I did a quick search in the forum but did not find a thread on this. So I would like to start a new post.
From various sources I learnt that the cleaning process of a DSLR lens basically consists of the following steps in order: (1) use a blower to blow away the dust on the lens glass; (2) use a brush to remove some dust that cannot be removed by the blower; (3) use a microfiber cloth or a lens cleaning tissue to gently wipe the lens in a spiral movement starting from the center; (4) if there is still some smudge left on the glass, then apply some lens cleaning solution onto the cloth or the tissue then repeat the step (3).
My questions are:
A. Microfiber cloths and lens cleaning tissues, which are better? Some prefer the tissues since when a cloth is repeatedly used it will get dirty.
B. When microfiber cloths or lens cleaning tissues are used to wipe the lens, should they be dry or wet? From the material that I have read it is not said that the cloth or tissue should be wet, so I assume that they should be dry. But I feel that if the cloth or tissue is moistened by distilled water then it may wipe the lens more softly and probably also more effectively.
C. When I clean my eye glass with a cloth I always breath some wet air onto the glass first, this makes the cleaning easier. Can I do the same thing to a DSLR lens? I.e., in step (3) I breath some wet air （without saliva, of course) onto the lens then wipe the lens with a dry cloth or a dry tisse, will this be good?
D. There are two types of lens cleaning tissues: dry tissues, and wet issues with some solution. Which one is better?
E. After the step (4), do I need to use a dry cloth or tissue to wipe the lens again to remove the cleaning solution or water from the lens?
Your comments and suggestions are very welcome, and I will be very grateful if you would like to share your experience in cleaning your lenses.
Best regards,
Frank
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1. Clean the lens with a soft lens brush. Blower is not needed or necessary, and it will blow dust onto the lens too, anyway.
2. Clean the lens with a microfiber lens cloth with a tiny amount of lens cleaning fluid sprayed into it. Cleaning without fluid seems weird, either it needs cleaning or it does not, and if it needs cleaning you WILL get smudges without.
With cleaning fluid you do not have to apply pressure at all, so never a chance of scratching even IF there would be a corn of sand somewhere.
3. Then softly wipe again with a dry part of the microfiber lens cleaning cloth.
Lens will be totally clean now.
Lens cleaning tissues which are dry are smudge monsters, in my experience. Lens cleaning tissues with lens cleaning fluid are very wet, find it hard to work with.
[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1324390412' post='13947']
1. Clean the lens with a soft lens brush. Blower is not needed or necessary, and it will blow dust onto the lens too, anyway.
2. Clean the lens with a microfiber lens cloth with a tiny amount of lens cleaning fluid sprayed into it. Cleaning without fluid seems weird, either it needs cleaning or it does not, and if it needs cleaning you WILL get smudges without.
With cleaning fluid you do not have to apply pressure at all, so never a chance of scratching even IF there would be a corn of sand somewhere.
3. Then softly wipe again with a dry part of the microfiber lens cleaning cloth.
Lens will be totally clean now.
Lens cleaning tissues which are dry are smudge monsters, in my experience. Lens cleaning tissues with lens cleaning fluid are very wet, find it hard to work with.
[/quote]
Thank you very much, BC. The way you suggested sounds reasonable. It also agrees with the following article: [url="https://www.schneideroptics.com/pdfs/whitepapers/lens_cleaning.pdf"]lens cleaning[/url], except that you said tissues are bad. I guess that people use tissues just because tissues are cheap and convenient: you can use a tissue once then discard it.
I wonder if it is necessary to clean the lens with cleaning fluid each time. If the glass does not look that dirty, why not try to wipe it with a cloth moistened by distilled water? Is distilled water bad for the glass? Frankly I am always nervous about chemical fluid for the caoting of the glass or other parts (e.g. plastics) of the lens.
Some people also recommended to use a "lens pen", but I never used it. What is your opinion on a lens pen?
Regards,
Frank
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[quote name='Frank' timestamp='1324433695' post='13961']
Thank you very much, BC. The way you suggested sounds reasonable. It also agrees with the following article: [url="https://www.schneideroptics.com/pdfs/whitepapers/lens_cleaning.pdf"]lens cleaning[/url], except that you said tissues are bad. I guess that people use tissues just because tissues are cheap and convenient: you can use a tissue once then discard it.
