwatson3298
      @nathanwatson3298 2 года назад +5

      @@berner81 How tricky was it to clean? I've heard the old Zeiss lenses-especially one like that-are so intricate it's best to leave to a professional.

  • @addltd
    @addltd 2 года назад +54

    @mathieustern did you replace the balsam glue? I assume the glue was used to chemically bond two of the glass elements. Were you able to get those results without gluing them back together? If you did glue them, did you use balsam glue or UV sensitive glue? Thanks in advance.

    • @XXX-vy6xv
      @XXX-vy6xv 2 года назад +8

      Interesting question..

    • @LostbySoul
      @LostbySoul 2 года назад +8

      Le dot..... Just want to ask the same question...

  • @koobs4549
    @koobs4549 2 года назад +19

    I love to see that someone cares for these aged items & wants to give them a 2nd chance. The images are beautiful, certainly worth the effort put in. I love knowing it’s one less item to wind up in a landfill.

  • @hewhofilms9578
    @hewhofilms9578 2 года назад +35

    We really need people like you more on such platforms. Thanks a ton for doing what you do 🌹

  • @JasonQueue
    @JasonQueue 2 года назад +11

    incredible what images were produced after you cleaned the fungus off. the lens itself has so much character

  • @sirflimflam
    @sirflimflam 2 года назад +14

    The photos with the fungus still present reminded me of old faded photographs. Actually kind of liked it. Restoring it is absolutely the right move though.

  • @diegomartinez4451
    @diegomartinez4451 2 года назад +12

    Marvelous! Only thing i can say is:
    Instead of sharpie to paint the lens, try to use matte black to avoid light reflections, and ensure your body is still fully black in the inside to (again) avoid weird light effects.
    I'm pretty sure you already know this because you are way more aknowledged than me, but still, just in case. Cheers!

  • @a8f235
    @a8f235 Год назад +10

    It's so great to see someone who actually cares so much he fixes this beat up old thing. Love it.
    PS: I loved that lens vise and I never thought such a thing even existed. I thought you were going to have a hard time fixing that dent, and then this tool enters the scene lol.

  • @andywe7524
    @andywe7524 2 года назад +9

    Nice, thank you Mathieu!
    When i was a kid and had my first SLR, i managed to use a 75mm Projector lens for protraits and adapted it in quite a similar way as you did. I used a paper roll, in which the lens did fit. This was in ca. 1974.
    Greetings from Frankfurt am Main - Andreas

  • @RIPbiker13
    @RIPbiker13 2 года назад +10

    First, I love your channel and style. I have a love for vintage lenses and have amassed quite the collection. I find them so much fun to use. This lens was incredible though. Unlike anything I've seen. It gave the footage such a dreamlike quality and really changed the mood. Incredible job on the restoration as well.

  • @DeannaAllison
    @DeannaAllison 5 месяцев назад

    I absolutely love that you gave that old lens a new life! I didn't even know that such a restoration was possible. Thank you.

  • @Babsdoproductions
    @Babsdoproductions 2 года назад +10

    Be careful with lens vise tools! I recently cleaned up a couple of Canon FD 50mm 1.4 SSC lenses and one had a warped rear element tube that needed to be stretched to get the glass out to clean and it gently cracked the last doublet element which now gives a slight rainbow flare on the side, not a bad effect as it’s otherwise fine with no light flare. However, knowing what I know now, I may have taken some taped pliers to it instead which could have given it more of a shot of being safely removed. Stuff happens though and I’m just glad it wasn’t a more rare and expensive lens and really just be extremely careful with lens vise tools, they work but can do real damage if taken too far.

  • @joelsmith3473
    @joelsmith3473 2 года назад +30

    The biggest factor here is the complexity of the lens, and I think as a rule it might be best to stick to primes for this reason. I did this with a Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AI-S that has 8 elements and wow that is probably my limit. However, it's my favorite lens to use now and it came with a Nikkormat EL that cleaned up equally well and I should consider using one of these days.

