Tips How do you clean a lens?

hey people, i was putting my compact camera away and my little finger touched the lens. and has left a small print on it. now what is the correct way to clean this without scratching or damaging the camera

so annoyed

 

I use almost exclusively the Lenspen.

Brush the particles away with the pen first and then clean the grease with the other end.

Often I also breathe on the lens a bit and then sweep it clean with the carbon end of the pen.

Darkened

 

Some hot breath and a lens pen/soft fabric (sometimes a t-shirt or sweater, depending on what I'm wearing )

 

breath to mist the surface, highlights the grease you see, then wipe from the centre outward, because most the time if there is anything there to scratch it'll be at the edge of the lens so best not drag that across the lens.


worst time i have ever had was tree sap, it dripped of a pine tree and impacted smack bang in the centre of the lens, which during its travels picked up small particulates of bark and soil.

The clean up i thought would cause more damage then good, so I left the lens in the warm to let the sap dry over a weeks, until one day it just came off like a dried up scab, you'd never know it was there!

 

You can use those cloths you get from the optician - incidently they also come with a lot of Apple products - such as the macbook pro and the ipod touch..

For anything more stubborn I use a Digiklear Sensorkleen pen thing.

 

^
What they said!

Also

Just be careful not to go hogwild on it and scratch it - like I did with my $1100 lens!

 

yep lens cleaning tissue.. works good for cleaning anything glass too

 

I use 220 grit sandpaper. 110 if there are some really tough spots.

 

Usually my t-shirt

 

+rep

personally i prefer to use a arbour and sand disc in my electric drill, usually 50 grit!

 

I tried your method but I actually ended up discovering hat if I drilled away all the glass stuff the lens became unscratchable! Best glass treatment ever!

 

lens pen. If that doesn't work, pec pads with Eclipse optical solution.

 

3M Scotchbrite pads work quite well I've heard.

Seriously though, glasses cloth or a lens pen.

 

Using a fresh lens cloth I soak one side with Purosol cleaner and start wiping from the center out in a circular direction and after reaching the edge turn the cloth over and repeat the same step with the dry side. Keep in mind I wear powder-free latex gloves to avoid getting skin oil on the cloth.

This method works great for cleaning large glass elements. I have tried lenspens and they leave a bluish smear on coated glass. Purosol is the only glass cleaner I have found never leaves reside on the glass after drying. Cheaper cleaning solutions from Giottos leave suspended oil reside and dried pools of cleaner to buff off later.

 

You guys are awful. Love it

 

Srsly, I just breath on them and use my t shirt. I blow first if shooting in dust. I might dip a cocktail napkin into a vodka cocktail if the spot is stubborn. There is an ongoing Smirnov vs. skyy debate amongst event shooters. and, no, I'm not kidding; just go to the hotel bar after a big event and listen.

Any lens made since the 80's has a final coat on it that is nigh on impossible to scratch. unless you are outlawaol, of course.

I have even stopped using lens caps, tbh. err...front ones any way.

The next time I'm passing through london we should get drinks (or anywhere, I like drinks) and I'll tell you about the Ferrari staff photog...scariest woman ever....what she did to that lens made even me weep.

 

Now I am going to be wondering the rest of today.


And as for cleaning, dont even bother, just buy a new one. No matter how clean you think you may be getting the lens, there will always be that nagging suspicion at the back of your mind that it wasn't good enough. The nightmares and cold sweats aren't worth it.



(OT: lens cloth, lens pen, soccer jersey)

 

I have an UV-filter on all my lenses just so I wouldn't have to touch the actual lense. The filters aren't free either, but atleast I can just sweep it clean with just about anything without breaking to tears.

 

its common sense i thought, a £10 investment to protect against scratches on a expensive lens.

 

Common sense tells you to place low quality glass in front of high(er) quality glass? My common sense tells me to always use a lens hood and be mindful of my equipment