What's your lens cleaning ritual?

terryt said:
Anyone tried lens tissues? They look quite handy, use once and chuck away. No need to worry if a cloth has grit in it etc.
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I use the one shot little tissues with a drop of IPA (that's Isopropyl Alcohol not India Pale Ale!) if I get greasy marks on my lenses - works a treat and no chance of grit movement as there is with microfiber cloths.

For water spots on filters and the like, I use a LensPen and for dust I use a blower followed by the LensPen's brush. If a lens is really grubby, I have some gunk called Optisummatorother which you paint on, allow to dry completely then peel off. Can't remember exactly what it's called and it's used so infrequently that I'm not sure where it is to check! Cleans grubby lenses up well though.
 
faddius said:
Oh dear, everyone seems so laid back compared to my ritual. When I sit down and clean all my gear I start off with the brush on a lens pen to dislodge debris, followed by a rocket blower to remove it. Then I clean the front and rear with the cleaning end of the lens pen and then I use a wet wipe to clean the body whilst checking for any damage.

I must seem mental to all of you :cuckoo:
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This probably explains why I need to clean my sensor, I leave my camera all grubby
 
robhooley167 said:
Breathe on the lens then rub with whichever T-shirt or jumper I'm wearing
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good to know im not the only one lol and way i clean the out side of my bag when its covered in dust at rally's is don't cover it up on a wet rally and job done clean bag
 
Brillo pad - followed by valve grinding paste (on a microfibre cloth of course;)) - then finish off with Brasso on a clean cloth - sorted:naughty:
 
Run them under the hot tap.

Not really, I have one of those lens pen thingies.
 
robhooley167 said:
Breathe on the lens then rub with whichever T-shirt or jumper I'm wearing
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alix said:
good to know im not the only one lol and way i clean the out side of my bag when its covered in dust at rally's is don't cover it up on a wet rally and job done clean bag
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Same here on both accounts.
If lens or bag are really bad, I get out the Gerni blaster.
Solves the problem in a jiffy.

Some interesting reading here...

http://kurtmunger.com/dirty_lens_articleid35.html
 
Rocket blower > lenspen brush > rocket blower > lenspen

I try to avoid doing anything in the field but if I get sea spray or water on the lens I generally just dab them with the corner of a tissue and deal with anything left over when I get indoors and I would then use fluid or water moistened cloths in the mix.
 
Some of you seen to massively overcomplicate this!

I'm another for the tshirt method...

I'm also one for treating my gear as tools, and so i dont use proper camera bags for example (it just gets put in my normal backpack with everyone else). Most camera gear is so much more durable than people think.
 
1) rocket blower (to remove big lumps of grit, hair, dust)
2) hama lens pen (brush to remove more)
3) microfibre cloth (remove finger prints)
4) extreme cases i will use lens cleaning fluid that evaps off.

my lenses mean a lot to me ;)
 
If I need to clean the front element while out & about & all I have is a t-shirt then I'll gently go with that methed. If I happen to be at home cleaning then rocket blower &/or small squirt of fluid on a cloth if needed. When I bought by 135L it was filthy!! to the point of having finger print marks etc on it!! How someone could sell a lens like that is beyond me but was all good after a quick freshen up :)
 
Lens cleaning ritual as follows;

- Set up table surrounded by ring of candles
- find sacrificial animal
- etc,. etc,.
 
I find that the intense cycle on my dishwasher and a Finish Quantum tablet just give me a shine that I can't achieve with a lens cloth.
 
My first rule is not to touch the lens unless the specks are truly egregious and cannot be removed with vigorous use of the Rocket blower. Then I faithfully follow the cleaning protocol from Lensentals.com (as described on their blog under technical how to).
 
You know that plastic wrap Dexter uses before he sets up his "table"?

:D
 
I haven't "cleaned" my lenses since I bought them. I keep the lens caps on, and use lens hoods. They have dust on them probably... if I can be arsed, or remember, I'll rocket blower the dust off.

A bit of dust on the lens will have no effect on your images. Big fat finger prints are another matter though... but I just use a soft cloth, or lens cloth and breathe on the lens.


Stop worrying... take photos.
 
Young children in house means everything is covered in greasy fingerprints:

Rocket blower to remove bits of cat fur, dust, hairs etc.
Carbon end of Lens pen to remove greasy fingerprints.

If out and about and lens isn't silly money expensive : I also subscribe to the blow and wipe with shirt tails approach.
 
I don't clean mine as I only ever change lenses when in a cleanroom and wear micro-fibre gloves with lens pen fingers whenever I handle my camera. And I only ever take photos of stuff inside my cleanroom.

In reality, lens pen, blower and if there's something really stubborn, microfibre cloth. Never needed anything else so far.
 
I hope you used the spongy side of that scourer rather than the crunchy side.

I wanted a lens cup but nobody got me one so I bouugh me a new 70-200 L, knocked all the carppy glass out of it, sealed the rings with silicone and Hey! Presto! I have one (although mine's black - got a red ring though!).

IMO, L lenses re useless anyway.




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I have found a simple way to ensure the best possible light transmission into the camera body. I just smashed all that silly glass stuff out of my lens. Now when I stick it under the hot tap I get to wash the sensor too without removing the lens. Simples!
 
Indeed they don't Sarah! ;)
 
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