I wonder if it is necessary to clean the lens with cleaning fluid each time. If the glass does not look that dirty, why not try to wipe it with a cloth moistened by distilled water? Is distilled water bad for the glass? Frankly I am always nervous about chemical fluid for the caoting of the glass or other parts (e.g. plastics) of the lens.
Some people also recommended to use a "lens pen", but I never used it. What is your opinion on a lens pen?
Regards,
Frank
[/quote]
lens cleaning fluid is a fancy glass cleaning fluid with ingredients that all evaporate and dissolves grease, Nothing aggressive in there.
You can not harm lens coatings easily, they are metals evaporated on the glass under high temperatures. They are hard and durable.
I have a tiny Zeiss lens cleaning fluid spray that I use for 5 years now, and it will suffice for years to come. You use such a tiny amount per time (I clean several lenses in one go with a tiny amount of spray on a corner of the cloth) that thinking of using water makes little sense, Distilled water does not dissolve greasy finger smudges that easily, so I can't recommend that idea over lens cleaning fluid.
I never used a "lens pen", and I can't see it have an advantage over my standard brush and/or cloth method, which takes seconds.
[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1324456987' post='13965']
lens cleaning fluid is a fancy glass cleaning fluid with ingredients that all evaporate and dissolves grease, Nothing aggressive in there.
You can not harm lens coatings easily, they are metals evaporated on the glass under high temperatures. They are hard and durable.
I have a tiny Zeiss lens cleaning fluid spray that I use for 5 years now, and it will suffice for years to come. You use such a tiny amount per time (I clean several lenses in one go with a tiny amount of spray on a corner of the cloth) that thinking of using water makes little sense, Distilled water does not dissolve greasy finger smudges that easily, so I can't recommend that idea over lens cleaning fluid.
I never used a "lens pen", and I can't see it have an advantage over my standard brush and/or cloth method, which takes seconds.
[/quote]
I don't know if the coating of a lens is easy to harm. I used to clean my 24-85mm f2.8-4 basically following the correct steps. However, after the cleaning I found that near the boundary of the glass the caoting got two tiny "white spots". I wonder if the coating has been damaged by the cleaning process. That made me to think that probably the coating of the 24-85mm is too weak, but I never know if my thought was correct and I even didn't know if that was really a coating damage. After that cleaning I put a UV on the lens and never checked it again. Since that I also became nervous in lens cleaning and put a UV to every my lens except the 50mm f1.8D.
Frank
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[quote name='Frank' timestamp='1324458988' post='13967']
I don't know if the coating of a lens is easy to harm. I used to clean my 24-85mm f2.8-4 basically following the correct steps. However, after the cleaning I found that near the boundary of the glass the caoting got two tiny "white spots". I wonder if the coating has been damaged by the cleaning process. That made me to think that probably the coating of the 24-85mm is too weak, but I never know if my thought was correct and I even didn't know if that was really a coating damage. After that cleaning I put a UV on the lens and never checked it again. Since that I also became nervous in lens cleaning and put a UV to every my lens except the 50mm f1.8D.
Frank
[/quote]
I never use UV filters (ever, no UV to filter). They can do more harm than good. I have no coating or lens surface damage (you can't damage the coatings with cleaning, they are super hard and very stuck). Not on my "new" lenses (5 of them), nor on my nikkor MF lenses from the 60's/70's (5 + 2 of them).
The "spots" you noticed can't have been caused by normal cleaning of the lens. You do have to clean the UV filters too, don't you? Have you noticed any cleaning damage on them?
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I do use a lens pen sometimes. On one end is a brush, the other end is a soft pad which gets coated in a fine dark powder. Whatever it is, I think the idea is the powder will soak up any grease. It doesn't leave any noticeable residue on the glass. There is a sponge with more stuff on it in the cap which re-coats the pad between uses. I find this overall hand to use for pot cleaning.
Beyond that, I do use the disposable Pec Pads with cleaning fluid.
In the field if I have neither of these I'd just try and find a clean bit of clothing or anything else to had for a quick wipe. Usually it's got to get pretty bad before I do that, like if I have mud on the lens.
