Help with a condensation problem

gsxr1

Just got a second hand canon 24mm lens on ebay.

Was looking forward to getting home to get a goo at it. Just arrived.

Took it from the cold porch into the kitchen where my better half was boiling pasta.

Opened it and wasted no time on sticking it on my wee camera.

Then it started,.. The fog. Behind the front element. Is there a quick fix way to get it away. I was thinking hairdryer .

Any suggestions ?

zerohamster

Just stick it somewhere warm and importantly dry and it'll be fine.

If you have Silica gel sachets then put them in with it.
I wouldn't say a hairdryer would be great use if it's mostly airtight you may just cause more problems and the heat won't blow through the lens.

gsxr1

zerohamster wrote: »

Just stick it somewhere warm and importantly dry and it'll be fine.

If you have Silica gel sachets then put them in with it.
I wouldn't say a hairdryer would be great use if it's mostly airtight you may just cause more problems and the heat won't blow through the lens.

it does seem to be drying, but leaving a residue behind it. This is the first time I bought a len second hand and is giving me serious doubts. Was so looking forward to its arrival .

Kenny Logins

I have no idea if this works with lenses but the trick for removing moisture from mobile phones is a bowl of rice. Dry rice, obviously..

zerohamster

gsxr1 wrote: »

it does seem to be drying, but leaving a residue behind it. This is the first time I bought a len second hand and is giving me serious doubts. Was so looking forward to its arrival .

It shouldn't leave a residue when it's dry if just condensation...that's kind of odd although if it has ever been cleaned before there could be some visible smears if not wiped off properly.

Where abouts are you based? If you are stuck with a residue when it's dry I'll sort you out as that's a pretty unlucky thing to happen. Did you notice anything on the lens before it fogged up at all?

Also, don't leave it anywhere too hot as you could aid in the drying of the grease inside which wouldn't be nice.

zerohamster

Kenny Logins wrote: »

I have no idea if this works with lenses but the trick for removing moisture from mobile phones is a bowl of rice. Dry rice, obviously..

It would help yes, in the same way as silica gel...but more foody :rolleyes: you wouldn't want the rice touching the optics though as it may leave a residue of it's own and the moisture would most likely be drawn out the back of the lens and sides anyway rather than front so no need to cover it all.

A dry sealed container with either rice or silica gel will work fine to remove moisture over a while.

It would also be a good idea make sure it didn't pour in the back of the lens as that would be a funny one to explain to whoever had to remove it all

pixbyjohn

Leave it in a warm location and it will be fine tomorrow. I have seen it happen
before.

the_syco

Put some rice (large handful) into the corner of a black binbag, put the camera into the bag, tie the bag, leave overnight. Should be grand in the morning.

gsxr1

Hi. Im based in Naas. And work in Galway.

I left it in its box with the caps on and a scoop of rice, and it seems to have helped. The residue is still there in a ring on the outside edge of the inside front element. Like shiny speckles.

I would like to attempt to clean it. I have not spent 1000s on this, its cost me 160 pounds so im willing to give it a go with a bit of guidance. Is there any parts that will break on removal?
Does everything slide out of the barrel when the rear mount is unscrewed?


Its such a pain in the arse to return it and be without it for it waiting for another to come up. Ebay dispute blah blah.

gsxr1

looks simple enough as it is a prime.

http://www.micro-tools.net/pdf/Canon/EF%2024%202.8.pdf

Cant find a procedure online though.

zerohamster

Heya,

You don't need to go near the rear mount as you only want to clean the front element (presumably the condensation is at the back of the front element yes?).

The front bezel will either be stuck on with adhesive tape and rests over the screws or it will be a clipped in plastic ring which I'm pretty sure is the case on this lens.
Use something like a guitar pleck that won't scratch the element as you pop up the ring (will usually be secured in 3 places) but dont force it or you will break the ring. the 3 clips will usually be secured with a small amount of thread lock on each clip so the first time it is popped off will be more difficult.

Under that ring there will be 3 screws that you will need to unscrew to remove the front element. They will have thread lock on them so make sure you have the correct screwdriver blade (XPT blade if you can as philips don't quite fit the angles right) or don't attempt this as taking off a stripped screw is not nice or easy (especially near optics).

Take photos every step of the way so that you know what rotation everything was taken off at (note the markings on the front bezel in relation to the rest of the lens so you don't put it on at another angle) and make sure you remember what holes the screws went into and at what rotation the element was at (it's a lot simpler than I'm making it sound but just in case).

The front element should fall out when you have the screws out and you can clean the back of it but make sure you either have a cleaning solution and lint free wipes or isopropyl alcohol (~99%) and q-tips so that you don't leave streaks or make the dirt just smear.
I find dropping 1-2 drops of solution on the element and cleaning from the middle outward works fine but don't use the same cleaning surface twice or you'll probably get streaks. If there are some minor streaks just use a dry cloth or q-tip to clean the area and it should clean nicely after the solution clean.

Before and during assembly, use a blower to get rid of any dust so it doesn't get trapped between the elements.

Get stuck on the way, give me a call and I'll try run you through best I can. (Will PM you my number).
Best of luck and I hope that info helps.

gsxr1

Ok. Thanks.
I have given it a go. I appreciate your help greatly.

Nice clean area and the right tools at hand.

I removed the plastic ring. This has been done before as the ring is already damaged.


I found the three screws behind. You can see the residue in this pic. Its 1000s of little misty specs around the outer rim .

Noted the position of the element and lifted it out.



The marks I am talking about is behind the first front element which is factory sealed into a pack of 3 bits of glass.
It cant be cleaned. Its not worth replacing I dont think. Here is the part I need.
http://eng.estock.fr/basketadd.php?partnumber=CY1-2284

I have to get my money back and keep saving for a new one. :mad::mad:

zerohamster

gsxr1 wrote: »

Ok. Thanks.
I have given it a go. I appreciate your help greatly.

Nice clean area and the right tools at hand.

I removed the plastic ring. This has been done before as the ring is already damaged.

I found the three screws behind. You can see the residue in this pic. Its 1000s of little misty specs around the outer rim .

Noted the position of the element and lifted it out.

The marks I am talking about is behind the first front element which is factory sealed into a pack of 3 bits of glass.
It cant be cleaned. Its not worth replacing I dont think. Here is the part I need.
http://eng.estock.fr/basketadd.php?partnumber=CY1-2284

I have to get my money back and keep saving for a new one. :mad::mad:

No problem at all!
Unfortunate to hear that the element to be cleaned.

To be honest that looks like fungus in the sealed element.
May not be the case but I've actually come across this on a 100mm f2.8 a while back that was perfectly sealed but yet had fungus on an inner element.

The guy had me replace the front element so I asked him could I mess around with the old one to see any way fungus could have gotten in out of the factory environment...so I did my best to see if the lens wasn't sealed and for the life of me I couldn't get any liquid to penetrate the elements (even dropping into hot oil when it was cold and using an ultrasonic cleaner didn't show any results).

If the lens was opened from the front before, the the only real reason on that lens is to clean the element really as the rest is accessed through the back so this was probably a problem before selling (provided it was opened by someone who knew what they were doing)...
It doesn't seem like the element was properly sealed during construction if condensation could form inside, that would allow fungus to grow and means it was probably there before it was sold.

I don't want to accuse the seller of malicious intent as it could have been possible to occur in transit although unlikely or they never noticed it, but it would seem like this problem was there before the sale.
Do you have any links to the listing that can show the front element to see if it was visible before the sale?

Sorry that it was a dead end.