Lens Cleaning Advice Needed

Don't worry so much, dirt is not that noticeable on images. Cleaning lenses can and will do more harm than good. I have proven this point with my high end telescope, by letting someone look through it during the day, while I then cover 80% of the front with my hand, the image will somewhat darken, but is still just as sharp. My hand is a heck of a lot larger than some dust spots, believe me. Smudges on the other hand can be problematic, as they may contain oil, if from fingerprints, and this can cause etching into the lens coatings over time if not removed (just like coins).

First thing to do in any cleaning situation, is to remove the dust completely, use a clean air stream, like from an oilless air compressor, or canned air, careful not to expel any accelerant onto the lens, then use a lens brush to remove more stubborn dust particles. Finally my tool of the trade (I was a paid sports and concert photographer for more than a decade), is a lens pen and an Giotto Air Rocket.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...o_clear.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._Blower.html

I only occasionally used any lens cleaning solution, and what I did/do use is for my telescopes, which need to be cleaned once yearly due to the length of time they spend outside under humid conditions.

http://www.optcorp.com/opt-doc-clay...omplete.html I know Dr. Clay Sherrod and he makes a great cleaning solution. It is sold though OPT (disclaimer: I've worked at in the past). I have found this to be a superior cleaning solution over anything else I've ever tried. If it's safe to use on a very easily scratched mirror, (much more susceptible to damage than glass lenses), then it's perfectly safe for your camera lenses. A little goes a long way, and one kit will should last you a lifetime. I'm 12 years into using mine and still have over half of each bottle left. There is a dry kit available to mix your own if you live overseas and can't have the chemicals shipped in liquid form. (OPT only ships domestically on this product), see their website for more info.

Fungus on your lens? You may as well toss the lens or at least keep it away from any other lenses you may have. Fungus is really BAD and generally is found in very humid climates, it grows, often inside on internal lens elements, meaning you need to disassemble the lens to get to and kill the fungus or clean it - if this is even possible at all, most of the time, it's a lost cause, as the fungus will have etched and permanently damaged the glass and any coatings the lens has.

Once cleaned, I protect my lenses (which for the most part are all professional, hence expensive) with top quality filters, I use the thinest ones possible, they aren't cheap either, I recommend B&W Schneider filters.

https://www.schneideroptics.com/Eco...spx?CID=1619
Better to damage a $200 filter than a $2000 lens I say.

Last note almost all telephoto lenses use a flat optical glass as the final piece, so there is not so much to worry on them, this can be replaced quite cheaply (relative) but this really applies to the super telephoto lenses like 400mm and longer, and in what I use - Canon, we are talking large aperture and expensive 4" or larger and $3K and up, way up.

My macro lenses I keep in plastic zip lock baggies when not in use to keep dust off them. I also use the Giotto Rocket to "dust" my coins off before shooting them, it's really my greatest camera gadget I have. It's cheap, it needs no recharging, and it's easy to use and completely safe on anything, as it only blows air with nothing but a squeeze of your hand.

Ken Rockwell's website mirrors a lot of what I've said and is probably one of the best reads on lens cleaning and lens issues you think you have, that has been published online:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fla...ght-test.htm

Dirty sensors, are a whole other situation, and show up as large dust motes (or dark donut looking spots) on images always in the same spot on every image, with any lens hooked up. This is an entirely different subject, which I won't get into in this thread. I find this to be a much more difficult issue and problematic than using dirty lenses.

Hope all this helps anyone looking to clean their lenses.

Odd that this thread has been languishing for days without a response, and then both West and I reply at 4AM within a few minutes of each other...

No problem - glad to help, and hope you all find something useful to take away from my post.



That's what setting the alarm for 6am on Saturday when I have the day off due to switching shifts with co-worker today does, DOH! Now I can't go back to sleep. Might as well check on CCF!

I wonder if microfiber cloths would work well.
I use them for my glasses and they are great.
But heed rpmsrpms's caution about using too much pressure.

Yes they can do a fine job, as long as all dust and any other surface material is removed first. It's not so much the cleaning cloths that can damage or scratch a lens, it's the bits of dust and grit that the cloths pick up and get dragged across the glass that do the damage. Hence my use of the rocket air bulb blower and a soft lens brush.

Also do not spray any cleaning solution directly on the lens, as most lenses are convex, they bulge out slightly higher at the center like a dome, this causes the solution to run down to the edge of the lens and potentially get inside, where it won't help at all, only hurt. Spray the cloth directly then apply to your lens.

As mentioned Ken Rockwell's link says this important point:

"Amateurs worry too much about lens cleanliness. Look at the front of a real pro's lens in regular light, and half the time you'll see so much junk he hasn't cleaned off that you'd be amazed."

Small scratches should not affect your lens' performance either. Other than causing small diffraction lines on very bright specular highlights, which aren't a big issue in macro photography. A deep scratch can be almost erased by applying a bit of black ink, like from a sharpie pen, onto it. It won't show up in the photo.

Let me paraphrase once more - THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Amateurs worry too much about lens cleanliness