  • @Ingeniero_En_Casa
    @Ingeniero_En_Casa 2 года назад +2

    I waited 12 years for this video. Thanks!

  • @huskeyfosterfail4980
    @huskeyfosterfail4980 10 месяцев назад

    Impressive! Your patience and skill paid off. I am inspired by videos like yours that reject a throw away old items culture.

  • @dahobi
    @dahobi 2 года назад +1

    Beautiful work! It's great to see an old lens "shine" again, close to it's original glory.

  • @RidiculousRocketry
    @RidiculousRocketry 2 года назад +3

    The youtube algorithm thought I would like your video. It was right. Wonderful subject matter and execution of your project video. I learn a lot from content creators like you. Well done.

  • @aromaticsnail
    @aromaticsnail 2 года назад +17

    Would love to see more lens repair videos, specially how to deal with lens' coatings. Also, your tool list in the video's description didn't include the lens vise tool you showed on the video (some else in the comments asked about it).

  • @knoptop
    @knoptop 2 года назад +3

    That little lens sucker tool is cool!

  • @mikeno62
    @mikeno62 2 года назад +9

    Great video Mathieu with a great result!, I think it's always amazing to see what can be done with old and much newer lenses when they have a lot of Fungus. And I'm also surprised what can with just Hydrogen Peroxide 3%. And there are so many interesting cheap (or expensive) old lenses out there that can be adapted to new camers, and in that way get really different pictures with a lot of nice bohke.
    best regards Kenneth

  • @manugeee
    @manugeee 2 года назад +3

    That was nice to see with how much passion you went into cleaning this lens. Well done. 😄👍

  • @omenaccipio
    @omenaccipio Год назад +1

    I have a Orion refractor with fungus in the objective. I'm concerned about the coatings. Will the soap or the peroxide wash out the coatings? Is there anyway to get rid of the fungus and prevent from washing the coatings out?

  • @7ikayah
    @7ikayah 2 года назад +1

    I have the same problem with my Vintage Lens - Sigma 28mm F2,8

  • @murraykriner9425
    @murraykriner9425 2 года назад +1

    I have always had a respect for the folks that made these sort of things after spending long hours talking with a technician's that ground lenses for numerous uses. One of my favorite philosophers Burauch Spinoza spent his quiet life's end grinding and polishing glass for the early telescope's that brought the first Astrologists into conflict with the Natural Scientist of the time.

  • @AndyDaviesByTheSea
    @AndyDaviesByTheSea 2 месяца назад

    Very impressive, I would never have thought that you could breath new life into such a badly degraded lens. Well done and thank you!
    Kind regards . . . . Andy in the UK

  • @tylerhuttosmith
    @tylerhuttosmith 2 года назад +1

    The lens was probably rated Excellent ++

  • @jj963963jj
    @jj963963jj Год назад

    What a big difference of before and after, thank you for sharing 🎀

  • @jaym5938
    @jaym5938 Год назад +1

    Amazing! Nice job. I was of the impression that lenses needed to be calibrated if you remove/adjust the elements? :)

  • @SayaAmirulSyamim
    @SayaAmirulSyamim 2 года назад +3

    Woahhh keep on uploading the good stuff!

  • @roehaus1
    @roehaus1 2 года назад +4

    Excellent video Mathieu... very informative. How do you record the sequence and correct positioning of the various lens elements for correct reassembly?

  • @uncannyfriedchicken
    @uncannyfriedchicken 2 года назад +1

    It was terrible the general condition of the lens but the restoration process and the final result is really impresive 👌🏼👌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

  • @allissondiego1989
    @allissondiego1989 2 года назад

    I really enjoyed this "almost gone" lens

  • @gualtieropugliesi7552
    @gualtieropugliesi7552 5 месяцев назад

    It would be interesting to know where to find the tools you use and at what price.
    Wouldn't a strong UV light lighting not be valid to eliminate fungus infection only?

