How to clean a lense?

nobody

Pardon the dumb beginner question, but I have an L-series canon lense. I have not ever touched the glass on either end with anything for fear of damaging it. I always shoot with the lense hood whether or not I need it in order to prevent it accidentally being touched. All I want to know is what's the safe method, material, etc. for wiping down this lense without scratching it or leaving any ugly residue behind?

I learn my lesson the painful way about keeping lenses clean. Before I ran a race, I handed my wife my powershot 3IS and returned to find it with a blob of sugery goo from one of our kids' drinks on it. I wiped it off, but it has since gotten some other crap on it, along with a small scratch or two, thus has not ever been quite the same since then.

cwphotos

I usually dust it off with a brush then do a quick spray of some lens cleaner then go from there. I usually get all the fluid off first then wax on wax off the surface. Gets it looking very nice.

OhEddie

I once saw a lady bring her Canon SLR poolside at Daytona Beach. It was extreamly hot and humid out so when she brought her camera outside, from her very chilly beachside hotel room, it just fogged up.

I knew what was happening because I had done the very same thing that morning. But when I saw my camera fogging up, I just took it right back to the room, put it back in the case, wrapped it in a towel, then took it back outside to aclimate.

But this lady couldn't figure out why she couldn't see thru the viewfinder, and before I could get over to the other side of the pool to offer advice, she grabbed her sons beach towel off his back and started cleaning the lens. I thought, "Oh No" That towel probaly has salt spray, sand, suntan lotion, pool water, and who knows what else on it. Then she took the lens off and did the same to the inside glass.

I just went back to my seat without saying a word.

As far as your lens goes. Well, I always put a protective filter on mine as soon as it comes out of the box. That way all I need is a drop of lens cleaning fluid and a microfiber cloth to wipe with. I never touch the lens glass itself.

SloYerRoll

If you do use a solution. Please make sure it's something suitable for cleaning glass, such as Eclipse and use sterile pec pads. There's tons on info on the web about this. Here's a few good hits I found:
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HTH

BTW: Welcome to dgrin!

SloYerRoll

OhEddie wrote:

I just took it right back to the room, put it back in the case, wrapped it in a towel, then took it back outside to aclimate.

Another good way to do this is a ziploc bag. I always keep a few gallon bags in my cam bag. Besides allowing it to acclimate at a nice speed. It also helps out if you get in a precarious situation and keeps your camera and glass 100% waterproof.

-Jon

OhEddie

SloYerRoll wrote:

Another good way to do this is a ziploc bag. I always keep a few gallon bags in my cam bag. Besides allowing it to acclimate at a nice speed. It also helps out if you get in a precarious situation and keeps your camera and glass 100% waterproof.

-Jon

Great idea.

nobody

I have some dust buildup, but I knew that it's never a good idea to touch a lense, so I was a loss of what to do. I had not thought of the air can idea. That actually sounds like something that accomplishes a lot and can be done a bit more often than wiping it.

Also, speaking of protective filters, is there any one out there that does not significantly reduce the light getting to the lense? I have a couple of filters, but they both cut down on light, thus result in a need for higher ISO or longer exposure time. Thanks for the info.

Ethan

SloYerRoll

nobody wrote:

is there any one out there that does not significantly reduce the light getting to the lense?n

UV filters will do you proper.

Manfr3d

1. Blow all dust particles away with a blower.
2. Clean with a microfibre cloth.

If you ommit step 1 you run the risk of rubbing scratches into your lens in step 2.
Thats why I prefer to have UV filters on all of my lenses, it simply minimizes the risk to ruin one of my lenses.

coleygm

A hand-pump style blower and lens solution with a cleaning cloth....all of which will cost you less than $10.

I personally wouldn't waste your time with filters either, unless you are indeed in a bad environment for extended periods of time..dust, sand, salt water, etc. Even salt spray build up can be easily cleaned off and will not scratch the lens in the process. Besides, even the best filters will effect IQ to some extent.

Modern lenses and their glass is actually pretty hard to scratch. A lens hood is much more important in protecting the lens, and i never use a lens without a hood attached.

Slinky0390

coleygm wrote:

A hand-pump style blower and lens solution with a cleaning cloth....all of which will cost you less than $10.

I personally wouldn't waste your time with filters either, unless you are indeed in a bad environment for extended periods of time..dust, sand, salt water, etc. Even salt spray build up can be easily cleaned off and will not scratch the lens in the process. Besides, even the best filters will effect IQ to some extent.

Modern lenses and their glass is actually pretty hard to scratch. A lens hood is much more important in protecting the lens, and i never use a lens without a hood attached.

Idk, the miniscule price of a UV filter is nothing compared to sending your lens out to Canon to replace scratched glass. I use the UV's on all my lenses just for the added protection in addition to a lens hood, I would much rather scratch a $60 filter than a $1,000+ lens. Anyway, I do recommend a Rocket Blower, and whatever cleaning fluid/cloths you prefer.

coleygm

Slinky0390 wrote:

Idk, the miniscule price of a UV filter is nothing compared to sending your lens out to Canon to replace scratched glass. I use the UV's on all my lenses just for the added protection in addition to a lens hood, I would much rather scratch a $60 filter than a $1,000+ lens. Anyway, I do recommend a Rocket Blower, and whatever cleaning fluid/cloths you prefer.

