Rain on lens - Best solution

KIPAX

KIPAX

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KIPAX Lancashire UK
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Apart from don't get it wet.

Sometimes you ahve no option.. All my gear is covered and dry as am I .. but sometimes forced to shoot towards the rainfall and rain does get on the glass.. so much so its not just sprinkles.. its a lot..

I ahve micro fibre bla blah lens cleaners.. but with heavy rain it just ends up smearing the glass...

I cant use a filter on the end as the lens is too big..

So best way to wipe lens and keep going when.... you cant avoid getting wet, you cant use a filter.. you have tried proper micro fibre cloths...

take it away? :)
 
I carry hand towels with me all the time, and bandanas.

These will not stop rain from falling directly on the lens, if that's how the rain and lens are pointed; but I used them to cover my camera and lens, reduces water drops bouncing about and flooding as the cloth absorbs the water!

I also make sure to have the hood on, rain's got to be at a very heavy downpour and / or weird angle to get in past that.

Finally, if front element does get wet, I use the hand towel to absorb the water, then the micro fibre to wipe the lens clean.

Oh, and camera & lens would be covered with the RainGuard cover, but these are not impenetrable from heavy downpours. Hence the towels.
 
If it's a possibility, what about some quality paper towels / small roll of paper towels - these will absorb the water then your micro fibre cloth to clean the element...and have a small asda bag or something to put the waste towels in ?
 
There are some products available for windscreens that make the water bead and run off, which may help a little. I find that a hood keeps the front element pretty clear but can hinder wiping clear when necessary. That Juan Sheet kitchen towel does a good job of soaking up most of the water and a decent microfiber cloth should get the rest (or a dry lens tissue).
 
andyred said:
If it's a possibility, what about some quality paper towels / small roll of paper towels - these will absorb the water then your micro fibre cloth to clean the element...and have a small asda bag or something to put the waste towels in ?
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I would have thought paper towels would disintegrate and create a gunk residue, not forgetting the crazy amount of lint too!

A good quality cotton hand / pocket towel is relatively cheap from M&S, and their brand doesn't leave lint, and is support fully too ... helps to wipe your face from rain as well :D
 
I use my sleeve.

But actually my long lens (100-400) which I would most likely be using in heavy rain also has a long lens hood so it's not a problem because rain doesn't really get onto it. Does the lens you're using have a lens hood option like that?
 
Wail said:
I carry hand towels with me all the time, and bandanas.

These will not stop rain from falling directly on the lens, if that's how the rain and lens are pointed; but I used them to cover my camera and lens, reduces water drops bouncing about and flooding as the cloth absorbs the water!

I also make sure to have the hood on, rain's got to be at a very heavy downpour and / or weird angle to get in past that.
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Sorry I thought I covered all that in the question...

Wail said:
Finally, if front element does get wet, I use the hand towel to absorb the water, then the micro fibre to wipe the lens clean.
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A rough hand towel on a lens.. ..the fibre cloth i have.. do you mean just hold iot against the lens to soak it it? Thanks:)


Wail said:
Oh, and camera & lens would be covered with the RainGuard cover, but these are not impenetrable from heavy downpours. Hence the towels.
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I did say in the question...
 
CharlotteM said:
I use my sleeve.

But actually my long lens (100-400) which I would most likely be using in heavy rain also has a long lens hood so it's not a problem because rain doesn't really get onto it. Does the lens you're using have a lens hood option like that?
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Yes sorry I thought I covered all this in the question.. the problem is NOT how to avoid rain.. but what to do when its on the lens.. thanks :)
 
Wail said:
I would have thought paper towels would disintegrate and create a gunk residue, not forgetting the crazy amount of lint too!

A good quality cotton hand / pocket towel is relatively cheap from M&S, and their brand doesn't leave lint, and is support fully too ... helps to wipe your face from rain as well :D
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I cant be sure as have not tried but yes the paper towels does seem a bit wrong but thankfull for the suggestion..


So towels.. tea towels seems to be the way..... but not to clean the lens in any way.. just hold it against it and soak up water like a sponge? hmm so what about a sponge or a shammy leather.. anyone?

