Lenspen

[denizg7]

So the last 3 days I have been trying to get this tiny smudge out of my brand new lens with the lenspen :bang:

What I don't understand is the smear was not there before.

After I use the brush and the carbon the lens seems perfectly clean, but when I use a direct flash light I can see a smear , and the carbon only distributed it more evenly, I've tried pushing the smear from one end to another using hot breath with the carbon and when i do that, the end point sticks out in the middle of the glass.

I must be doing something wrong. Everywhere i look people revere the lenspen, but after following instructions I still cannot get a simple tiny smear off, which was not there before the lens pen?

 

[colyn]

Trash the lens pen.. These things are well known for damaging lens coatings. They collect dirt and scratch the surface.

If you want to get rid of the smudge use a Q-tip dampened with glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol and very lightly clean in a circular motion..use the dry end to polish..

 

[ravid905]

I have found that the lenspen itself tends to leave some material behind (a fine black powder) on my lens after cleaning that I have to wipe off with a micro fiber cloth; when this happens it actually looks very much like the smudges that I was trying to clean in the first place. Once I wipe the residue off, the lens looks very clean.

 

[denizg7]

hmm. I got a Q tip and I did not use alcohol or lens cleaning liquid as they tend to damage the coating.

The Q tip made these white particles out of the smudges that looked like dust but they sticked on and couldn't blow with my giottos rocket air !!

and when I use the brush it reapplies the smudge evenly!!

I am just going to keep the smudge i guess.

When you look at the lens during day light the lenspen looks like it did a good job , but with a direct flashlight people can see it's faults..

 

[colyn]

hmm. I got a Q tip and I did not use alcohol or lens cleaning liquid as they tend to damage the coating.

How so??

If used properly no damage will result..

 

[denizg7]

How so??

If used properly no damage will result..

all right I'll give it a try, just this once to remove the smudge

 

[colyn]

all right I'll give it a try, just this once to remove the smudge

I've used this method for over 40 years and none of my lens have shown any damage so you don't need to worry..

A side note: Micro fiber cloths are fine to use also as long as they are kept in a bag to prevent dirt from getting on them which will then scratch the lens surface. They should be washed often too..

 

[denizg7]

Words cannot say how DISAPPOINTED I am. Lenses have been available to the common people for over a 100 years. And there still is not a single all in one true solution.

I tried removing the smudge with a Q tip and got 6 scratches on my brand new 700 dollar lens...

Most of the smudges dried up and became similar to dust particles which the rocket air blower would not even blow away.

So basically the microfiber attracts dust and it only allows the dust to distribute.

The lens pen only fools 90 percent of the people that it works, because when you look at the lens with light in the room it looks like it did a perfect job.NOT look through a flash light and you will see it distributes smudge to make it give a blurry overall image.

I am so so disappointed. Did not see this coming at all.

I just threw out the lens pen out the window.

Only thing semi working is the rocket air blower by giotoss

 

[CVickery]

I don't think the lenspen is the problem here. This wasn't a simple spot...it sounds like some kind of glue or similar substance. Lenspens are made to remove dust and simple smudges...and they work fairly well. However, they can't remove everything, and if they haven't worked after a couple of tries, you need to look for something else. I'd be wary of q-tips...seems abrasive to me, but some eclipse on a sensor wipe has worked for me with stubborn spots.

From your description it sounds like a droplet of some type of glue was on the lens. By using the lenspen, the graphite from the lenspen mixed with the glue and made the spot seem worse (yes, this is the smudges that you refer to..the lenpen uses graphite as a dry lubricant IIRC to prevent scratching. The graphite normally blows or brushes off easily) It sounds like you used the q-tip dry...big mistake, alcohol or lens fluid will not damage your lens, but a dry q-tip would trap dust and act like sandpaper. That being said most modern lens coatings are actually very hard and it's possible that you haven't really damaged the lens. Get some good lens cleaning fluid and a some cloths designed for cleaning lenses or sensors. Blow any dust off the lens with the blower. Wet a cloth and wipe the spot..once only. Do not scrub! Do not rewipe with the same spot of the cloth! If the spot remains, get another cloth (or another spot on the same cloth) and try again. It may take several tries. Glue or similar substances are very tough to clean and you've probably managed to spread it around and mix it with graphite, so you've got a lot to clean.

Good luck.

 

[muser53]

Most of us have our favorite way of dealing with the dreaded lens cleaning. Never really found anything that worked great (I am a big fan of UV filters) until now. My local shop recently recommended I try Eclipse optic cleaning fluid. A drop or two on a PEC pad seems to do the trick. If any residue is left behind a light touch with the PEC takes it away. YMMV.

 

[bitfeng]

I had the same dissapointing experience before and slightly scratched one of my lens with Lenspen.
However, I found a nearly perfect solution: after you get the particles away, put a small piece (cut) of the 3M pre-moisturized lens cloth on the lens, then use the lenspen to push the cloth to clean. You may need to change the cloth once. After two minutes, use another clean piece of half-dried cloth to remove the residual traces if any.
In this way since the clean 3M cloth is as clean as you can get, and the Lenspen is not touching the lens, it is fairly safe and efficient.
Hope this would help. 😛

So the last 3 days I have been trying to get this tiny smudge out of my brand new lens with the lenspen :bang:

What I don't understand is the smear was not there before.

