Cleaning lenses - breath

[yoyo22]

So, I've been reading a lot on how to clean lenses and I've actually tried a lot. But there is one thing that I am somehow confused/worried about:

Breathing on the lens.

Many do it casually, then wipe with a microfiber cloth the humidified surface.
I for myself check my lenses or the ones I consider buying by breathing on the front and rear surface in order to see cleaning marks - a perfectly clean lens will show an absolutely even spread of the humidity and it will vanish quickly and evenly.

But what about the breath? By breathing on the lens a couple of times, does one set up an ideal breeding ground for fungus? Some swear it's the only way to clean a lens, others consider breathing harms the lens depending on what you ate before.

What is all the fuss about? 😕

 

[hans voralberg]

Breath = water = humidity, but I guess it's too little to do any harm, I just wipe with cloth.

 

[Chris101]

If I had fungus breath, I'd go to the doctor! Exhaled breath consists of CO2, air and water vapor, plus a microscopic amount of whatever I had in my mouth. I suspect it's pretty clean, but if I had a fungus odor (and I hadn't been eating mushrooms recently), breathing on lenses would be the least of my worries!

I breathe then wipe with a microfiber cloth too, as long as I don't see any grit on the lens!

 

[nobbylon]

personally i leave my uv filters on and dont bother cleaning the lens at all. I wipe the filter with any soft cloth, shirt, whatever, but even then rarely. I haven't seen any difference in IQ and unless the front is really covered in crud doubt that you will.

 

[tvagi]

what about lens with a lot of dust?i mean with a layer of dust and dirt...i bought it from a street market.the front is in a bad shape,with a lot of dust and dirt,but with no scratches!!!should i remove it with some water and then cleaning with a microfiber or ask professional help,as it a Leica lens.

 

[Bill58]

The best cleaning is NO cleaning at all, but oil smudges, fingerprints, etc. should be removed.

I start w/ a clean, soft lens brush, then follow w/ two applications of clear, lab grade Acetone on Q-tips, dry with opposite end, then finish w/ two applications of distilled water solution w/ a couple of drops of liquid dishwashing detergent in a quart of water on Q-tips, again drying w/ opposite end of Q-tip.

I've shyed away from microfiber cloths due to warnings that there are so many on the mkt. of poor quality that could actually be harmful to the lens.

 

[tvagi]

i suppose i should not rub the surface of the lens too hard?can i damage the coating?

 

[oftheherd]

The best cleaning is NO cleaning at all, but oil smudges, fingerprints, etc. should be removed.

I start w/ a clean, soft lens brush, then follow w/ two applications of clear, lab grade Acetone on Q-tips, dry with opposite end, then finish w/ two applications of distilled water solution w/ a couple of drops of liquid dishwashing detergent in a quart of water on Q-tips, again drying w/ opposite end of Q-tip.

I've shyed away from microfiber cloths due to warnings that there are so many on the mkt. of poor quality that could actually be harmful to the lens.

I agree on the less cleaning the better. My solution, is in the often debated choice to use a UV filter. Regardless, filter or front lens surface, I have always believed in Koday Lens Cleaning Solution on lens cleaning tissue. After of course cleaning with a blower brush, either just blowing, or the brush, or lens cleaning tissue rolled up and torn in half. I have some very old lenses with many cleanings that way (before I started using more filters) that show no sign of scratches from being cleaned.

By the way Bill58, I looked at your site. Many nice photos there. Brought back a lot of memories. I got up to panel 15 and had to quit. I will go back though. You have a photo of a repaired bridge. That is amonst your Seoul photos so I take it that is not the "Water Gate" bridge in Suwon?

Noted there were some "big" Mandu shots there too. My wife has been fixing a lot lately, but smaller. I really like the filling she makes. For those who don't know, they are something like meat and vegetable dim-sum the chinese make. However, I tend to like the mandu better. Especially when my wife adds kimchi to the filler.

 

[sepiareverb]

Soft exhalation of breath followed by wiping with old t-shirt or microfiber cloth. Soft exhalations of breath- not blowing on the lens, which is sure to deposit (whenever I am dumb enough to do it that way) spit on the lens which is hard to remove.

I also use a goats hair brush when in the studio and a lens has some dust on it. Simple.

 

[Phantomas]

I breathe on my lenses and clean them with my tshirt 😱 😡

I know, I know, but hold your sticks and stones, my lenses, not yours. I don't shake over my equipment like a lot of peeps here and the *possible* minimal detrimental effect doesn't bother me enough to change the habit. I do this "in the field", at home I do the proper cloth thing. After years of doing this I'm yet to see any negative effect on optics.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend cleaning the lenses with a tshirt 🙂

 

[George S.]

Exactly as sepiareverb stated above has been my cleaning methods. Don't worry about your humid breath, it evaporates almost immediately. You'd have to breath hard on it and then immediately seal the lens in a plastic bag for it to have a negative effect.
Just a breath and a sweep or two with a good quality microfiber. Don't rub, don't 'polish' it. The simplest way is the best.

The t-shirt method is also not as bad as you think. What did we use before microfibers? You can't always find completely lint-free cloths out there. The worst you could do is introduce a couple of cotton fibers from the t-shirt to the lens, not a terrible thing when out in the field. (Assuming you changed your shirt this week 😱 and it's not too dirty to begin with! )

 

[John Lawrence]

I've been cleaning my lenses by breathing on them and then wiping with a cloth for years, and so far no problems. One tip I was taught is to always open your mouth as wide as possible and then breathe - apparently this reduces the likelihood of covering your lens with saliva!

 

[jmcd]

From the Rolleiflex SL66 manual, leave the final application of breath to evaporate naturally to repel dust!

"Remove dust with a soft camel hair brush or a rubber blower bulb. To clean lens surfaces, breathe on them and remove persistent dirt with a soft, dry and fluffless (frequently washed) rag. As an anti-static protection breathe on the glass surface but then let the deposited mistiness evaporate on its own." —SL66 manual