Which cleaning cloth for lenses?

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Gsrai

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Possibly a silly question but is there a recommended cleaning cloth for lenses (maybe a hidden bargain) or should I just stick with the Pentax/Calotherm glasses cloths from the opticians?
 
I use a lenspen rather than cloth, easier to carry around and works very well.
 
terryt said:
I use a lenspen rather than cloth, easier to carry around and works very well.
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Thank you - I know it might sound silly but does that really work?

I was given a pump with brush on the end in Jessops (don't know what its called) and never figured out what it was for but it was hopeless at cleaning lenses?
 
I have a lens cleaning set it consists on a little air rocket as they call it for blowing away lose particles of dust and a lens pen (yes they do work as long as you don't buy cheap) and then has a little cloth with it that is just the same as my glasses cleaning cloth

So i don't belive it makes a diffrence as they both did the same job with my camera but the lens pen makes it a lot easier to clean then doing it with just the cloth hope this helps x
 
hayley.price said:
I have a lens cleaning set it consists on a little air rocket as they call it for blowing away lose particles of dust and a lens pen (yes they do work as long as you don't buy cheap) and then has a little cloth with it that is just the same as my glasses cleaning cloth

So i don't belive it makes a diffrence as they both did the same job with my camera but the lens pen makes it a lot easier to clean then doing it with just the cloth hope this helps x
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Thanks very much :)

The previous link to ebay shows lots of lenspens - could I trouble you to tell what is a good lenspen as it does look ideal to get rid of fingerprints that I will inevitably get on my filters :lol:
 
towershot said:
For smears ,a lot of us use a micro fibre cloth, I get mine from Wilkies.if it's a stubborn mark add a bit of lens cleaning fluid from the opticians,but do not use cleaning fluid from any other source.:nono:
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I hadn't realised a simple microfibre cloth was safe enough - like the kent ones for car cleaning?

Thanks again Hayley :)
 
I use "calocloth" a calotherm microfibre lens cloth and breath on the lens first - seems to work well. I make sure the cloths get washed pretty often - normally put them in the towel wash (ie no fabric conditioner) as the normal clothes wash has fabric conditioner which I would imagine would tend to gum up a microfibre cloth.
 
boliston said:
I use "calocloth" a calotherm microfibre lens cloth and breath on the lens first - seems to work well. I make sure the cloths get washed pretty often - normally put them in the towel wash (ie no fabric conditioner) as the normal clothes wash has fabric conditioner which I would imagine would tend to gum up a microfibre cloth.
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Thats the one I use ony my glasses and its pretty good but I didn't realise it could be washed so I end up buying a new one now and again.

Cheers ;)
 
T Shirt ;)
 
the ''best'' IMO

Baader Optical Wonder Fluid
 
The lens pen is recommended by so many on here so when a genuine kit came up for sale on TP I thought I would give it a go, but when it arrived I immediately asked myself what would happen if a particle of grit were to get trapped in the cleaning surface and consequently caused damage ??

If someone can convince me otherwise that this could never happen I would use it.

I use a rocket blower first, cleaning fluid, then a clean lens cloth and feel more confident doing so.
 
Galaxy66 said:
The lens pen is recommended by so many on here so when a genuine kit came up for sale on TP I thought I would give it a go, but when it arrived I immediately asked myself what would happen if a particle of grit were to get trapped in the cleaning surface and consequently caused damage ??

If someone can convince me otherwise that this could never happen I would use it.

I use a rocket blower first, cleaning fluid, then a clean lens cloth and feel more confident doing so.
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I don't suppose anyone can give you an unqualified guarantee that this couldn't ever happen, but I haven't heard of it. I've been using a blower and lens pen for years without any problems, and modern lens coatings are fairly tough.

OTOH, if you prefer to use a blower, cleaning fluid and a lens cloth; and you're antsy about the lens pen, I'd just carry on with the same method. I can't help thinking there's some risk of a tiny particle getting stuck on a lens cloth though, unless you're using one shot disposables?
 
Galaxy66 said:
The lens pen is recommended by so many on here so when a genuine kit came up for sale on TP I thought I would give it a go, but when it arrived I immediately asked myself what would happen if a particle of grit were to get trapped in the cleaning surface and consequently caused damage ??

If someone can convince me otherwise that this could never happen I would use it.

I use a rocket blower first, cleaning fluid, then a clean lens cloth and feel more confident doing so.
Click to expand...

The pen is kept in the cap and I twist the lenspen in the cap so chances of grit is extremely low. I would have thought there's much more chance of getting grit on a piece of cloth. And you use the brush on the other end to remove any bits on the lens first.
 
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Galaxy66 said:
The lens pen is recommended by so many on here so when a genuine kit came up for sale on TP I thought I would give it a go, but when it arrived I immediately asked myself what would happen if a particle of grit were to get trapped in the cleaning surface and consequently caused damage ??

If someone can convince me otherwise that this could never happen I would use it.

I use a rocket blower first, cleaning fluid, then a clean lens cloth and feel more confident doing so.
Click to expand...

I always use lens pen brush to dust (after flicking it across finger in case bits are in there), then rocket blow, then lens pen, again I check for debris.
 
My thoughts are that the surface area of the lens pen is small compared to the surface area of a clean lens cloth, and unlike the lens pen I can use a fresh surface during cleaning.

Maybe a lens pen is safer but I still need to be convinced.
 
I wouldn't like to put my neck on the block and claim that one is inherently safer than the other, without some evidence/data to support it, but I don't think there's anything to suggest that one is riskier than the other either.

The lens pen is very convenient and I'll continue to use it, but I have no argument with anyone who prefers a different approach.
 
Most may not agree with this but for smears I use a tissue (the sort you blow your nose on) and a little squirt of supermarket glass cleaner. I find this is perfect for cleaning the lens. I have always assumed the outer element is made of extremly strong and resiliant material. When out a lens cloth that come with my specs.
 
I'd never use a lens cloth-just dont like the chance of a bit of dirt collecting on it and then scratching the lens. So I use these:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/14136182@N08/6765713423/http://www.flickr.com/people/14136182@N08/

You just dispose of them after each use-so you use a new clean cloth every time-so no chance of scratching. They are designed for cleaning negatives-so will not scratch your lens. Pretty cheap too-especially as you can cut each one in half-as thats all you need.
 
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