After I use the brush and the carbon the lens seems perfectly clean, but when I use a direct flash light I can see a smear , and the carbon only distributed it more evenly, I've tried pushing the smear from one end to another using hot breath with the carbon and when i do that, the end point sticks out in the middle of the glass.

I must be doing something wrong. Everywhere i look people revere the lenspen, but after following instructions I still cannot get a simple tiny smear off, which was not there before the lens pen?

 

[denizg7]

thanks a lot everyone for the tip.

Anyone have any idea how I could clean the microfiber cloth? as i wiped it all around already?

I am going to adoroma to get a simple zeiss lens cleaning paper that is liquifide.

Hopefully the scratches are just scratches on the coating and can be fixed :/

thanks for all the tips, you guys are great.

 

[dap]

I'll give you some advice that took me years to learn...ignore the smudge 🙂.

 

[denizg7]

I had the same dissapointing experience before and slightly scratched one of my lens with Lenspen.
However, I found a nearly perfect solution: after you get the particles away, put a small piece (cut) of the 3M pre-moisturized lens cloth on the lens, then use the lenspen to push the cloth to clean. You may need to change the cloth once. After two minutes, use another clean piece of half-dried cloth to remove the residual traces if any.
In this way since the clean 3M cloth is as clean as you can get, and the Lenspen is not touching the lens, it is fairly safe and efficient.
Hope this would help. 😛

after the last two steps, should i wait for the lens to dry? or wipe with a dry cloth?

thanks

 

[denizg7]

I'll give you some advice that took me years to learn...ignore the smudge 🙂.

haha thats good advice 🙂 .

At first I adored the job lens pen did, It literally looked spotless, even my lens looks spotless now , but when you put a flash light on it's a whole different story.

Don't wanna change the subject that much, but does anyone know where i would go to get my lens coating redone?

I really hope it scratched the coating and not front element entirely :/

 

[dap]

haha thats good advice 🙂 .

At first I adored the job lens pen did, It literally looked spotless, even my lens looks spotless now , but when you put a flash light on it's a whole different story.

Don't wanna change the subject that much, but does anyone know where i would go to get my lens coating redone?

I really hope it scratched the coating and not front element entirely :/

I think it is time it put the cleaning supplies down and step away from the lens 🙂

If you are really set on having a "perfect" lens, Focal Point offers a coating service. It will probably cost you a couple of hundred and you will not gain anything from it. A couple of tiny scratches in a lens coating won't degrade the image at all. Even if they are tiny scratches in the actual glass it won't cause any real problems. I have some lenses that are in really sh*tty condition and the photos that they produce are just fine.

I feel for you man - it is a bummer to find a flaw (or create one) in what used to be a flawless lens. That being said, just use it and forget about it. Once you start to overlook minor imperfections in photo equipment you'll be a much happier photographer (I myself am a recovering gear perfectionist - I speak from experience).

And one final bit of advice - don't ever shine a light through a camera lens - some things are better left unknown 🙂

 

[bitfeng]

After using the half-dried cloth, just let the lens to dry. It should dry up within seconds without any trace. Basically the idea is that you need wet 3M cloth to remove smudge, however wet cloth usually leave traces/streaks, that is why you need a half-dried cloth to wipe it again. DON'T use a DRY 3M cloth: it is not soft enough for the lens to take. The good part of Lenspen is that its surface conforms to the lens element surface pretty well, much better than a Q-tip for sure, however you need a 3M cloth in between to avoid smudge.
BTW, the slight coating scratch by your Lenspen should't affect the image quality in any noticable way. The lens just doesn't look as beautiful but I would try not to be obsessed about it.

after the last two steps, should i wait for the lens to dry? or wipe with a dry cloth?

thanks

 

[denizg7]

just a quick reply on an update I've found out to the issue.

Remember when I said lens pen distributes the smear and you can only see it if you use a direct flash light?

I've found out that this makes a cloudy awful image as a final product if the sun , like the flash light reflects on the lens at the time the image is being taken.

I've realized that the smear has little effect if I put on a lens hood and the sun doesn't reflect upon the smear marks

thanks

 

[Sparrow]

... I've been known to lick the lens then wipe it on my t-shirt in extremis ... usually I only clean lenses once a year when I do a general maintenance of all my stuff, the thing I find most difficult to clean are the B+W multicoated filters, the big 77mm for the CV 12mm are a pain I have resorted to washing-up liquid and a sink of hot water on occasions

I've never damaged a lens in 40 odd years ...

 

[denizg7]

so I looked behind my new lens, and there was the same grease. I tried removing it and all.

Does anyone know of a good lens cleaner in NYC? I am planning to pay around 40-60 if I could get the minor coating scratches fixed up too.