What to clean my filters and lenses with

banjodeano

banjodeano

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Hello guys, i am a newbie, and i have just got a Nikon D5300, i have also got a couple of filters, but my question is, what do i clean my filters and lens with, there are many liquids on the net to choose, what should i be looking for? and what about cloths, have you got to get a special type, or will any do, and will i need a blower?
Thanks Dean
 
Welcome along Dean (y)

A blower is always handy as you can remove a lot of dust without touching the lens or filter.

Sometimes you will need to wipe the lens and I use a Matin large microfibre cloth http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004KRPXHY

Sometimes if there is a more stubborn mark I use Eclipse lens fluid and wipes.

Hope that helps
 
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Thanks guys, i have read many times that you have to be really careful what liquids you use, as it can take the coating
off your lens, is this possible, or just scare mongering
 
Most commercial lens cleaners are roughly the same composition - Water, Propan-2-ol and maybe a bit of detergent. You can make a lifetime's supply of it for less than the cost of some tiny bottles with posh labels.

1. Buy a 500ml bottle of isopropanol from Amazon (£6.99)
2. Mix 50ml of the propanol with 50ml of water (distilled is best, filtered will do).
3. Optionally add a drop or two of Fairy Liquid (UK) or Dawn (US).

Repeat steps 2 and 3 every 5 years for the next 50 years.
 
hollis_f said:
Most commercial lens cleaners are roughly the same composition - Water, Propan-2-ol and maybe a bit of detergent. You can make a lifetime's supply of it for less than the cost of some tiny bottles with posh labels.

1. Buy a 500ml bottle of isopropanol from Amazon (£6.99)
2. Mix 50ml of the propanol with 50ml of water (distilled is best, filtered will do).
3. Optionally add a drop or two of Fairy Liquid (UK) or Dawn (US).

Repeat steps 2 and 3 every 5 years for the next 50 years.
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I was out shooting yesterday and I just used the end of my tshirt.
 
`Tissues` are a bit too abrasive. Just buy the dampened spectacle wipes.
 
I tend to avoid tissues, the chances of them causing damage may be remote and maybe it's mostly psychological... but I still tend to avoid them :D

Local opticians tend to sell very nice cleaning cloths for a reasonable price and I tend to use those or the ones that sometimes come free with lenses/filters.
 
DerekL said:
If you spray the glass cleaner onto the tissue it works just fine. It would be pretty poor glass that was scratched by a tissue.
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Not saying it doesn't work, just that tissues aren't actually that soft + it's more the coating on the lens that could be damaged. Not to be recommended imo.
 
I have a little bottle of Lee filter cleaning fluid that I bought a few years ago. I only use a drop each time I clean my lenses so it's lasted a couple years and is still pretty full. I use it with a microfibre cloth I got at the same time.

Recently I've been using lenses which are much older than I am and are full of dust. I've not had a problem with them so I have come to the conclusion that people tend to be a bit OTT with their glass cleaning, and unless your flass is covered in dirt, or you're shooting into the sun, it's not really that much of an issue.
 
boolean said:
I've been using those glasses cleaning wipes from lidl for my filters, are these ok ?
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Almost certainly. Any sort of cloth is extremely unlikely to damage the glass, and probably will be OK with the coatings. What you do have to watch out for is small bits of sand/grit - grinding them into the glass can cause damage, then it don't matter if you use a SilkySoft nano-fibre cloth or an old pair of M&S undies.
 
hollis_f said:
Almost certainly. Any sort of cloth is extremely unlikely to damage the glass, and probably will be OK with the coatings. What you do have to watch out for is small bits of sand/grit - grinding them into the glass can cause damage, then it don't matter if you use a SilkySoft nano-fibre cloth or an old pair of M&S undies.
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I bought a Hoya Nd400 filter, and i have read several peoples views that the coatings on the lens are very delicate, and appear to easily come off, its kind of made me slightly paranoid, I guess i am being over cautious then
 
banjodeano said:
I bought a Hoya Nd400 filter, and i have read several peoples views that the coatings on the lens are very delicate, and appear to easily come off, its kind of made me slightly paranoid, I guess i am being over cautious then
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Yes.. you are being. As Frank said... the cloth is never going to be the cause of the problem... wiping off a grain of sand might be though. I genuinely do use the end of my t-shirt if I'm out working and need to wipe something off a lens. I've been doing that for decades.... no problem.
 
