How to clean lenses?

manaheim · Nov 27, 2008

The Nikon lens pens are AMAZING.

That being said, try very hard to ignore the dust and crap on your lens unless it gets really bad. It takes an ASTRONOMICAL amount of dirt to have any effect on your pictures.

Josh66 · Nov 27, 2008

Ideally you want 2 microfiber cloths. Use the first one with some lens cleaning fluid. Use the second (dry) one to finish the job. You will come away with a streak free spotless lens. Using a second, dry, cloth is the key. With only one cloth your lens will usually have streaks on it. The dry cloth takes care of this.

Dubious Drewski · Nov 27, 2008

Yeah, I can attest to that; when I was experimenting using cut-out tinfoil filters to affect my bokeh a while back, I noticed that you could cover 90% of your lens and just have a small hole off to one side and you'll still be able to take a full sized photo. It would be very dark, very hard to focus and the resolution was awful, but it worked. And that really surprised me.

But hopefully, you'd not let the dirt get that thick on your lens. :cokespit:

Garbz · Nov 28, 2008

Cotton cloth or microfibre. In worst cases I have just breathed on the front and wiped them with a clean shirt. Modern lenses and their coatings are very resistant to abuse.

londonmoon · Nov 30, 2008

I would say use a little bit of alcohol and cloth, but that was so back in the day!

JerryPH · Nov 30, 2008

I do carry a lens pen with me, nice to have item.

One of the biggest helps is to not get dust on them in the first place, and the worst thing to do and fastest way to put dust on your lens is... just keep your lens cap in your pocket. Man, NOTHING puts more dust on your lens than that. I carry around a small baggy and slip the lens cap into that before placing it in my pocket. My front elements stay dust free for months now before needing even the smallest cleaning.

Try it out yourself.

Do not use just any kind of alcohol... if you must use any, use the highest % of clean ISOPROPYL alcohol and in small amounts. I see a few people mention shirts... man, that made me shudder... lol

Battou · Nov 30, 2008

JerryPH said:
I do carry a lens pen with me, nice to have item.

One of the biggest helps is to not get dust on them in the first place, and the worst thing to do and fastest way to put dust on your lens is... just keep your lens cap in your pocket. Man, NOTHING puts more dust on your lens than that. I carry around a small baggy and slip the lens cap into that before placing it in my pocket. My front elements stay dust free for months now before needing even the smallest cleaning.

Try it out yourself.

Confirmed...even worse than pocket dust is pocket lint. Poket lint is PITA and could potentally scratch.

Garbz · Dec 1, 2008

JerryPH said:
I see a few people mention shirts... man, that made me shudder... lol

No I mentioned a clean cotton shirt. Though I suppose for completeness sake I could carry around some scissors and cut a square out of my cotton shirt turning it into a lint free 100% cotton "lens cloth" and volah everyone's happy.

I need a new shirt anyway

Though you are right. I should really mention that this is a good idea if you wear expensive brand name shirts and no $5 bargain bin shirts.

pugnacious33 · Dec 1, 2008

I never us UV/skylight filters, and in 15 plus years, i've never had an accident that damaged the from glass of any lens. I'm a bit of a purist, so I don't want anything between the film plane and the image but lens glass, and a polarizer when necessary.

Just keep a cheap lens cloth in your bag and wipe them frequently. I also have a little blower thing to get rid of dust, as blowing the dust off tends to make the lens dirtier.

JerryPH · Dec 1, 2008

pugnacious33 said:
I also have a little blower thing to get rid of dust, as blowing the dust off tends to make the lens dirtier.

They're called Giotto Rocket Blasters. And you are right not to blow on your lenses. Not only will it make it dirtier, it does this becuase you breathe moist air and sometimes a generous amout of spit with it, without wiping it off, and that just helps the dust stick better... yuck. :lol:

ksmattfish · Dec 1, 2008

I spit lens cleaner.

Actually, I've always found spit or water easy to clean off a lens. The same cannot be said of the residue almost every lens cleaning solution I've ever tried leaves behind.

nymtber · Dec 2, 2008

Try Pure Methanol and a WHITE Kleenex brand tissue. Not sure if other knock off tissues work, but that is what I use at work (oh yea, I polish optics...) Pretty sure camera lenses (at least the outer most lenses) are of a good HARD glass which most of us would be hard pressed to scratch, so long as we are careful. And get a good blower, as well. The Kleenex may leave lint, a blower will take care of that in a jiffy

We do use some "blue wipes" at work too, but I don't know where you would get them. They are fiber of some sort, gentler and near lint-free. Always work from center-out because you could pick up grit from the lens body and bring it across your lens, scratching the coating or lens itself... if you have water stains (from rain or maybe waterfall mist) huffing on the lens (breathing on it very gently) will help remove them. Again, I do this stuff for a living I know some tricks

Now I wish I had methanol and our "lens cleaner" from work here at home.... Not 100% sure but the cleaner is some combination of water, methanol, glycerin (i think?) and dish soap. But I dont know and probably couldnt give away recipe if i had it....

ksmattfish: Spit will actually help reduce fogging... My dad (and mom) were divers years ago, dad always told us kids that spitting on goggles for snorkeling would help with fogging (we had tempered glass goggles, and we were preteens!!!) Sure enough i tried it one day and it works...will it work on a camera lens? who knows...