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[quote name='Frank' timestamp='1324433695' post='13961']
Thank you very much, BC. The way you suggested sounds reasonable. It also agrees with the following article: [url="https://www.schneideroptics.com/pdfs/whitepapers/lens_cleaning.pdf"]lens cleaning[/url], except that you said tissues are bad. I guess that people use tissues just because tissues are cheap and convenient: you can use a tissue once then discard it.
I wonder if it is necessary to clean the lens with cleaning fluid each time. If the glass does not look that dirty, why not try to wipe it with a cloth moistened by distilled water? Is distilled water bad for the glass? Frankly I am always nervous about chemical fluid for the caoting of the glass or other parts (e.g. plastics) of the lens.
Some people also recommended to use a "lens pen", but I never used it. What is your opinion on a lens pen?
Regards,
Frank
[/quote]
Hi Frank,
Ok, not just about lens pens, but cleaning with tissues, and filters <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />.
My experience with lens pens is that they are extremely good at speading grease all over the lens surface. IOW if your lens has some grease on it, don't use them. And never ever touch the bristle hairs with your fingers, or other body parts <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />. In short: I don't use them. I don't need a brush to get grease on a lens surface, or spread it around <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
If you want to use lens tissues, it really becomes quite involved when it comes to using these. If you don't want to damage lenses with these, you really need to do the following:
Use a good blower to blow away any particles from the lens.
Tear of a very narrow strip on one end, so that the lens tissue edge is no longer sharp, but "woolly". Roll the lens tissue up, quite compactly, so that you get a little lens tissue cilinder, with a brush type side on one end.
Moisten the brush end with a tiny drop of cleaning alcohol or surgical alcohol (easier to get than "lens cleaner fluid" and essentially the same thing). Clean the lens with this by wiping of the lens surface with a gentle motion starting at the center and spiralling towards the edges.
Dry the lens surface with another, dry lens tissue "brush".
Done.
I was taught this by a Leitz microscope specialist who had done special training courses in cleaning equipment including lenses from camera lenses to expensive microscope lenses <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
As to microfibre cloths: generally they are safe to use, but you have to be very carefully which ones you select. They should have no additives, and should be of the finest quality. Those which are sold wet, and that includes wet lens tissues, are known to do havoc with lens coatings under certain conditions (remove part of the coatings!), especially when they are a little older and (partly) dried out. And the rougher micro fibre cloths can still scratch lenses.
As to the use of UV or protection filters, I'd suggest a good filter, multi-coated, preferably scratch resistant like the newer Hoyas, or the B+W MRCs. Personally I use B+W MRCs, and I am currently switching to their latest incarnation, the nano-MRCs. These are so transparent, that you really need to look three times to see whether they have any glass in them, and they have the advantage of being slim filters with threading at th efront as well, unlike the standard B+W slim filters.
The use of filters is always a matter of debate and personal preference, but when one uses them with dslrs, it is important to use an excellent one: film only reflects 2-3% of light, a sensor from 40 to 60%, and with a not so good filter and light reflected of the back of the filter this may cause severe haze and therefore contrast loss, or even worse. And this always happens under difficult lighting conditions, exactly when you want to shoot <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />. Excellent filters: no problems.
Personally I use filters because they do protect lenses - I have experienced a few incidents myself where the filter protected the lens from stuff from penetrating into the mechanism. Furthermore, a friend of mine happens to be the owner of a camera store, and he gets 2-3 damaged lenses per week, with and without protective filters, in about the same proportion as he sells them. With filters, it normally only requires removing the broken filter, a little cleaning, and mounting a new one. With those without a filter, most need to go back to the manufacturer. He thinks this is not so much caused by the glass in the filter, athough that certainly helps with mud, greasy fingers and a dog's wet nose, but more because of the extra rigidity the filter ring provides to the lens at its most vulnerable end.
Oh, and filters are generally a little easier to clean than lens surfaces <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
Kind regards, Wim
Gear: Canon EOS R with 3 primes and 2 zooms, 4 EF-R adapters, Canon EOS 5 (analog), 9 Canon EF primes, a lone Canon EF zoom, 2 extenders, 2 converters, tubes; Olympus OM-D 1 Mk II & Pen F with 12 primes, 6 zooms, and 3 Metabones EF-MFT adapters ....
