Beginner Microfibre cloth on camera lens, help please!

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Thomas Keidan

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Hi,

I used a microfibre cloth to clean my camera lens today... after using it a couple of times i've remembered that I've also used it to clean my vinyl records using record spray which contains some alcohol. Will I have damaged the lens coating at all by using this cloth? The last time I cleaned records with this cloth and used any spray on it was around 2-3 months ago. I'm sorry if this sounds really really stupid but this is my first camera (Olympus 35 RC) and i'm really paranoid!
 
Traces of alcohol will not damage your lens, many lens wipes are in fact impregnated with alcohol.
After 2/3 months any alcohol would doubtless have evaporated from the cloth anyway. :)
 
Unlikely to have damaged the lens as alcohol will evaporate very quickly and the cloth will be as if non were on it. As long as no abrasive material is in the spray which I doubt.
 
wontolla said:
Unlikely to have damaged the lens as alcohol will evaporate very quickly and the cloth will be as if non were on it. As long as no abrasive material is in the spray which I doubt.
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Also, how can I tell if the lens coating is damaged at all? Is it possible via visual inspection?
 
mark richards said:
use a proper lens cloth, not micro fiber ,these are not good for cleaning lenses .
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I have already ordered a proper lens cloth after realising my mistake! How can I identify any damage to the lens coating? Is it quite durable and is there anything I can be looking for to detect damage?
 
Use a loupe to check. Tiny scratches won't be a problem on the final image.
 
Unlikely to be any colour changes. It's already an old camera and so is the lens, so any imperfections are likely to be historic anyway. Best way is to put a film through it and check the outcome.
 
wontolla said:
Unlikely to be any colour changes. It's already an old camera and so is the lens, so any imperfections are likely to be historic anyway. Best way is to put a film through it and check the outcome.
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Will do, film should be arriving in a couple of days as i've purchased online. I was just very worried about the impact of chemicals from the cloth on the lens but it seems as if i'm worrying too much!
 
Thomas Keidan said:
Will I have damaged the lens coating at all by using this cloth?
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The cloth? No, it's safe.

I would not use any product than optical grade. With
that cloth, your warm breath should suffice but never
use anything on a dry lens.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
The cloth? No, it's safe.

I would not use any product than optical grade. With
that cloth, your warm breath should suffice but never
use anything on a dry lens.
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Thank you, i've learnt my lesson and just ordered some optical grade cloths!
 
Thomas Keidan said:
Will do, film should be arriving in a couple of days as i've purchased online. I was just very worried about the impact of chemicals from the cloth on the lens but it seems as if i'm worrying too much!
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Way to go bud.
 
I've used the sleeve of my jumper , toilet paper , old sock and everything in-between for the last 20 years with no issues yet. I don't recommend it though :)
 
I wouldn't be surprised if your record cleaning fluid is rather similar in composition to some lens cleaning fluids - maybe water, isopropanol, and perhaps a drop of mild detergent. The isoprop or other alcohol will certainly have evaporated, anyway. Whatever cloth you use, the main risk is any abrasive contamination of the cloth or the lens itself, like a particle of grit, so keep your new cloth clean and wash or replace it as necessary. Of course the same is true of cleaning your records, which are probably easier to scratch!
 
Thomas Keidan said:
I've been reading a lot about 'cleaning marks' i.e. tiny scratches on the lens caused from not cleaning with the right equipment!
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These scratches are more likely to be caused by dust or tiny grit particles rubbed against the surface of the lens by over enthusiastic scrubbing! Use a blower brush first, then use lens cleaning fluid with a tissue/cloth. Don't overdo it, but don't worry too much either. Modern lens coatings are surprisingly tough.
 
This subject amuses me at times, from some of the things we read it seems the front element of a lens can be badly scratched, covered in finger prints, bits of dirt the size of pinheads, etc. and it won't show up on the photos taken with it... yet, according to some, just place one crystal-clear, high-quality, UV filter on the front of an undamaged lens and the image quality will be degraded. I wonder how that works in the world of physics? :whistle:
 
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Mr Badger said:
This subject amuses me at times, from some of the things we read it seems the front element of a lens can be badly scratched, covered in finger prints, bits of dirt the size of pinheads, etc. and it won't show up on the photos taken with it... yet, according to some, just place one crystal-clear, high-quality, UV filter on the front of an undamaged lens and the image quality will be degraded. I wonder how that works in the world of physics? :whistle:
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Is the answer, because generally they aren't the high quality UV filters, but the cheap £20 ones the camera shop flogged as a markup?
 
The main concern with filters would be additional flare when shooting towards light sources. A filter with high quality multicoating can minimise this, though that isn't always the same thing as a filter with high quality glass - e.g. Hoya and B+W both sell excellent multicoated filters of various types, as well as completely uncoated filters, which can still be expensive.
 
Let's not get distracted by the pros and cons of filters, as that subject has been done to death in numerous threads on here already. The point I was making was that if a filter can make a discernible difference to image quality in certain situations (such as flare when a photo is taken at a certain angle towards a strong light source), then it stands to reason that so will a scratched or fingerprint-smeared lens to some degree or other.

Whilst a damaged or dirty lens may not show noticeable evidence of a loss of image quality when used in favourable conditions (such as with the sun behind the photographer), I think it may well exhibit more flare and/or flare-induced haze when used in more challenging conditions. The extent to which this might affect image quality will probably depend on where the mark is on the lens, the focal length of the lens, the distance at which the lens is focused, the aperture used, and the position of the strong light source in relation to the mark, etc. The (rather obvious) best course of action is to avoid scratched, scuffed or smeary lenses in the first place. If it's too late and the lens is already scratched then the effects may be noticeable depending on the conditions that prevail. After comparing various notes and views on the matter, that's the way I currently think. I'd be interested to read what others think though.
 
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Was going to watch the video, but the camera bag on the wall beside the water puts me off , just waiting for the splash..LOL
 
wezza13 said:
@Thomas Keidan
Watch this video :

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxEJTj_9ADM

They're not as easy to damage as you would think.
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^^^This. Mike Browne is good, talks a lot of common sense (y) The video is worth watching right to the end as it covers a lot of general cleaning issues and demonstrates the time honoured huffandrub technique, but in relation to how tough lenses are, just check it out at 2.10mins where he jabs an expensive front lens element with a fork :eek: Guess what happens - nothing :D
 
Mr Badger said:
This subject amuses me at times, from some of the things we read it seems the front element of a lens can be badly scratched, covered in finger prints, bits of dirt the size of pinheads, etc. and it won't show up on the photos taken with it... yet, according to some, just place one crystal-clear, high-quality, UV filter on the front of an undamaged lens and the image quality will be degraded. I wonder how that works in the world of physics? :whistle:
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Easy -- there's no such thing as a perfect filter made from perfect glass with perfect coatings. An extra and necessarily ever so slightly imperfect pair of air-glass interfaces are added to the lens, plus the first air-glass interface is moved further out from the protection of whatever lens hood is in use, increasing its effective angle of view of spurious non-image-forming light. Does this slight theoretical extra imperfection matter in practice? That depends on your own style of photography and how much you care. Luckily you can test this out easily. If you see no differences then it doesn't matter to you.

I'm a physicist -- ask me another :)
 
Mr Badger said:
Can a scratched or scuffed or fingerprint-smeared front element on a lens adversely affect image quality in some conditions? ;)
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It will reduce contrast and increase flare. The original basis for coating lenses was people in the 1930s discovering that slightly dirty lenses performed better than very clean ones.
 
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