  • @timskinnercanada
    @timskinnercanada 2 года назад +12

    Nicely done. Projector lenses are so cool and great candidates for fungus repair since they’re often uncoated and dead simple to disassemble. I like acetone too but worry about it on camera lenses because of the coatings. If you’re still looking for projector lenses I can recommend the Lomo 35KP 75mm f1.8 - I have a few if those Lomo lenses adapted to full frame and the 75mm is stellar among them. Keep up the great work my friend.

    • @creepyloner1979
      @creepyloner1979 2 года назад +3

      lens coatings aren't paint, they won't dissolve in acetone.

    • @Tricklarock
      @Tricklarock 2 года назад +1

      How do you mount those projector lenses?

    • @timskinnercanada
      @timskinnercanada 2 года назад +4

      @@Tricklarock The easiest way is to buy a 62.5mm to M42 adapter on eBay, and a M42 focussing helicoid for your particular camera mount.

    • @Tricklarock
      @Tricklarock 2 года назад +1

      @@timskinnercanada Thanks!!!

    • @orion7741
      @orion7741 2 года назад +1

      @@creepyloner1979 umm yes, they can and actually do! Acetone eats through lens coatings faster than glue or paint. you NEVER ever want to use acetone on a coated lens.

  • @thomasclark631
    @thomasclark631 2 года назад +1

    Manny immediately apply a UV filter to a new lens in order to protect the front element. However, the principal enemy of fungus is UV light. By blocking sunlight, others things being equal, this natural enemy is eliminated. As for me, I store my lenses without any filter attached and pointed in the direction of my office windows in order to maximize exposure to sunlight.

  • @Skipsul
    @Skipsul 2 года назад +3

    Do you have any suggestions for also dealing with damaged lens coatings?

  • @samsen3965
    @samsen3965 2 года назад +1

    Adorable job. So acetone completely removed the balsam residue. But when reassembling, you didn't replace the balsam, or did you use any other trick for a better refractive index? Just curious.

    • @allalphazerobeta8643
      @allalphazerobeta8643 2 года назад +1

      I just want to thank you for explaining to us, layman, what the "glue" was used for!

  • @biswajeetsingh4994
    @biswajeetsingh4994 2 года назад

    I don't know why I loved this video.

  • @levibaruch
    @levibaruch 2 года назад +1

    Hey, I have a small question, doesn't the acetone attack the coatings on the lens?

  • @PamelaBrandonChromeFoto
    @PamelaBrandonChromeFoto 10 месяцев назад

    I love the ring you printed, that was an awesome idea, it’s great that you are saving this beautiful lens.

  • @jbbrochard
    @jbbrochard 2 года назад +1

    C'est un projet magnifiquement exécuté. Félicitations pour cet ajout à votre collection !!!

  • @archangel20031
    @archangel20031 Год назад

    I had adapted a pistol scope for a scout rifle, so no magnification.
    I took it off and it ended up in the basement and one year the AC died and humidity in the cool basement caused everything to get a little moldy and by the time I noticed the scope was moldy.
    I treated the outer metal as if it were rust and it cleaned up fine but the glass still has a little mold on it.
    I'll try the peroxide and acetone to see if it works.

  • @samsen3965
    @samsen3965 2 года назад +3

    Great job. The final result videography is impressive. I do not doubt the price of the lens & you did an exceptional restoration job but IMHO, my cheap Chinese adapted Fujian (or Fujinon) 35mm f/1.7 CCTV C Mount Lens has a very similar look to the footage I see here, minus lots of CA that this expensive vintage lens has none.

  • @itsmelchior
    @itsmelchior Год назад +2

    Question: What did you use to get back the white letters on the lens?

  • @restaurantattheendofthegalaxy
    @restaurantattheendofthegalaxy Год назад

    Fantastic work, I’m starting a project on some old Pentax lenses that I could not afford if they weren’t fairly wrecked.

  • @AUSTORMCHASERS
    @AUSTORMCHASERS 5 месяцев назад

    I had a lens heavily covered in fungus. I just used vinegar to clean it up. Turned out amazing and took only a few minutes :)

  • @ItsDrewsif
    @ItsDrewsif 2 года назад

    Hey Mathieu! Ive got a Bell & Howell 50mm 1.2 lens id like to de-fungus, but I’m not certain about how to disassemble it, I think the second/middle element is glued, but I’m not sure. Any help?

