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What do you use to clean your lens glass?

R

rbownes

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 12, 2008
21
0
Canada
I want to wipe off finger prints, dust and smudges without scratching my lens so that I get the clearest photos possible. I was fogging up the glass with my breath and then wiping it with a cloth that came with my eyeglasses from the optometrist. Now I found some premoistened towellettes with anti-fog, anti-static, streak-free, no-scratch claims that have isopropyl alcohol as an ingredient.
Just curious..........what do you guys use?
 
I use the pre-moistened wipes as well, they work realyl nicely. Though, I put a UV filter on all my lenses, to avoid them getting dirty, and clean the actual lens surface as little as possible and only when necessary.
 
Lens pen for me.

I'd advise against fogging the glass with your breath, you'll only spatter the glass with saliva and make it even harder to clean.

Personally, I normally just use a brush to gently swish away the dust and do my best not to get the front element wet.

A few bits of dust aren't really going to affect IQ in any way, but a big smear may well do.
 
depends on how dirty it is. If im just removing a little dust then I use a microfiber cleaning cloth. If there is a smudge on it I use lense tissue with a drop or two of eclipse.
 
if its just dusty I use a microfiber cloth and sometimes the condensation from my breath. Stubborn smudges get a pec pad or qtip with eclipse.
 
I use Rizla cigarette papers.

The problem with microfibre cloths is that they only work for so long before they become clogged with grease. So all you are going is smearing it over the lens and then you have to buy another...

The cigarette papers remove all the grease and most dust then you just dispose of them. I use the rocket blower for the dust - although I doubt it makes ANY difference whatsoever to the image quality.
 
given the front of the lens is not in the focus plane, I don't worry about it.

I keep my lenses clean, use lens hoods with every use, and I actually have never in 20 years of photography had to "clean" one other than maybe a quick dust of compressed air from a distance.
 
bertpalmer said:
The problem with microfibre cloths is that they only work for so long before they become clogged with grease. So all you are going is smearing it over the lens and then you have to buy another...
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Buy another?? Just put the microfibre cloth in a little dish of warm water with a few drops of laundry liquid. Agitate it in there for a while, rubbing it against itself. Rinse it out and then refill the dish with clean warm water and a few more drops of soap. Let that soak overnight. Rinse again in the morning and hang to dry. Voila, no need to buy a new cloth.

Regardless, I don't use those cloths to clean my camera lenses. I find that a lens pen is sufficient.
 
Well I found the most effective way of cleaning my lenses is to use sand paper.







Or maybe not. Lens pen here as well :p
 
Me too!

Actually, whenever I start feeling down in the gutter about my sandpapering or steel-woolery, I find a nice clean CD or Lens to brush my skills up on
 
88888888 said:
charmin ultra soft toilet wipes.
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Patriks7 said:
Well I found the most effective way of cleaning my lenses is to use sand paper.

Or maybe not. Lens pen here as well :p
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+1 for style points if you use your wife or girlfriend's favorite diamond ring to clean the lens. :D

All kidding aside, another vote for a $9 LensPen. Or sometimes I use specially formulated moistened towelettes (in little packets) sold by the camera/lens' manufacturer. But usually it's the LensPen first.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Buy another?? Just put the microfibre cloth in a little dish of warm water with a few drops of laundry liquid. Agitate it in there for a while, rubbing it against itself. Rinse it out and then refill the dish with clean warm water and a few more drops of soap. Let that soak overnight. Rinse again in the morning and hang to dry. Voila, no need to buy a new cloth.

Regardless, I don't use those cloths to clean my camera lenses. I find that a lens pen is sufficient.
Click to expand...

You're not selling the idea to me if you have to go through that...
 
Some people clean their lenses in different ways, but here is how I have done it for decades:

1. If the glass has dust, I use a lens air-bulb and brush to remove it, and never clean it further.

2. I only clean it if the glass has a smudge from my fingertips, water droplets, and such. Before I proceed, I blow-away any dust on the glass first. The next step is to moisten a small area of the lens cloth or tissue with lens-cleaning fluid (never pour this fluid on the lens), and then use this portion of the cloth to wife the lens softly. Right after, I use another but dry section of the cloth or tissue to gently wipe the glass to remove any cleaning fluid residue.

3. If the glass has sand, dust, mud, etc. stuck in place, I make sure that none is left on the glass before I wet-wipe it, because the tissue of cloth will hold the dirt like a sponge and may the glass.

I do use the Lenspen brush when needed to remove dust, and sometimes the cleaning side to remove only very small smudges.
 
Phrasikleia said:
How lazy can you be? The whole process takes three minutes. Those cloths come clean very easily. Alternatively, just toss it in the washing machine with the rest of your laundry.
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That's what I do with the lens cloths I have. I bough a few long ago when visiting Japan, and they still look like new.
 
Kronie said:
if its just dusty I use a microfiber cloth and sometimes the condensation from my breath. Stubborn smudges get a pec pad or qtip with eclipse.
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I think this is the best way...it's generally the same senario with expensive sun glasses....but has anyone used alcohol swabs??
 
I got a lenspen, and the first couple of times I used it gently, on a fairly clean front element it seemed to be the trick. However, I did get a smudge on my wideangle lens (no uv filter yet...) and when trying the cleaner side of the lenspen, it just seemed too dry, and actually wound up leaving a bigger streak. It took me only a few seconds of this to put that one away for good (I'll keep using the brush side...) and get a nice clean microfiber cloth. Two gentle circular wipes, and lens was sparkly clean...no hot breath fog required.

I've seen where someone used a lenspen, and then rubbed it on a clean cloth and it left black skid marks... I haven't tried mine yet. And, I only used it twice, no liquid as the instructions state. I'm not sold on them, obviously.
 
pdxflint said:
I've seen where someone used a lenspen, and then rubbed it on a clean cloth and it left black skid marks... I haven't tried mine yet. And, I only used it twice, no liquid as the instructions state. I'm not sold on them, obviously.
Click to expand...

The black stuff is a carbon cleaner that acts to absorb oils and grease, similar to how newspaper cleans well because of the carbon black in the ink. I'm pretty sure when you use the lenspen on the lens the carbon does not rub off onto the glass (it does not stick well to the smooth glass and instead remains on the cleaning pad) and if it does a quick brush with the brush side gets any of the reside off.

You can put the cap on the pad end and twist to "recharge" the cleaning tip as there is a pad impregnated with the carbon cleaner inside the cap.

I have at times used the combo of breath + lenspen and that has worked well for me with stubborn spots.

http://www.lenspen.com/404
 
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