Spots on wet lens

Hi,

I just bought a used wide angle wet lens for my rx 100 VA. 

I noticed some weird colorful spots on the rim of the lens. 

Does anyone know how to remove this or if it's not possible to remove, if it will show and affect the photos? 

I also wanted to ask if you take your housing and wet lenses in the hand luggage or registered luggage in flights?

Thanks! 

This look suspiciously like mould. 
Here’s a link to posts about removing water marks whic might help.  Finding a cure is a bit hit and miss, I’m sorry to say. 
But if it is mood, I don’t think there’s any way of removing it  

View archived post in: Removing water marks on port glass?

On the baggage issue, I think you’ll find split views. I take my housing and ports in the cabin in a Pelican roller case. But lots of folks wrap their ports in a wetsuit in checked baggage. I think housings generally travel in cabin comfort…..

To me it doesn't really look like fungus, that tends to be thread like as in the first pic on this webpage:

https://petapixel.com/how-to-remove-fungus-lens/

To me it more looks like the coating on the lens starting to break down, or perhaps water marks around the edge.  Can you tell if it's on the inside or outside? - you may be able to tell by running your finger over the area - it will likely feel different is it's on the outside.

As to whether it will impact image quality, for now perhaps mot, as long as the damage does not spread.

You could attempt to remove it/clean it, which would possibly involve dismantling the rear element, but if the coating is breaking down , there is little that can be done.  If you removed it you would need to source and replace the o-ring that seals the rear element in place.

Looks like a coating 'problem'. Will it wipe off with an absorbent cloth if you breathe on it to create a little condensation? If it will then that's what I would do. If it won't then its potentially coating damage/oxidation/chemical change and may be permanent. It may well not affect image quality significantly enough to see, and the best scenario is to prevent it getting worse. Always dry the lens thoroughly after use - my ports are kept, without their caps on (neoprene caps especially can cause problems if left in place when they are even marginally damp) in waterproof bags with desiccant (indicator silica gel available from eBay), when not in use. They show no signs of any glass or coating oxidation or change as a result. Although ports/leses are designed for underwater use, they are not designed to be kept damp all the time. 

Thanks! Breathing on it and wiping actually worked. 

Before I tried wiping with water, but apparently didn't do enough wiping. 

So the problem is solved.. 

Another question I wanted to ask is about the buoyancy of the housing. Unfortunately it is a bit positively buoyant. I didn't expect this.. 

How do you apply weights to solve this? I don't know yet if I want to use a tray and strobes already, becuase it seems a bit much in the beginning and also more weight to carry. Also I don't really think strobes will help a lot with wide angle photos 

Excellent news - phew!

On the positive buoyancy issue, you could use the type of sticky weights that are used to balance car wheels. They usually come in packs with each weight weighing about 5gms and you just stick on as many as you need. 

The advantage is that you can also spread them around so balancing out your system nicely.

See this:

https://www.amazon.com/Weight-Balance-Adhesive-Balancing-Balancer/dp/B0B3X83N7Z/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=car%2Btire%2Bbalance%2Bweights&qid=1665834628&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjU2IiwicXNhIjoiMS4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=car%2Btire%2Bweights%2Caps%2C312&sr=8-1-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc&smid=AMTQ7DOQ1LUPA&th=1

2 hours ago, Pixelbranch said:

Another question I wanted to ask is about the buoyancy of the housing. Unfortunately it is a bit positively buoyant. I didn't expect this.. 

How do you apply weights to solve this? I don't know yet if I want to use a tray and strobes already, becuase it seems a bit much in the beginning and also more weight to carry. Also I don't really think strobes will help a lot with wide angle photos  

Strobes absolutely do help a lot with wide-angle photos. The difference between shooting ambient light and strobes is like night and day. Still, if your housing is just a bit positive, putting it on a tray should alleviate this issue and make it easier to handle at the same time. Arms and strobes can be added later.