Lenspen

Merlin5

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Any lenspen users here and is it very good in your opinion? I'm thinking of buying this one which I believe is the original genuine one.


I know of some people that think it's rubbish and others that think it works great.

Currently I use zeiss lens wipes, a giotto rocket blower and a microfibre cloth. But I like the idea of being able to quickly get the pen out and clean the lens instead of always opening a new wipe, especially for those times when I've been shooting when it started raining and I end up with dried on water marks.

I believe there's a soft brush on the other end but I presume it would be safer to blow loose particles away rather than brush them away and risk scratching?
 
I don't like it. I know it's meant to self clean inside the lid but since I never clear inside the lid....you just get dirt on both sides moving between them.

Logically, it's just a bad idea. I stick with Zeiss wipes and even Spudz for quick wipe (much large surface area) and I can stick that in a washing machine.
 
Any lenspen users here and is it very good in your opinion? I'm thinking of buying this one which I believe is the original genuine one.


I know of some people that think it's rubbish and others that think it works great.

Currently I use zeiss lens wipes, a giotto rocket blower and a microfibre cloth. But I like the idea of being able to quickly get the pen out and clean the lens instead of always opening a new wipe, especially for those times when I've been shooting when it started raining and I end up with dried on water marks.

I believe there's a soft brush on the other end but I presume it would be safer to blow loose particles away rather than brush them away and risk scratching?

I always carry a Lenspen and quite often use only the brush part.
Can't say I have ever worried about scratching, hold the lens upside down and brush away.
Then a wipe over with a good quality lens cloth or occasionally a prepacked wet wipe.
 
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I don't like it. I know it's meant to self clean inside the lid but since I never clear inside the lid....you just get dirt on both sides moving between them.

Logically, it's just a bad idea. I stick with Zeiss wipes and even Spudz for quick wipe (much large surface area) and I can stick that in a washing machine.

I use what seems to be a pretty nice quality cloth that I was given by my optician and I've never used it for glasses, only my lenses. I guess that's safe enough?
 
I always carry a Lenspen and quite often use only the brush part.
Can't say I have ever worried about scratching, hold the lens upside down and brush away.
Then a wipe over with a good quality lens cloth or occasionally a prepacked wet wipe.

So you don't really use the carbon tip much and don't use a blower?
 
I always carry one in my kit and find it useful for brushing loose dust off and the pad is handy for the odd smear.
I've never had any problem with it picking up or transferring dirt to the lens surface.
Since you only expose the inside of the lid when you use the cleaning pad, there's little chance of it picking up dirt
 
I always carry one in my kit and find it useful for brushing loose dust off and the pad is handy for the odd smear.
I've never had any problem with it picking up or transferring dirt to the lens surface.
Since you only expose the inside of the lid when you use the cleaning pad, there's little chance of it picking up dirt

I only really want one for dried on water stains or anything that isn't loose dust.
 
I use one very occasionally for removing oily film and smudges. That's fairly rare though.
 
So you don't really use the carbon tip much and don't use a blower?

Not as a rule, No
Much prefer a brush and sometimes blow a bit of dust off by mouth.

Any oily/greasy type stuff gets cleaned off at home with ROR cleaner sprayed on a cloth.
That would be after a blast from a rocket blower or again a brush.
 
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I use them too, but I make sure I've blown, gently blower-brushed and re-blown the lens surface first to gently clear away any fine grit particles, then I gently 'huff' the lens surface with my breath (only slightly though), then use the lens pen to gently clear away any smudges, finger prints, etc. If it's really smudged then I clean it first with a Zeiss type lens wipe, then gently finish with the lens pen, blowing any dust residue from the lens pen off afterwards (they're worse for this when they're brand new!). Touch wood, I've not scratched a lens with it yet.

I think there's always a slight risk whenever you clean a lens though, but that's life. So I tend to use a rocket blower or a clean blower brush most of the time to remove any dust, hairs, etc. and only clean a lens when it's really necessary.
 
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I've had the same one since my DSLR days, maybe 10 years or probably more.

Mine doesn't look like that one in the link, mine is black.
 
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I use one but usually only on filters. I'm pretty careful with my front elements so very rarely get a fingerprint or similar on one and if I do, I clean it off with IPA and a disposable lens tissue. What I do use a LensPen for (well, its baby brother, a SensorKlear) is for cleaning stubborn bunnies of sensors. I treat them as a one shot deal to reduce the likelihood of damaging a sensor and after that one use, they get relegated to phone screen or similar duties.
 
No - I lick any residue off!
 
Thanks guys. I'll probably get one. Don't know if John Lewis is open at the moment but they sell it for £9.99. That's more than Amazon, but I've got £20 remaining of a very old gift voucher so might as well use it before it expires if they happen to have one in their Brent Cross store I can pick up.
 
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