    • @MathieuStern
      @MathieuStern  2 года назад

      I can’t guess but if the glued element is in good shape it would leave it and just remove the fungus in the rest of the lens
      If not you can use heat to remove the glued parts

  • @robertbruey160
    @robertbruey160 Год назад +1

    Hi Matheiu, great channel ! How long did you leave the lens in the hydrogen peroxide solution and then in the acetone solution?

    • @MathieuStern
      @MathieuStern  Год назад +1

      in the hydrogen peroxide you can leave it from 10min to 2 hrs, but the acetone solution should only be used very carefully and with lenses without coating ,

  • @lensineer
    @lensineer 2 года назад +2

    Like always a very interesting video but I have two things to throw in.
    Did you reassemble the duplet that separated? Its actually not so hard to do if not just buy some optical adhesive (if you want I can send you the product name).
    The black paint is not as easy to correctly replace as you might think, the base should have a quite similar refraction index as the glass, for small patches and defects there are certain sharpies that work great (those have particles in the paint)
    And did you ever think of rehousing/re-barreling some of your more interesting lenses? Some of them could be really interesting with a real aperture and a focusing ring

  • @hifispec01
    @hifispec01 2 года назад +1

    Outstanding video and lens restauration project. Thank you for sharing this. Keep up the great work!!! 👍

  • @raficknaseeven1352
    @raficknaseeven1352 2 года назад

    Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I just noticed a small 5 mm ring on my lens and was looking around for professional help.
    My expert friend discouraged me from opening the lens as he claims I will never be able to put it back. So far I have seen 4 videos of lens cleaning and no one talks about the likelihood of misalignment. Today I gave me 24-105 f4 a good sun treatment after covering the non infected part. I would like to send you the picture of the fungus. Some people treat with hypochlorite and some with ammonia. I want to know what you would advise me. Thanks a lot.

    • @MathieuStern
      @MathieuStern  2 года назад +1

      Hydrogen peroxide works great and is easy to find

    • @raficknaseeven1352
      @raficknaseeven1352 2 года назад

      @@MathieuStern
      Thanks for your kind response. I will go with the peroxide which is available in pharmacy. Would you recommend soaking in peroxide over to ensure that it does not come back.

  • @joeykido1450
    @joeykido1450 Год назад

    Realy nice work. Wich concentration of H2O2 did you use? 3%?
    And how long did you keep the lens parts in the liquid?

  • @mariusz7213
    @mariusz7213 Год назад +1

    Bardzo dobra robota. Te grzyby na soczewkach o których piszą to nie są czasem te super powłoki które po latach się utylizują i rozkładają pod wpływem światła UV ?

    • @trawis1983
      @trawis1983 4 месяца назад

      Zwiedzajcie zoo 😊

  • @sneakingelephant
    @sneakingelephant 2 года назад +4

    Loved this. Seeing this is pretty inspiring. I feel there’s an art to giving old things a second life when they seem like they were non functional. This makes me want to give this a try in the future if I come across any cheap lenses that I like

    • @francescomazzarella4601
      @francescomazzarella4601 Год назад +1

      Come dici Tu . Io provo sempre a dare una seconda vita alle cose : "è il mio rapporto Etico con il Mondo e con le mie emozioni passate" .saluti da Mailand

  • @jackmaher4245
    @jackmaher4245 Год назад +1

    Nice Job.

  • @ThePhilharmonicStudios
    @ThePhilharmonicStudios 2 года назад

    Thanks for restoring a art lens

  • @AndrewPrinster
    @AndrewPrinster 3 месяца назад

    A question on the black marker you used. I assume the black is to not reflect light from the sides of the lens? How do you think using something like Black 4.0, something that reflects almost zero light would work? Maybe I'm wrong on what the black is for in this case.