[quote name='wim' timestamp='1324485002' post='13978']
Hi Frank,
Ok, not just about lens pens, but cleaning with tissues, and filters <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
My experience with lens pens is that they are extremely good at speading grease all over the lens surface. IOW if your lens has some grease on it, don't use them. And never ever touch the bristle hairs with your fingers, or other body parts <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />. In short: I don't use them. I don't need a brush to get grease on a lens surface, or spread it around <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
If you want to use lens tissues, it really becomes quite involved when it comes to using these. If you don't want to damage lenses with these, you really need to do the following:
Use a good blower to blow away any particles from the lens.
Tear of a very narrow strip on one end, so that the lens tissue edge is no longer sharp, but "woolly". Roll the lens tissue up, quite compactly, so that you get a little lens tissue cilinder, with a brush type side on one end.
Moisten the brush end with a tiny drop of cleaning alcohol or surgical alcohol (easier to get than "lens cleaner fluid" and essentially the same thing). Clean the lens with this by wiping of the lens surface with a gentle motion starting at the center and spiralling towards the edges.
Dry the lens surface with another, dry lens tissue "brush".
Done.
I was taught this by a Leitz microscope specialist who had done special training courses in cleaning equipment including lenses from camera lenses to expensive microscope lenses <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
As to microfibre cloths: generally they are safe to use, but you have to be very carefully which ones you select. They should have no additives, and should be of the finest quality. Those which are sold wet, and that includes wet lens tissues, are known to do havoc with lens coatings under certain conditions (remove part of the coatings!), especially when they are a little older and (partly) dried out. And the rougher micro fibre cloths can still scratch lenses.
As to the use of UV or protection filters, I'd suggest a good filter, multi-coated, preferably scratch resistant like the newer Hoyas, or the B+W MRCs. Personally I use B+W MRCs, and I am currently switching to their latest incarnation, the nano-MRCs. These are so transparent, that you really need to look three times to see whether they have any glass in them, and they have the advantage of being slim filters with threading at th efront as well, unlike the standard B+W slim filters.
The use of filters is always a matter of debate and personal preference, but when one uses them with dslrs, it is important to use an excellent one: film only reflects 2-3% of light, a sensor from 40 to 60%, and with a not so good filter and light reflected of the back of the filter this may cause severe haze and therefore contrast loss, or even worse. And this always happens under difficult lighting conditions, exactly when you want to shoot <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />. Excellent filters: no problems.
Personally I use filters because they do protect lenses - I have experienced a few incidents myself where the filter protected the lens from stuff from penetrating into the mechanism. Furthermore, a friend of mine happens to be the owner of a camera store, and he gets 2-3 damaged lenses per week, with and without protective filters, in about the same proportion as he sells them. With filters, it normally only requires removing the broken filter, a little cleaning, and mounting a new one. With those without a filter, most need to go back to the manufacturer. He thinks this is not so much caused by the glass in the filter, athough that certainly helps with mud, greasy fingers and a dog's wet nose, but more because of the extra rigidity the filter ring provides to the lens at its most vulnerable end.
Oh, and filters are generally a little easier to clean than lens surfaces <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />.
Kind regards, Wim
[/quote]
Thank you very much, Wim. Again, your post is very very helpful.
Best regards,
Frank
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12-22-2011, 11:30 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-22-2011, 11:33 AM by mst.)
Here's what I have successfully been using for years:
First blow off any dust. You can either buy one of the expensive photo-dedicated blowers (Rocketblower and the like) or get one for a lot less money in the pharmacy. Ask for a large enema syringe (that's what the dictionary suggests, "Klistierspritze" in German) and make sure it has not been treated with talcum powder (usually not the case). Works also quite well to blow dust of a camera sensor (or put loads of dust on it, if treated with talcum).
Second step is to spray on a cleaning fluid. I use this one:
http://www.micro-tools.de/en/Lens-Tools-...r-4oz.html
Wipe it off with a tissue like this one:
http://www.micro-tools.de/en/Applicators...s-Box.html
Make sure to use each tissue only once.
Depending on the amount and kind of dirt it may take a few repetitions of step 2, but so far I have successfully cleaned any lens and filter I received with this procedure.
-- Markus
Editor
opticallimits.com
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