Lens cleaning gear recommendations

[gabek]

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Greetings all -

 

I plan to replace my assortment of lens cleaning gear accumulated over 40 years. I have always kept lens tissue, a sable bristle blower brush and lens cleaning fluid in my bag, but now that I plan to replace them all, I wonder what our local shooters use and recommend. Many years ago, I even had a Staticmaster brush, long since misplaced. Of course, my desire is to keep lens, EV and LCD surfaces scrupulously clean while doing no damage to glass, coatings, paint, etc. My Digilux-2 always wears a lens cap when not in use and the interior of my bag is generally quite clean.

 

What about lipstick style retracting sable brushes, camel hair or boar bristle and blower brushes, microfiber (polyester/nylon blend) cloths, lens cleaning fluids, etc.? Anything not mentioned that you think is worth carrying? What’s in your kit?

 

Thanks,

 

Gabe

[meatboy]

I rarely need to clean the exposed glass, I try very hard not to let anything come near those surfaces. When I do need to clean them the only thing I carry is a microfibre cloth for the lens glass and a very small brush which came from one of my Olympus interchangable focussing screens.

 

I also have a "dirty" microfibre cloth for lens barrels and camera bodies.

 

I kind of wonder which is worse, a dirty lens or one scratched from overcleaning?

 

Tim

[marknorton]

I agree that the best cleaning is no cleaning. Lens caps and a vacuumed out camera provide a good barrier.

 

I'd advise against brushes because they can themselves pickup grease which just contaminates each lens. I use a blower by itself to remove dust and only if needed, I use a fresh pec-pad with a few drops of Eclipse fluid. I certainly don't think breathing on a lens is a good idea.

 

Zeiss make a lens cleaning kit for a very modest amount of money, checkout their web-site.

[wbesz]

"I certainly don't think breathing on a lens is a good idea"

 

I've always wondered about this. From casual thinking it would seem that the breath should just be plain water vapour except for the fact there is also odour.

 

Perhaps someone in the profession can comment (too expensive to have analyzed just for the sake of curiousity).

[vic vic]

hi gabe

 

kodak lens cleaning fluids - very very good

schneider (b+w) cloth

antistatic kinetronik brush

 

that is it.

this is what i have avaliable here in israel, but other stuff like zeiss cleaning kit that can be found in england europe and america is just as good.

 

very recomended to keep your glasses clean and not only with lens cups. the lenses exposed to different environments. they are super coated are very strong - but cleaning is always needed from time to time.

 

the fluids (kodak or zeiss) remove those environmental dirt and even remove totally the finger marks from the viewfinder and rangefinder - so it is imidiatly clean.

[stuny]

I seem to recall Leica lens manuals saying NOT to use fluids, but to use clean, microfiber cloths. One source for them is any store selling prescription eyeglasses.

[stunsworth]

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If you do use fluids spray them on a micro-fibre cloth, never on the lens surface itself as it can work its way into the mechanism very easily.

 

I have a bottle or RoR cleaner that I've had for about 5 years, still almost full :-)

[uulrich]

I work w/ NC filter and a t-shirt. I also take a microfiber cloths w/ me. Other than that I do not care about it. Sounds harsh and un-leicanian but it does for me.

[Guest rubidium]

There ia a 12-page Zeiss pub, entitled "The Clean Microscope - Recognizing Dirt

and Removing it Correctly" that gives advice on cleaning delicate and expensive microscope optics. Get it at http://www.zeiss.com/C1256D18002CC306/0/1205E8CBD68054EAC125701500404705/$file/46-0009_e.pdf .

 

Among other advice, it gives the recipe for Optical Cleaning Solution L (85 % petroleum ether, 15 % isopropanol.) that someone mentioned. Curiously, it also notes (on page 11) that "... a film of distilled water can be generated by breathing on the surface...", since someone raised the question about that.

 

Cheers,

Jim

[Dan States]

Old underpants. Better than all that junk. Yer bottom keeps em soft and handy.

[Peyton Hoge]

Clean or dirty???

[hm1912]

That ROR stuff is great. I use it too, but only when necessary. I've got it that one should not use lens cleaning fluid with the micro-clothes... The best such cloth that I have is one that Leica sells, although I'm sure it is sold under another name as well. When I do use the liquid I use it with Kodak lens cleaning tissues.

[dkCambridgeshire]

All those secondhand lenses sold by dealers with "no guarantee' 'cos the front elements have been polished too many times by owners have been ruined ... Best to leave lens elements well alone unless they are really dirty ... Just use a blower brush preferably without the brush ... And I have never understood Leica's recommendation not so many years ago to clean lens elements with a chamois leather !

 

Dunk

[nemeng]

1. If in doubt, see the Leica FAQ topic at:

 

Leica FAQ - Keeping your Leica lenses really clean

 

2. I use a good quality micro-fibre cloth. Breathe on the lens, wipe, next problem... :?)

[gabek]

Thanks to all for your advice and suggestions. I also appreciate links to the instructional materials.

 

It seems that things have not changed much over time, and a small amount of just the right gear is all that is needed to keep glass clean without damaging it in the process.

 

I think I’ve decided on a large bulb blower, a Zeiss cleaning kit and a microfiber cloth.

 

I am grateful for the generous advice afforded by members of this forum.

 

Gabe

[jim_royer]

One more bit of a recommendation. For many years I have used an ear syringe to blow on the lens prior to using a microfiber cloth. It does a great job of removing dust, etc. which could damage the lens while rubbing it against the glass. Buy the ear syringe, which is available at any place which sells health products. Give it a try. Jim

[raizans]

i really like the microdear microfiber cloths. that and a blower and kodak lens fluid are all i've ever really needed. i don't know why some people can't stand the kodak stuff.

[JBA]

Someone supposedly knowledgeable once told me that cleaning lenses with lens cleaning fluid and Q-tips would achieve a polish superior to the factory polish. For years I took this advice as gospel when cleaning my Nikkors. I'm not sure it did any damage in the long run, though microscopic damage to the coating would be pretty hard to detect. My 105 developed fungus inside the front element, and I always suspected that the relatively large amount of lens cleaning fluid applied by that technique was responsible.

[leitz_not_leica]

I never understood why people must remove every visible speck of debris from their lenses. Unless REALLY dirty, it won't affect image quality. I put UV filters on all my lenses (no caps) and clean them with anything handy, including my shirt tail. I'll clean the lenses themselves MAYBE once every couple of years. I use a MF cloth, that's it, plus breath.

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[pvsrv]

I'm with Steve. I keep UV filters on and clean those as much as I want. I'd rather spend a few bucks to replace a filter than scratch a lens.