how do you clean your lenses?

how do you clean your lenses?

  • lens tissue only

    Votes: 25 6.0%

  • lens tissue and lens cleaner (liquid)

    Votes: 83 20.0%

  • lens brush and/or air

    Votes: 63 15.2%

  • microfiber or similiar "new fangled" cloth

    Votes: 125 30.2%

  • whatever shirt you happen to have on

    Votes: 76 18.4%

  • i don't clean my lenses

    Votes: 42 10.1%
  • Total voters
    414
chris91387

chris91387

Well-known
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Jan 4, 2006
Messages
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after decades of photography, i'm still not sure what the best way is to clean my lenses is.

anyone have any thoughts or advice?

- chris
 
hi there, Im sure somebody will correct me as wrong here, but i always use Rizla (cigarette) papers, thinner the better. Dead cheap and always easy to get!!!
 
I have them breathed on by virgins and wiped clean with their gossamer hair.

These days I have a lot of grubby lenses...:rolleyes:

Regards,

Bill
 
I try to keep them clean rather than clean them. When I really have to I use a spectacle cloth and if really necessary some fluid from the opticians. A couple of my lenses have never been cleaned as they've had UV's on since new.
 
Now to qualify my vote since "Clean with an Old clean 100% cotton T-Shirt" was not really listed...

I have NEVER had any problems with this method......Breath on lens, Wipe clean and dry with shirt part that is wrapped around my finger...

Remember....THE front lens is light gathering and directing the light to the next set of elements...You could scratch it lightly (don't want to) without seeing any effects on film or D-File.

I would say on older than 1970 lens...use a lens cloth and cleaning fluid...because the coating may not be as scratch proof as the newer coatings...With FSU's Lens cloth only. Lens's that are for keeping their perceived value with no scratches....lens cloth and cleaning fluid.

For the Rear: lens cloth and cleaning fluid only....Scratches here WILL make a difference in IQ on the Neg/D-File. If big or deep enough,.

If that does not work...I set them on a bench while it is raining...and let the sun dry it off.
 
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From the American Cinematographer Manual, seventh edition; The ASC Press; 1993: "1. Blow off loose dust with 'canned air'. (If 'Air' is not available, a clean, very soft, camel hair brush may be used; to remove all residual oil from the brush, first wash it in ether or pure grain alcohol and shake it out so that it is thoughly dry. Keep the brush in a airtight container. Under no circumstances should the brush ever toush skin. If it does so inadvertantly, wash it again with ether or alcohol.) Do not blow dust off with the mouth. Next to dried fingerprints, saliva is the hardest thing to remove from a lens surface without scratching it.

"2. If necessary to remove smears from the lens surface, fold a lens tissue and dampen the folded edge with lens cleaning fluid. Carefully wipe the lens surface with a circular motion, starting at the center and working toward the edges. If this will not remove the smear, take a new, clean, piece of lens tissue and and epeat the procedure using pure xylene or pure grain alcohol (not rubbing alcohol). Be careful not to touch the lens mount with the xylene or alcohol. If you do, discard the lens tissue and start over. Xylene is particularly useful in removing oil or oily fingerprints from lenses. If it leaves a slight smear after removing an oily spot, repat the action using alcohol.

"Fingerprints, or any contact with skin, may leave a residue which may permanently etch the lens surface. Never clean camera lenses with silicone-coated lens tissue or cloth." (page 144)

So there you have it, from the folks who take care of lenses even more expensive than ours. I use a blower--an ear syringe--rather than canned air. I use a lens brush after that. And I use lens microfiber cloth, which I launder periodically. If I see some dust on the lens I ignore it until I can clean it safely--never when in a hurry.
 
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Ideal: never ever touch the lens. Second best: brush off loose dust with camel hair brush, then very very gently touch a lens tissue soaked with cleaner fluid to the surface, then, without any pressure, and very quickly, wipe the fluid off with an immaculately clean micro fiber cloth.

If you wipe your lens with an old t-shirt you may scratch it(but you won't know until you shine a light thru it). I speak from experience. I scratched up my favorite summilux from overcleaning.

I would not recommend taking a casual attitude toward cleaning a good lens.
 
I breath mist on my lens then lightly rub off with a microfiber cloth. No wonder my photos look ****ty.
 
a dab of cheap vodka and whatever shirt i'm wearing, (everything has skylights on them, so it's reallly just to clean marks off of the skylights which are all hoya and cheap btw)
 
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