  • @amermeleitor
    @amermeleitor 2 года назад +1

    Is there any helicoid adapter WITH aperture control? I mean, and adapter with aperture blades and a ring to control it

  • @johevideos
    @johevideos 2 года назад +1

    Bravo Mathieu vraiment sympa de partager.

  • @silekiernanphotography
    @silekiernanphotography 9 месяцев назад

    Wonderful work! What is the white liquid you used to clean up the name of the lens?

  • @ashsphotolounge
    @ashsphotolounge Год назад +1

    The correct way to use a 'lens vice' is to clamp it with the flat outer face opposite to the filter ring defect then tap that flat 'hammering face' gently with a copper face hammer or similar, pushing out the dented rim without putting pressure on the other side of the barrel. You work the clamp by loosening and changing its position and then tightening and tapping till the dent is gone.

  • @animesukida-seijan
    @animesukida-seijan Год назад

    hi sir. a good day to you. I just have a question. I have an old lens that needs to be cleaned and have some fungus in it. I would like to try and clean it by my self. Do I need to clean it in a so called "clean room" or a regular room in my house will do? Thank you so much for your videos. More power to you.

  • @ierankhenesguerra16
    @ierankhenesguerra16 2 года назад

    Do u have tutorial of cleaning Nikon Kitlens? Becoz my kitlens have so much fungus

  • @ScottJWaldron
    @ScottJWaldron 2 года назад

    Great job on the cleanup!

  • @DJABOU-SUCCESS-MOTIVATION-TV
    @DJABOU-SUCCESS-MOTIVATION-TV 4 месяца назад

    et qu'en est il lorsque l'objectif est plus long comme le vivitar 70-210mm 1:35 ?
    très dur à démonter d'ailleurs !!

  • @Playerdue
    @Playerdue 2 года назад

    Reaaly great video! I really like the new life you give to all these vintage lenses! I think I will give another go to my old m42 lens, I must buy an adapter for the x-mount (I used it on the EF-M before).
    I have a question for you and all your community, the outer ring of my Canon EF 100mm macro (non L version) is broken and I can't find where to buy a replacement part, is there a shop in Europe that has this kind of parts? I don't want to send it to the official repair centers, because they will bill me at least 100 euros for a very simple repair.

  • @sylvaincherkaoui
    @sylvaincherkaoui 2 года назад

    Bonjour, merci beaucoup pour cette vidéo, ja’i un superbe 50 1.2 de Nikon avec des champignons, de quel matériel aurais-je besoin pour le nettoyer et démonter/remonter? Merci d’avance!

  • @Иван-ъ2ы4б
    @Иван-ъ2ы4б Год назад

    Hi I recommend Ammonium hydroxide - an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide, tried it myself, it instantly removes mold.

  • @NonkelGans
    @NonkelGans 2 года назад +2

    Doesn't seem that the fungus had the opportunity to etch the glass. Beautiful lens and very sharpness in the middle and softness on the edges, great portrait lens for sure.

  • @quite1enough
    @quite1enough 2 года назад +1

    congrats with 300k!

  • @potatofuryy
    @potatofuryy 2 года назад

    How do you adapt projector lenses to cameras? I would love to try using projector lenses.

  • @richardpetit6738
    @richardpetit6738 Год назад

    Bravo et merci pour ces précieux renseignements.

  • @SiggyPony
    @SiggyPony 2 года назад

    I love repairing fungus lenses :)

  • @locophoto6881
    @locophoto6881 Месяц назад

    Excellent video and thanks for sharing this. Mind if I ask about a lens I have that I think has fungus? I have a Meyer Primoplan that I think has little bit of fungus that I'm scared of bringing near my other lenses....any chance you know how to disassemble it and/or know of who I could send it to for a thorough de-fungus cleaning?

    • @MathieuStern
      @MathieuStern  Месяц назад

      hello, if your scared to put it next to your other lenses, just put it in a zipper plastic bag, like the ones for sandwiches,
      if you want to clean it , you can try it yourself as it's not an electronic lens, but sending it for cleaning to a pro will cost you more than the lens worth

  • @constantinf.5764
    @constantinf.5764 11 месяцев назад

    The "glue" that you mentioned, is this the balsam cement between the lenses?