I presume thats what everyones saying..hold it against the lens to soak it up.. not point moving it around the lens and possible damage? )


Many thanks for all the answers everyone.. very helpful... but please.. its not how to avoid as i know for sure its unavoidable thanks :)
 
Nod said:
There are some products available for windscreens that make the water bead and run off, which may help a little. I find that a hood keeps the front element pretty clear but can hinder wiping clear when necessary. That Juan Sheet kitchen towel does a good job of soaking up most of the water and a decent microfiber cloth should get the rest (or a dry lens tissue).
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I shall google jaun sheet thanks :)

ps on a 400 lens wiht a big hood its easer to remove hood and start cleaning than try to get your arm around the en :)d... problem is the 70-200 lens is also wet so its not just the one lens...


haha just googled ity.. its that annoying one sheet guy... am thinking a role of thats a bit big to be carrying about hmm thinking on my feet here..... thanks :)
 
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"Juan Sheet" is the mexican bloke in the "Plenty" ads! :LOL:

A good quality kitchen roll will not scratch your lens or leave residue. Soak up the worst and then use your micro fibre cloth to clean.

I wouldn't have thought you would have to use the cloth too often, as once you have removed the spots with kitchen roll, the front element should be clean enough.
 
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Tigger.ufo said:
"Juan Sheet" is the mexican bloke in the "Plenty" ads! :LOL:

A good quality kitchen roll will not scratch your lens or leave residue. Soak up the worst and then use your micro fibre cloth to clean.
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yeagh i edited my answer above.. found him and went...oh no! :)

so has anyone actually tried this or is it common sense deduction in action ? :)
 
I would blot rather than wipe, as you say, the less movement the less likely of causing any damage, especially if it's an expensive bit of glass which it sounds like it is.
A leather shammy (chamois :p) should work ok or maybe even just a cellulose sponge as they are nice and soft and also cheap as chips.
If you want a small piece of shammy just cut up a windscreen demister pad, they're only about £2 as opposed to about a tenner for a shammy.
 
Rainex spray, on a cloth, wipe the lens all over and then wait until it's dried, then polish the front element, it will look like nothing is there but it is as the water beads off. I had the same trouble at Goodwood as I was using my 100-400 for a customer, the other media togs were almost giving up due to the rain, I was completely soaked but the 1Dx was doing fine,
 
Flightphoto said:
Rainex spray, on a cloth, wipe the lens all over and then wait until it's dried, then polish the front element, it will look like nothing is there but it is as the water beads off. I had the same trouble at Goodwood as I was using my 100-400 for a customer, the other media togs were almost giving up due to the rain, I was completely soaked but the 1Dx was doing fine,
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never heard of rainex (will google that as well now thanks) ... yeagh its a £6k lens and a £1.8k lens so i dont want to risk anyhtign... but all things being relative i would be as careful with a 600 quid one :) I use thinktank covers but when your forced to point towards the rain theres no stopping it hitting the glass :(
 
On the rain repellent subject, get yourself some Gtechiq G5. It's made for car glass and marine use, better than RainX too.
 
so far the "Juan Sheet" approach is most appealing... half a roll of that folded in my case.. use it to soak up wiht dab effect before wiping clean with cloths...
 
JamesBryan said:
On the rain repellent subject, get yourself some Gtechiq G5. It's made for car glass and marine use, better than RainX too.
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having just read up on rainex and se its a premptive method... its putting me off thinking of adding a film of somehting no matter how invisible to my lens... I had a filter on the 70-200 which i proved to be detremintal to my picture quality so now I avoid anyhting between glas and subject.... yes a little paranoid I know :)
 
Im out in all weathers and it is inevitable that at some stage a rain drop can get on the lens.
As said a good quality piece of kitchen roll to absorb the moisture followed by soft cloth. On arrival home when everything dried and acclimatised clean with a good quality lens cleaner. then put away ready for next trip.
Rain on a lens if absorbed may leave a small mark but if not a big smear then shouldnt really affect your pics, bit like a scratch on a lens.
 
