Lens cleaner

taz

taz

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Ian
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Not sure if you would call this 'equipment' or not.

Came across the 'Nikon Lens Pen' the other day. Has anybody ever used one and are they any good?

If not, what do you normally use?
 
All sorts!

I use a LensPen cleaner (from 7day - a LOT cheaper than a Nikon branded one!) on filters and for dabbing off visible specks of dust on a lens (that a blower or brush won't shift); a lens cleaning tissue and fluid for general fingerprint removal and a paint on film (can't remember the name) for very occasional use. For a very quick clean, a quick brush off followed by a "huff" and a polish with a microfibre cloth generally do the trick.
 
An 18% grey spudz cloth, with visible dust lens plus solution, but use a rocket blower first
 
Just had ( 30 mins ago ) an amusing and distastful incident whilst cleaning a filter , I just received a Sigma105mm and had cleaned a filter prior to screwing it on .
Well the filter seemed clean so I put it on and noticed a little smudge on the filter , I have one of the bottles of cleaning fluid that has a little bit of sponge at the nozzle and was applying some fluid but none came out ( bottle almost full ) , so I sqeezed and the full contents of the bottle shot out hit the filter/lens and went all over me.
Most of it shot back in my face which was quite close to the lens ( had specs on ) , quickly rinsed eyes with water but i must have got a mouthful as horrible raste in mouth :puke:

I thought well at least its had a good clean but the fluid had penetrated behind the filter and it took some time to remove with quite a bit of dirt/oil from the threads.
 
I ALWAYS put a couple of drops onto the lens cleaning tissue, NEVER dropping fluid stright onto the lens.
 
Ive had nothing but bad luck with lens pens. I know I am a bit heavy handed with everything.. but i wipe with them and the end piece always rubs off! (say nothing please!!)
 
Personally, I've never used any special fluids to clean any of my kit .. my kit's always been

1. blower
2. micro-fibre cloth
3. "new" cotton t-shirt cut to small square pieces (easy to cary)
4. little bit of water, any bottled water is fine (don't use tap water)

For general cleaning, the blower is more than good enough. There will always be that odd flint, or grain of dust on the front lens & filter. I live with that and accept it.

For smudges, stains, and cleaning the lens (front and back), then I use the blower to blow out as much as I can; then I soak a cotton t-shirt square (one of the cuts I mentioned above) in water and press gently against the lens / filter (no moving in any direction as this may cause scratching). The moistured cotton cloth will get 99% of the smudged cleaned off. I then use another cotton t-shirt square to dry out the excess water, and a third cotton swaure to wipe it well dry. Making sure to check that there are no coars issues left on the lens / filter as I go through each stage.

For water & rain drop marks on filters, I use the microfibre cloth (only on filters, never on lenses). Add a bit of moist from breathing on to filter, then wipe it clean with the micro-fibre.


Tried many other items over the years, but found these do all the cleaning that I need. Lens pen wasn't useful at all, personally!
 
I use this stuff. It's designed for Astronomy optics and works a treat, that's if a blower doesn't work first.
 
I try not to get too worried about dust and stuff on my lenses. I generally use a non-contact cleaning regime, and certainly would not use any fluids.

I tend to find a lens pen is very good, I use a RocketBlower for non-contact cleaning, and a lens pen if needed.
 
I threw two UV filters in the bin recently cos I couldn't get them clean


I wish I'd seen this thread earlier :crying:
 
The Lens Pens are great in my opinion, although they don't seem to last too long before they start to break up and leave little bits around the edges.
 
Just ordered lens pen from 7dayshop BOGOF , funnily enough since that bottle of fluid exploded in my face things have become a lot clearer ;)
 
when giving the lenses a good clean i use my glasses lenses cleaner from vision express (suitable for coated optics) when out and about i have a lens pen from jessops.
 
Erm... I've never 'cleaned' a lens yet and own nothing more than a microfibre and a gob full of air. I blow off any bits of dust I can see, and have wiped off rain with a microfibre.

I really must buy one of those blower thingys!
 
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