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Re: [OM] Cleaning an OM300/4.5 lens

Subject: Re: [OM] Cleaning an OM300/4.5 lens
From: Dave Haynie <dhaynie@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 10:48:31 -0500
On Fri, 26 Mar 1999 10:20:36 +0100, Olaf Greve <Ogreve@xxxxxxx> jammed all
night, and by sunrise was overheard remarking:

> -Can anyone tell me if a little bit of fungus on the 2nd element will
> negatively influence picture quality?

In theory, any obstruction (fungus, dust, etc) will have an advese
effect. Whether or not it's significant to see, or actually even be
measured, depends on the natur of the obstruction. 

> -Is it easy to clean such a lens myself (mind you: I've never taken a lens
> apart so far) or should I have it done by a professional?

If you don't have the right tools (spanner, jeweler's screwdriver, a
surgeon's steadiness to your fingers, etc), don't even attempt. Or at
least practice on a 50mm 1.8, or even better, a cheap 3rd party lens (I
took my Soligor 135mm f2.8 apart and put it back together again,
functional, before I attempted surgery on any Olympus product). 

> -Brian thought that John Hermanson said that Olympus techs use Ponds cold
> cream to treat fungus, any word on that?

Never heard of that, but I would be a bit nervous of the effect of any
not-traditionally-for-coated-lenses substance. 

> -Will the tiny bit of fungus easily be transformed into a major infestation
> if it is left untreated (typical Dutch climate: cold and rainy)?

If it's still alive, you can bet. The fungus may actually be eating your
lens coating, too, so it's not the kind of pet you want to keep. I use a
high intensity UV light (the kind that would probably blind you if you
stared at it, originally intended for erasing EPROMs and other such ICs)
to kill fungus. It seems to be effective, but you do want a long exposure
(24hrs or so), glass isn't as transparent to UV light as visible light.

> Ah, I can't wait until I get to shoot some film using that lens, it looks
> like finally nature fotography has become a reality for me :)

By all accounts, a superbe lens. I couldn't afford one, but I do have a
300mm compact mirror lens, and I find to be a really useful focal length.
It's still something you can handhold in reasonable light, if necessary,
and just starting to be long enough for sports and nature shots. 

--
Dave Haynie  | V.P. Technology, Met@box AG |  http://www.metabox.de
Be Dev #2024 | NB851 Powered! | Amiga 2000, 3000, 4000, PIOS One



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