  • @TrueFork
    @TrueFork 10 месяцев назад

    would flooding with UV work to kill any remaining spores in hard to clean corners?

  • @samb2936
    @samb2936 16 дней назад

    Great Job...with very nice tools...

  • @Veptis
    @Veptis Год назад

    I have several lenses with various levels of fungus. Not quite as bad as this, but bad enough to not being fun to use or store next to other lenses.
    I am not sure if I will ever attempt to fix the lenses since they are small and intricate, not as big as those projector lenses

  • @vaskoobscura_
    @vaskoobscura_ Год назад

    Amazing video. Thanks for making this.

  • @JoseGustavoAbreuMurta
    @JoseGustavoAbreuMurta 5 месяцев назад

    Incroyable! J'ai utilisé du peroxyde d'hydrogène pour nettoyer certaines taches internes (je pense causées par l'humidité de la plage). Et ce fut une réussite ! Merci beaucoup pour votre précieux conseil !

  • @robhowarth77
    @robhowarth77 2 года назад

    I do have another question. I own a Spotmatic with a number of 42mm screw mount lenses, and a Pentax MZ5- N with a number of the Pentax bayonet mount lenses. These are still in regular use. I also have a Nikon D3000 DSLR which is also in regular use. Where can I get a Lens adapter to fit my 42mm lenses to the D3000 ? Your help would be very much appreciated. I live in South Africa.

  • @NullStaticVoid
    @NullStaticVoid 2 года назад +1

    interesting lens. I'd put it kind of between a Yashica 50 F1.7 and Helios 44-2. Not quite as extreme as a Helios though.

  • @Leof4
    @Leof4 Год назад

    Thanks for the video. Whats is the tool that you use to adapt the lens to the camera? Regard from Argentina.

  • @juslitor
    @juslitor 2 года назад

    Did you reglue the lens ?

  • @adden2242
    @adden2242 2 года назад

    wow you got all the tools for cleaning!! very nice!!

  • @YgorAngTattoo
    @YgorAngTattoo 6 месяцев назад

    Você é incrível, obrigado por esse vídeo, sou iniciante na fotografia, me ajudou muito

  • @poti732
    @poti732 3 месяца назад

    Isnt it dangerous to put it in a mirorrless body before cleaning ? Like cant the fungus spread to the sensor covering glass?

  • @EduardodeOliveira
    @EduardodeOliveira 2 года назад

    Amazing work with the lens!

  • @philmash641
    @philmash641 10 месяцев назад

    This is Great!! Could you tell me which Helicoid adaptor you used? Thanks!

  • @hzubovi1
    @hzubovi1 2 года назад

    By cleaning the lens do you remove the coating on it?

  • @jaa1969jaa
    @jaa1969jaa Год назад

    How do you work out the f-stop of a vintage lens like this, if it’s not written on the barrel?

  • @samsen3965
    @samsen3965 2 года назад

    If Mathieu can make water into Ice Lens, salvaging a fungus-infested lens is only a piece of cake!

  • @uhohwhy
    @uhohwhy Год назад +1

    yes but not for a long time

  • @tomtaylorguela
    @tomtaylorguela 4 месяца назад

    Thank you

  • @powerlurker
    @powerlurker 2 года назад

    you bring it back to life!amazing

  • @pravpa
    @pravpa 2 года назад

    Very Nice 👌👌👌
    This is very important information... Thank you 👍

  • @knobs_matrix
    @knobs_matrix 2 года назад +2

    6:45 witam, chyba jesteś z Polski, pozdrawiam 😊
    Bardzo fajny i nietypowy bokhen ma ten obiektyw.
    Super robota i filmik 👍🏻😉

  • @martinvonhausmeister782
    @martinvonhausmeister782 День назад

    Can you write the proportions, how much water / hydrogen peroxide (and what concentration 3 - 12%)?

  • @christopherkrenz6411
    @christopherkrenz6411 2 года назад

    Great video! What strength hydrogen peroxide did you use?