I have scratched a lens using a T-shirt. Fortunately it was one of the lenses in a crappy, cheap pair of sunglasses ;). For my camera lenses, I try not to clean them "in the field" and do so at home, using a blower then a brush then (if necessary) a lens cleaning tissue (pennies per pack) and a drop of lens cleaning fluid (which came in a cleaning pack as a gift about 15 years ago.) If I do have to clean a lens out in the field, it's usually to get rid of water droplets, so I use a microfiber cloth to dry it off as much as possible before using another tissue (last of the big spenders, me!) to do a final polish.
 
I use a combination - rocket blower, Lenspen, Visible dust magic cleaner microfibre / lens solution and I'v also got some Lee filter solution. I seem to recall Lenspens not being suitable for polarisers for some reason, so bear that in mind.
 
Went to an unrelated presentation meeting at a multinational firm in Germany a couple of years ago and part of the goody pack was a micro fibre cloth for cleaning lenses and screens. After the meeting, I gained a ten year supply of such cloths, gratis:)
 
sarahhj said:
I use a combination - rocket blower, Lenspen, Visible dust magic cleaner microfibre / lens solution and I'v also got some Lee filter solution. I seem to recall Lenspens not being suitable for polarisers for some reason, so bear that in mind.
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I just received a Lenspen, blower and cloth which i purchased of Fleabay.....but the lenspen......hmmmmm, doesnt seem to contain much liquid, just a sort of sticky dabber sponge on the end, is that how they are? (scratches head) i thought they would have a liquid form solution swishing about inside....
 
I'm a big subscriber to the t-shirt method - brushed cotton is super soft.


Lenspens are good though and they don't have fluid in them - they just kind of work...
 
banjodeano said:
I just received a Lenspen, blower and cloth which i purchased of Fleabay.....but the lenspen......hmmmmm, doesnt seem to contain much liquid, just a sort of sticky dabber sponge on the end, is that how they are? (scratches head) i thought they would have a liquid form solution swishing about inside....
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The LensPen doesn't use a liquid cleaner, but a carbon-based powder. They recommend that you twist the cap before removing it as this renews that carbon coating on the Lenspen head.
 
Throughout this cleaning thread the 'Visible Dust' cleaners have only been mentioned once, which is quite surprising. The antistatic fibre brushes are great for lightly lifting dust without actually needing to touch the surfaces. Whilst they are primarily for sensor cleaning, I use an older one for lifting dust etc from lens surfaces, mirror etc. Would agree the fluids and brushes though are very pricey.
 
I generally breathe on it then use the front of my tee shirt, fleece, or my tie if i'm wearing one
 
big soft moose said:
I generally breathe on it then use the front of my tee shirt, fleece, or my tie if i'm wearing one
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Or if on holiday & not wearing a T-shirt........... use your shorts.
if you're a naturist just use what comes to hand first. (although it'll probably be dirtier/greasier than before :D )
 
A Giottos Rocket Blower is my first port of call. I didn't really get on with Lens Pens - they seemed to put more stuff on the lens than they removed! The Matin microfibre cloths are absolutely identical as far as I can tell to the Visible Dust version, and about half the price. I also use the Lee filter cleaner solution, but I more often have a bottle of spectacle lens cleaner from Tesco to hand.
 
Another vote for lens pens - they do filter versions as well (no difference as far as I can see, though I have both the lens and the filter versions for their separate duties). Quick, portable, and they work well. The only thing they aren't good at is if you have moisture drops (e.g. rain spots) on the lens/filter, and an absorbent microfibre cloth is more useful then before you use the lens pen. (Some microfibre cloths are not very absorbent, so watch out for that).
 
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