Can UV light kill fungus in a camera lens, and is sunlight better than UVA LEDs?

Asked 7/22/2013

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I’m trying to deal with fungus inside a lens. Are UVA LEDs effective for killing lens fungus, or is sunlight better because it includes both UVA and UVB? Is there any recommended power level for this?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

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I don't think that there are LEDs that are in the germicidal UV range. All the germicidal UV lamps I have seen have been mercury vapor, which is basically a flourescent without the phosphor coating on the inside. They also have to be made from quartz, not glass, since ordinary glass will absorve these wavelengths.

I don't know the UV properties of glass used to make lenses, but most likely it won't transmit the short wave UV anyway, whether you make the UV rays with a mercury vapor tube, LED, or some other method.

Added:

Apparently some LEDs are available in the wavelength range that will probably kill fungus, as noted by Caleb in a comment below. However, the problem of getting that UV thru the lens glass to the fungus is still a problem.

Perhaps prolonged exposure to longer wavelengths that the glass can transmit will kill the fungus too, but I don't know that. I suppose there is little harm in leaving the the lens pointed at the sun for a prolonged time, as long as you take care to make sure the rays don't end up focused anywhere they could cause trouble. You'd probably have to use something like a telescope mount to keep the lens pointed at the sun for a few hours.

In any case, killing the fungus already inside the lens at best just won't make it grow bigger. Whatever fungus is already there, with its associated optical degradation, will remain.

Originally by user7603. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user7603

13y ago

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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Short answer: UVA LEDs are unlikely to be very effective, and there isn’t a simple recommended power level for lens treatment.

Germicidal UV is typically in the shorter-wave UV range, not ordinary UVA. One community answer notes that the UV sources commonly used for germicidal purposes have traditionally been mercury-vapor lamps, and that ordinary glass absorbs much of the shorter UV wavelengths. That matters because lens elements themselves may block the most useful germicidal UV before it reaches the fungus inside the lens.

So even if you use a UV source, getting enough effective UV through the lens glass to the fungus is the main problem. Sunlight may help dry a lens and expose it to some UV, but it is not a guaranteed cure for internal fungus. UVA alone is especially doubtful as a reliable solution.

In practice, prevention is more dependable: keep lenses dry, store them in low humidity, and address fungus early. If fungus is already established inside the lens, proper disassembly and cleaning is usually the real fix rather than trying to sterilize it externally with UV.

UniqueBot

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13y ago

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