I would be *very* concerned about what would happen to lens coatings with Rain-X.

I don't have any nearby to check, but IIRC it says on the packaging not to use on plastics or coated glass because of the solvents it contains.

Perhaps on a filter I don't care about, but never on a lens.
 
Les Key said:
Im out in all weathers and it is inevitable that at some stage a rain drop can get on the lens.
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You do realise we are talking masses of rain as per the OP .. absoloutly soaked... I wouldnt bother about a few drops.. its not going to effect the picture AFAIK :)

Les Key said:
As said a good quality piece of kitchen roll to absorb the moisture followed by soft cloth. On arrival home when everything dried and acclimatised clean with a good quality lens cleaner. then put away ready for next trip.
Rain on a lens if absorbed may leave a small mark but if not a big smear then shouldnt really affect your pics, bit like a scratch on a lens.
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Yep agree with above even if a few drops.... soon as I get home.. hand them over to the missus :)
 
KIPAX said:
I cant be sure as have not tried but yes the paper towels does seem a bit wrong but thankfull for the suggestion..


So towels.. tea towels seems to be the way..... but not to clean the lens in any way.. just hold it against it and soak up water like a sponge? hmm so what about a sponge or a shammy leather.. anyone?

I presume thats what everyones saying..hold it against the lens to soak it up.. not point moving it around the lens and possible damage? )


Many thanks for all the answers everyone.. very helpful... but please.. its not how to avoid as i know for sure its unavoidable thanks :)
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Blotting with the cotton tea towel is what I do, and it has never caused any damage to any of my lens. Just make sure, obviously, to keep my hands as steady as possible since any sand grain / hard particles on the lens element would cause a nasty scratch with the slightest movement.

Why do I brave this? I don't think the front element of a lens is any more fragile than the sensor; and if I am OK of swabbing that, then I am very comfortable blotting the front element.

Why not use a sponge? Towels have multiple uses that the sponge can't be used for; and, I do believe sponges are more coarse?
 
Kitchen roll is the best thing for soaking up moisture. I'd try a few different ones to see which brand leaves least bits behind, maybe Thirst Pockets? I wouldn't use Rain-X, never heard of anyone putting that on a lens before (just instinctively feel it's not a good plan, and it's a pig to remove) and it may not work anyway. It just makes the water bead so it runs off at speed in a car.

On the other hand, if it was me I'd build a longer lens hood or some kind of shield* above the lens. Those big white teles of yours could take a much longer hood without any danger of vignetting.

*Find a plastic tub or something of the right diameter, perhaps a food container from Tescos. Remove top and bottom, cut in half. Maybe a short piece of guttering might fit, that kind of thing. Attach to lens hood with Velcro tabs, line the underside with black self-adhesive felt or paint matt black if it's gonna get soaked. Check for vignetting, but I'd guess you could at least double the length of the standard hood without problems
 
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The key repellent is silicone, that's the main ingredient of beading water, as far as lens coatings go, they are pretty (very) hard to remove such unless you use Nitric acid (there's a video about it on YouTube explaining how resistant the lens coatings are using vapour deposition
The RainX method is a pain in the arse to so but it does work very well, it's handy for the lens body especially with the push pull lenses as you don't want water getting into the seals. Before I sold my 500mmL I had one of those extended lens hoods with the flock material inside to prevent the water from creeping in but I've not found anything since that was long, without giving a huge vignette.

I'll keep testing the RainX on other items to see how it affects the surface, it's not soo much the solvents that are bad, it's the chemical 'medium' that's used to hold the mix together - sulphuric acid, but before you panic.....

It's luckily broken down in the process of production pretty much like adding citric acid to chalk powder, they use it like you would to use a solvent to break down an oil but in this instance we are talking about smoothing out a silicone based polymer - this is the only ingredient left on the glass once the liquids have evaporated - it's just the principle of application.

