Cleaning my lens

[Flash in the pan]

Within the first 5 minutes of me de-boxing my new D80 my beautiful daughter stuck a grubby finger onto the lens. I asked a senior staff member in Teds as I was buying some lens tissues what to use as a wetting agent. He said to huff my breath on the tissue and wipe.
To me this doesn't ring true. Any finger mark on glass will leave behind oils which I doubt will come off with 'huff'.
Can anyone tell me the best product to have in my bag?

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Big Red]

Within the first 5 minutes of me de-boxing my new D80 my beautiful daughter stuck a grubby finger onto the lens. I asked a senior staff member in Teds as I was buying some lens tissues what to use as a wetting agent. He said to huff my breath on the tissue and wipe.
To me this doesn't ring true. Any finger mark on glass will leave behind oils which I doubt will come off with 'huff'.
Can anyone tell me the best product to have in my bag?

Any thoughts appreciated!

lens cleaning fluid and lens tissues.

i have bought some pretty grubby old lenses over the years and that has always worked for me.

[aim54x]

I use a Glanz cleaning kit (about $30) it comes with lens cleaning fluid, air rocket (awesomely useful), microfibre cloth (great for the lens), goats hair brush (I use this on the body and the lens exterior) and some cotton buds (one side is tapered - I have never used these).

This kit does the job really well, but I have been wondering if 'blotting paper' (the stuff my sister uses to get oil off her face) would be any good. It is really soft and just absorbs oils really well. Anyone tried?

If I get around to it I'll give it a go on a filter (I have a nasty purple Hoya that LOVES fingerprints - now to find it)

[photohiker]

I have some kodak "Professional lens cleaning fluid" and some lens cleaning tissues.

What is important is to remove all possibility of grit from the lens before you start wiping it. I use a brush before blowing it with the blower before I start any wiping with the tissue. Then I apply a little fluid to the cleaning tissue and use a circular motion with the tissue starting at the centre of the lens and ending at the edge. Once I am happy that all traces of oil have been removed, I do it one last time with just the 'huff' Results are always good.

Hope that helps,

Michael

[aim54x]

:agree:

I have some kodak "Professional lens cleaning fluid" and some lens cleaning tissues.

What is important is to remove all possibility of grit from the lens before you start wiping it. I use a brush before blowing it with the blower before I start any wiping with the tissue. Then I apply a little fluid to the cleaning tissue and use a circular motion with the tissue starting at the centre of the lens and ending at the edge. Once I am happy that all traces of oil have been removed, I do it one last time with just the 'huff' Results are always good.

Hope that helps,

Michael

I have always pumped the rocket away from the lens to get rid of anything inside it, hit the lens with it then sprayed the lens cleaning fluid straight onto the lens (usually filter) and then use the microfibre cloth going from centre to edge as described.

I dont like the idea of using the brush on the lens, the thought of dragging the bristles across scares me (esp when it is the lens element directly), and a switch to lens tissue would be wise on my part as well. Add that to my list!! (try blotting paper and get some lens tissue)

[gstark]

I have some kodak "Professional lens cleaning fluid" and some lens cleaning tissues.

Michael,

These only work on professional lenses, hence the name.

Anyone with amateur lenses needs to look for an amateur solution.

Er, fluid.

And I still have a couple of oceanfront blocks of land in Broken Hill for sale.

[gstark]

I dont like the idea of using the brush on the lens, the thought of dragging the bristles across scares me

Because you're scared of scratching the glass? That's not an issue.

But goats' hair bristles? Hmmmm .... my concern with brushes is that the fur from which they're made will contain oils from the source animal, and given that the original concern is that we're trying to remove such oils, I'm not quite convinced that using a brush is wise. Certainly, I do not suggest using a brush on a sensor.

On a lens, lens tissue and a clean alcohol - something like Eclipse - is probably about as good as anything, although I have never had any issues with the typical lens cleaning fluids one buys commercially at the camera stores.

WRT lens cleaning tissue: look at the construction of this, as compared with, for instance, ordinary tissue. Lens tissue is designed to be lint free, and that is very important, as you probably don't want your cleaning to leave lint or belly-button fluff all over your expensive glass.

[photohiker]

I have some kodak "Professional lens cleaning fluid" and some lens cleaning tissues.

Michael,

These only work on professional lenses, hence the name.

Anyone with amateur lenses needs to look for an amateur solution.

Er, fluid.

And I still have a couple of oceanfront blocks of land in Broken Hill for sale.

Thanks Gary.

I would have bought the Amateur fluid but they were out of stock at the time

Seriously, I bought it retail, there were no other options and it cost very little.

Would you swap one of your oceanfront blocks for the Sydney Harbour Bridge? I bought it a while ago and hardly visit it anymore

Michael

[photohiker]

WRT lens cleaning tissue: look at the construction of this, as compared with, for instance, ordinary tissue. Lens tissue is designed to be lint free, and that is very important, as you probably don't want your cleaning to leave lint or belly-button fluff all over your expensive glass.

Actually, it's more complicated than that. Some fibres used in paper products are abrasive.

Michael

[surenj]

what's in those lens cleaning fluids I wonder? Alcohol?

[Reschsmooth]

what's in those lens cleaning fluids I wonder? Alcohol?

I dunno, but it mixes well with Vermouth!

[photohiker]

what's in those lens cleaning fluids I wonder? Alcohol?

Well the 'Professional' product admits to:

Water; Cationic Surfactant; Octylphenoxpolyethoxyethanol; Ammonium carbonate.

So yea, alcohol, water, detergent.

No idea what the amateur fluid has in it. Probably beer

Michael

[Flash in the pan]

Right, I'm off to Dan Murphys for a good single malt, for the lens of course.

Thanks all for the info!

[Raskill]

Pffffft!

Just blow the dust off and use your tshirt or a small chamoi type cloth to wipe the glass. Least thats what I do trackside, and my lenses are still in excellent condition after years of this treatment. They get cleaned with solution at the end of the day if they are lucky.

[losfp]

I used to be paranoid about my lenses and cleaning them, but I have discovered they are pretty robust as long as you take a reasonable amount of care. Breathing on the glass and wiping gently with a microfibre cloth or similar is what I normally do. I learnt that when you are out in the rain on a raft bumping down the Chilkat River in Alaska while attempting to shoot bald eagles... that it is very hard to get the cleaning solution out!!

If doing it at home, I usually blast it with a rocket-full of air first, then attack with with a lenspen, which has a soft brush on one end and a cleaning doohickey on the other. Seems to work pretty well.

I don't have a single scratched lens - I attribute that mostly to not using them as a mediaeval blunt weapon, or attempting to clean them with a fistful of gravel.

Rear elements receive a greater amount of care, and sensors of course receive the requisite level of paranoia... But front elements? They'll be just fine IMO.

YMMV

[BullcreekBob]

It seems we can be overly neurotic about lens cleanliness.

See http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.10 ... -scratches