Well i just tried cleaning the lens on my camera for the first time because i saw alittle bit of dust on there. I cleaned it with a special lens cleaning kit and now i have this residue on the lens from the fluid. Is this normal. All the fluid contained was water and iosopropyl alcohol. It has a blueish tint to it sort of now. Is this normal and will it affect my pictures at all?
I usually clean my lens with a wet lens wipe (cleaning fluid), then rub it carefully dry with a fresh one... gets it nice and clean. Always make sure you blow away any little bits of dirt or sand that might scratch the lens though, I use a blower brush for that, before cleaning.
I've always found lens cleaning fluids to be a case of the cure being worse (or as bad) as the disease. I breath on my lens, and then clean it with a clean cotton cloth. This works 99% of the time.
I use a microfibre cloth with no cleaning solution. Blow the dust off before rubbing to avoid scratches.
i've found that a neutral uv filter works as a protectant (or just a clear non-uv would work too i guess), that way, you can just wipe it with a t-shirt or whatever you have laying around, and if it gets scratched, your only out $5-10 for a filter, rather than the hundreds for the lens. this works best for me as i use my camera outside primarliy in rough conditions (skiing, hiking, biking etc...) it gets dusty, snowy, all kinds of abuse, and i usually don't have the time ore the inclination to stop long enough to break out the isopropyl alcohol and wet wipes
