How best to clean a UV filter

chris321

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I've recently started shooting my friends mountainbiking, which hase put me in the position where I need to buy my first UV filter! For the regular things I shoot, I don't really believe in them, but conditions like this I think investing in one would be a pretty good idea! Last time I ended up spending quite a while cleaning mud out of the filter thread, zoom ring etc etc, luckily none went on the front element itself.

Anyway, what would people suggest for cleaning a filter? I'm not talking about a bit of dust and the occasional fingerprint, I'm talking about blobs of horrible, sticky, slimy muddy gunge, half water and half grit, that gets into every crevice (of the camera/lens ;) :D ), being pelted at me at whatever speed the maniac on the bike has reached.

I get the feeling that just wiping it off is going to scratch most filters to within an inch of their lives, and probably smear horribly! So what would you guys suggest? Cheers :thumbs:
 
i'd just leave it in the sink filled with warm soapy water to soak for a while to get the worst off and then clean the filter with regular lens tissues/solution to get off any water spots/residue.
 
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i'd just leave it in the sink filled with warm soapy water to soak for a while to get the worst off and then clean the filter with regular lens tissues/solution to get off any water spots/residue.

Ah sorry, I should have been more specific! I'll do that when I'm home, but it'll probably need cleaning ever few minutes when I'm actually out shooting, which is the part of the cleaning process I'm not sure about! Any advice for 'in-the-field' cleaning?

Chris
 
I'd probably take a big squirty bottle of water with a little detergent in it. One of the kitchen spray devices might work.
 
I'd probably take a big squirty bottle of water with a little detergent in it. One of the kitchen spray devices might work.

O.K, so you reckon spray with slightly soapy water to wash the gunge off, then dry with a cloth or something? Cheers, might have to find a squirty bottle somewhere :thinking:
 
:lol: as I'm usually riding myself when this happens to me, I normally just give the filter a squirt with the plain water I have in the Camelback. I don't put energy drink etc in there anymore since I forgot to wash it out after a ride and 2 days later I'd grown an entire new life form in there :lol:
 
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