This will always be a hot topic for debate, and i know you can find tons of threads concerning within this forum....but you said it yourself. You put a $60 filter on a $1,000 lens? Why not just buy a $200 lens and save a whole ton of money as you'd be getting the same optics onces you done sticking the cheap glass or acrylic filter over your $1,000 lens.

Lenses are not as fragile as many think they are. They are hard to scratch if taken care of properly. this is why lenses don't come with filters, and you'll never see anything from Canon that says "filter recommended" or anything like that.

Lens hoods always on when out of the bag, and lens caps on unless your actually shooting. If this is followed you'll never have a problem.

pathfinder

Clean a lens with a lens brush for dust or grit.

Use a micro fibre lens cloth with a drop lens cleaning solution if the lens has oily finger residue on it. Do not put lots of fluid on the lens surface, you run the small risk that it might get on the inside surface of the front element of the lens.

An air bulb can be used for dust, but a lens brush will be more effective, and I believe safer as well.

I do not use lens tissue, personally. Dead tree bark is not that soft.....

Use a filter if around paint spray, salt water spray, blowing sand or dirt, etc. Otherwise leave the filters off. Always use a lens hood.

Tee Why

Generally, I use a hood at all times to prevent things falling into the lens/hitting the front element.

At the end of the shoot, I'll take a look at the elements and if I see dust, I'll use a bulb blower to blow it off.

If it doesn't come off or it is a smear of some sort, I'll use a clean microfiber for lenses and spray a little lens cleaning solution and gently wipe the lens and maybe dry it off by gently wiping it off with a dry part to get rid of any excess clening solution.

Another nice method to remove some dust is to lightly brush it off with a lenspen.

Front and rear element of most modern lenses are quite durable and should stand up to any normal common cleaning method.

If you are interested in a protective filter, I'd recommend a multicoated UV filter from Hoya or a B&W, they should reduce the chance of a flter causing extra flare that some cheap one or non coated UV filters can sometimes get.

NikonsandVstroms

coleygm wrote:

A hand-pump style blower and lens solution with a cleaning cloth....all of which will cost you less than $10.

I personally wouldn't waste your time with filters either, unless you are indeed in a bad environment for extended periods of time..dust, sand, salt water, etc. Even salt spray build up can be easily cleaned off and will not scratch the lens in the process. Besides, even the best filters will effect IQ to some extent.

Modern lenses and their glass is actually pretty hard to scratch. A lens hood is much more important in protecting the lens, and i never use a lens without a hood attached.

There's another reason for filters...

If you ever drop the camera , and have it land on the lens, I broke a six dollar filter that way, but everything else was fine. And this could also go for something coming out and hitting the lines. There's no reason to risk a expensive piece of glass or even a $100 One when the solution is six dollars

idoteech

I have to second that about the filter. I dropped an 1100.00 lens and it shattered the filter, but the lens was fine. That was scary!

Art Scott

NikonsandVstroms wrote:

There's another reason for filters...

If you ever drop the camera , and have it land on the lens, I broke a six dollar filter that way, but everything else was fine. And this could also go for something coming out and hitting the lines. There's no reason to risk a expensive piece of glass or even a $100 One when the solution is six dollars

I use a lens pen, bulb blower and microfiber or ZEISS wetted lens tissues...........


You do realise that the simple act of breaking a filter could also break or at the very least deeply scratch the lens.....I quit using filters long ago (aside from the occiasional special effects filter) because I went to take one off and it had seized up so tightly that I had to use a very large pair of "water pump" pliers (channel locks if you will) to remove it as I broke 2 differnt sytyles of filter wrenches......and the dust build up on my lens was terrible also...... never has a lens company rep told me to use a filter over my lenses that has always been the camera stores sales people and it is easy to put a scare into some people by saying a $60 filter will save your $1000 lens....but to what degradation of the photo in the first place.........

Fuji had the best lens coating for a long time they were coated by lazers and I watched a Fuji Rep put out 3 cigars (bright red glowing cherries on them) directly on the lens with no harm done......it is a shame that no ne else has captured this way of coating their lenses...........

SloYerRoll

Art Scott wrote:

I watched a Fuji Rep put out 3 cigars (bright red glowing cherries on them) directly on the lens with no harm done.....

Art Scott

SloYerRoll wrote:

That was my intial reaction...but the other reps would not even think about doing that to the Nikon, Canon, Pentax or Oly lenses.....I was in the market for a whole new system as my Miranda and lenses had been stolen and I had Insurance money to spend and wound up with a Fuji AX3 and the 135 prime he had deomstrated the cirgar putting out on....not the exact one but new in box never burned.......and a 70-210 zoom......
The coating was simply dubbed EBC coating.....for Electron Beam Coating (aka laser / lazer but you already knew that )

Allen

Art Scott wrote:

... because I went to take one off and it had seized up so tightly that I had to use a very large pair of "water pump" pliers (channel locks if you will) to remove it as I broke 2 differnt sytyles of filter wrenches...

I found the best solution is carry along a latex glove. It has tremendous
gripping power on those thin filters and leaves no finger prints.:D