Lens cleaning

[Anonymous]

Should it be preferred, I could always switch to American?

I was educated in England, so I'd suggest we try English first and go from there.

BTW, what does "more on" mean?

I meant move on, my iPad had a mind of it's own. I regret the unfortunate phonetic similarity.

Where did you upload your own photographs?

When?

[Henk Coetzee]

Honey, one has to be highly educated linguistically to know that both lense and lens is correct.

Both lens and lense are correct, although I really doubt that lense is.

[Karin Leibbrandt]

I was educated in England, so I'd suggest we try English first and go from there.

Well shame for you, sorry, but pm me and I'll try to give you some encouragement - however this is not a support site, it is a photography site.

I meant move on, my iPad had a mind of it's own. I regret the unfortunate phonetic similarity.

mmmmm yeah. A few other "iPad" problems you need to come to grips with and resolve.

Now I would rather learn photography, than about your own sad education problems, OK?

[Etienne Oosthuizen]

after a day at the sea you can SEA the salt air deposits on your cars windscreen ... surely a similar deposit must form on the lens as well .... now how would you remove this ?

... this I feel is a little more tricky ... a brush and air won't work and cloth used strait would not be enough to cut through the grime ... I would go with a alcohol swipe / or sunlight ... all done very carefully

[Chris F]

thanks Etienne

[Rob-Taylor]

Oh dear,
All I did was ask a simple question on cleaning lenses. Now I am getting educated on the inner and more obscure aspects of the English language.
To all of you that answered about cleaning lenses - thank you.

[Anonymous]

Oh dear,
All I did was ask a simple question on cleaning lenses. Now I am getting educated on the inner and more obscure aspects of the English language.
To all of you that answered about cleaning lenses - thank you.

Appologies for the derailment.

after a day at the sea you can SEA the salt air deposits on your cars windscreen ... surely a similar deposit must form on the lens as well .... now how would you remove this ?

Salt is soluble in water so a damp cloth is all you should need.

[Chris F]

can alchol swabs be bad for the lens ?


I have a huge supply of these swabs ....

[Karin Leibbrandt]

Oh dear,
All I did was ask a simple question on cleaning lenses. Now I am getting educated on the inner and more obscure aspects of the English language.
To all of you that answered about cleaning lenses - thank you.

Sorry man. However you spell it, to me a lenz pen works wonders!

[Russ]

Maybe over the top but it has worked for me
NOT for any filter that has more than one layer
1) Dont change lens at the beach if you can avoid it
2) Always use a UV/Skylight1B filter on the front.
3) when you get home wipe down the entire lens/camera with a damp (NOT WET) cloth and dry - avoid glass
4) remove and rinse filter with warm water and VERY dilute sunlight dish liquid soln, then rinse well again with water. Avoid windowlene and any ammonia containg cleaners they can damage the coating.
5) wrap in clean toilet paper to absorb moisture traped in thread and between filter frame and glass DO NOT RUB.
6) when dry clean with eclipse fluid and PEC Pad.
7) make sure thread etc is dry before replacing on lens or you will get a fogged front lens element.

[camerasaurusrex]

Regarding salt spray.

Use distilled water rather than tap water or alcohol.

The distilled water dries clean and does not leave a calcium residue when the drops dry.

Salt doesn't disolve in 100% ethanol.

Salt is slightly soluble in 70% ethanol or 50% isopropanol, so better to simply stick to distilled water.

Also distilled water will not interfere with electrical contacts, as it has no dissolved ions.

[style121]

And here I was using the corner of my shirt on my VR..... Eeeek

[Piet Venter]

Have any of you ever wiped a Lenspen over your skin or a white sheet of paper and noticed the greyish residue it leaves? Then ask yourself whether you want that on your lens? I did and now no longer use a Lenspen.

[camerasaurusrex]

It's all a matter of compatibility. You skin and paper are obviously organic, and the solvents in the pen are probably design specifically to react with these types of substances to remove them. I understand your concern very well, as to whether the solvents in the pen will react with the lens coatings. I would think the manufacturers have tested this before releasing such a product.

What I would like to see from lens manufacturers is that each lens should come with a chemical resistance chart for the specific coating used on the front and rear element. So that we know the effects of each kind of solvent, and how detrimental it could be. Climbing ropes for example come with this kind of info, including washing instructions etc which help a lot.

[Terry J]

The black substance with which a LensPen is impregnated is a carbon substance and according to all reports and reviews that I have found contains no harmful substances, liquid or otherwise that may harm a lens.
Take a look at this review http://pareandfocus.com/index.htm/review-the-lens-pen/

[Feroz B]

I personally use a lens pen, I first use the brush end to clean off any dust then I use the pad to remove any marks off the lens. Works like a bomb.

[Alvin]

Terry is correct - the substance is carbon and I think helps lift finge smudges?
Agreed - lens pen works well and will not harm your lenses

[Chris F]

Thanks for the tips on dealing with salt spray.

[Green Gorilla]

Cloth, Rizla papers, or shirt tail.

Not wanting to argue, but I would not recommend this unless there really is nothing else available and you have to wipe something off right there and then. Certainly not with your shirt... you get a small grain of sand in the thread and that will leave you a lovely memento of your impatience.

[Green Gorilla]

Salt is soluble in water so a damp cloth is all you should need.

Once again. Do this at your own risk. Front end glass is very soft, you run a very real risk of scratching your lenses.