Hopefully I've not made he above sound too technical? When I was designing UAVs we were experimenting with the silver nano based repellents whereby you could throw a handful of mud at the avionics dome assembly and it would literally roll off, we then applied this to the wing surfaces etc to supposedly prevent any build up of crap which did work, the only other stuff I would recommend is unfortunately unavailable on the streets (it was used on the old F16 canopies but can't remember the chemical name)

Most of the military jets now use RainX funnily enough!
 
Leather Chamois (used ONLY for this purpose and kept it it's own bag).

On my big lenses (i.e. Nikon 400 2.8) the front piece of glass is not a lens...it's just protective glass.... It's curved, but I don't think it's coated; it's meant to take the abuse and be "easily" replaced. I think Nikon does this with any lens that takes drop in filters (i.e. too large for front filters). I would assume Canon does this as well.

My point is that you don't have to baby it... Don't abuse it, but do what you need to do...
 
Forgot to add, the 500 also has a protective 'replaceable' element that has no optical benefit other than being a weather and protection seal. Check out the canon 500 f4 production vid on YouTube, it's a good 15 minute video if you're into that type of thing, the 600L is also on there somewhere (kills time when you're working)
 
Large fan right behind you. Blow the water away altogether?

Shoot from inside a gazebo then rain unless horizontal won't be able to reach your lens either?

There is some new windscreen tech around that generates some kind of electronic field that repels water. I think Saab or someone were on about using it in car windscreens. I was reading about it a couple of days ago. Ideal addition to long lenses ;)
 
Wail said:
I would have thought paper towels would disintegrate and create a gunk residue, not forgetting the crazy amount of lint too!

A good quality cotton hand / pocket towel is relatively cheap from M&S, and their brand doesn't leave lint, and is support fully too ... helps to wipe your face from rain as well :D
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No, one sheet or pocket thirst or equivalent soak up water and don't leave residue or disintegrate easily, I've never had a lint issue at home using them ???
 
be wary of using any type of kitchen towel, over time it will scratch the coating. I used to use it so soak the water off my mirrors on my bike and after a while saw a bit of swirling, that was just dabbing, no rubbing. Rain-x is bad as its oil based.

I bought a microfibre pad thing, like a sponge but really soft just for the job and its perfect. Soak the water off then buff with another cloth or tissues. I can't for the life of me remember where I bought it from so will have a google and get back to you. I've also seen something called an "ear vac" used to suck off the droplets as well, but might take a bit too long for you kipax.
 
sk66 said:
Leather Chamois (used ONLY for this purpose and kept it it's own bag).
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No harm in one of these as well as the good quality kitchen towel things.

sk66 said:
My point is that you don't have to baby it... Don't abuse it, but do what you need to do...
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Your probably right.. but at 6k you do get a bit over protectiive :)

Its also the 70-200 at th same time as both are used pitchside in torrential rain :(
 
I know a photographer who uses a shammy, seems to work well for him.

Decent kitchen towel I've used, and seen other press photographers using too, so probably a good bet.
 
For the 70-200, put on a clear/UV and rain-x it...
Yeah, it my degrade the IQ a little, but probably not as much as the weather is.

Nice thing about the chamois is it sucks up water like a sponge, and it works better once it's gotten wet...
 
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The above is what I usually use when at the track, it soaks up s*** loads of water and being micro fibre it also polishes, I think I got it in pound land?!
 
Speaking from a motorbike visor perspective (scratching = loss of visibility), paper towels are a big no no and some kitchen paper as well as they're made from wood or fibre crops, toilet/tissue paper is better but tends to disintegrate and carry a lot of lint. Microfibre cloths like the one above are good, they make really good dusters as well and Amazon sell a bulk pack of 24 for £10. I also use a product called Plexus which is an alternative to Rain X but designed for plastic and less harmful, never put it on my lenses though but works a treat on visors :)
 
Tesco own brand kitchen roll, blot & wipe. Tea towels leave more residue than paper towels IME.
 
Micro-fibre cloths aint the best to use for it, they usually leave fibres on the lens if wet, use a glass cloth, you can pick them up from Asda or Tesco for a couple ££ in the cleaning isle. I believe spontex make them.
 
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