Cleaning lenses and cleaning filters

[PJcam]

What you say makes sense to me that the light will be reduced, but the compensation for that would be better looking skies and clouds, greener grass and only reflections on water and similar we would want. Am I right with this thinking?

A CPL filter has two elements that rotate in a mount so that the direction of the light can be polarized. If you leave it on the lens all the time you are going to have to adjust it every time you take a photograph if the light changes. One position of the CPL does not work all of the time, you have to take the time to adjust it for the best effect.

The only reason I would consider leaving the CPL filter on the camera is because, I think, I would use this filter more than others (landscapes and scenes with water]. I appreciate that I would rotate the lens for every image to get the best shot, even taking two shots of the same thing clouds can move and change the light and reflections. Thanks for your comments SCraig all replies are appreciated. With the CPL filter being the first filter I ordered [yesterday] I did read up on this one. I have a lot to learn and really appreciate input and comments from you guys.

 

[SCraig]

I hope you enjoy it. They provide some interesting results and are worth the expense. But I'd be willing to bet that within a couple of days of putting it on your lens you'll have an "Oh, NOW I understand moment" and it will come off.

 

[PJcam]

I hope you enjoy it. They provide some interesting results and are worth the expense. But I'd be willing to bet that within a couple of days of putting it on your lens you'll have an "Oh, NOW I understand moment" and it will come off.

The last thing I want to do is purchase something I don't need, or won't use, that said, there seems to be a lot arguments for and against the use of filters so it seems this is one I have to try and find out for myself. At least it is not an expensive item and there is always a market for them.

Thanks for your comments, every message, every view is important, then a person can make their own decision based on the facts presented. This is a good forum.

 

[Dave442]

I cleaned the lenses of my film cameras for years with lens tissue and never had an issue with the tissue or the lens. Now I also have a lens pen (great for finger prints) and micro-fiber cloths and still have lens tissue. For a dried on water stain I will use a drop of Eclipse on the tissue or micro-fiber cloth. I also have a Rocket Blower, but only use it when doing a full camera cleaning.

I do not use a brush as I was told by one of my mentors years ago that the brush can hold sand and then you are just dragging that sand across the lens on the next cleaning. Instead - I just use the wadded lens tissue as a brush and toss it.

 

[PJcam]

I do not use a brush as I was told by one of my mentors years ago that the brush can hold sand and then you are just dragging that sand across the lens on the next cleaning. Instead - I just use the wadded lens tissue as a brush and toss it.

Good point Dave442, I guess when we clean a lens we know what could be on it and needs cleaning, e.g. if we have been filming near the sea where there may be sea spray, or we accidentally got the lens wet and it was just a water mark. We would know to clean the water mark was not a risk but the cleaning due to sea spray may have fine particles of grit on the lens, to small to see but sufficient to damage the lens if we are not careful.

 

[480sparky]

..........I do not use a brush as I was told by one of my mentors years ago that the brush can hold sand and then you are just dragging that sand across the lens on the next cleaning............

Anything you use can 'hold sand'. You can always clean brushes.

 

[KmH]

Don't touch the front lens element with your fingers.

A natural bristle brush and a hand blower should suffice 99.2% of the time for keeping your front lens element clean enough to make good images.
If you routinely use a lens cap and don't shoot where there is a significant amount of dust in the air you might have to blow/brush a lens 2 or 3 times a year.
NEVER spray liquid cleaners directly onto the front element of a lens. Dampen a lens tissue instead and then wipe the lens AFTER you have blown/brushed all debris/dust off the front lens element.

A lens hood offers a good measure of protection, and minimizes the chances of lens flare.

Not all filters are created equal.
Cheap ones are not optically flat, nor optically clear, and can cause a loss of focus sharpness or introduce a variety of other optical aberrations.
Higher cost filters can sometimes cause issues too, like Newton's Rings.
At the least, the additional air gap in the optical train can add to lens flare issues.

Filters kept on a lens for 'protection' cause more problems than they solve.
Being thin glass they break way, way, way, way easier than a thick, 2 or more pieces of glass, front lens element would.
The sharp shards of broken 'protection' filters have scratched the front lens element they were supposed to 'protect' when the shards were forced towards the front lens element when the filter broke. If the scratching doesn't happen then, there is a real chance it will when the broken filter is screwed off the front of the lens.

No lens pen or micro fiber cloth will ever get used on a lens of mine. I might use 3 lens tissues a year and with 2 of those I moisten the front lens element with a huff of breath.
I have a 4 oz spray bottle of Nikon lens cleaning solution that is now about 12 years old and I have used about 1/2 oz of it, mostly to clean my eyeglasses.

 

[480sparky]

 

[PJcam]

I have a 4 oz spray bottle of Nikon lens cleaning solution that is now about 12 years old and I have used about 1/2 oz of it, mostly to clean my eyeglasses.

Thanks for your comments Keith, some good points raised there.

I am forever cleaning my eye glasses so the cleaning fluid can always be put to good use.