How do you clean filters and lenses?
 

What is the best way to clean filters and lenses so there are not any smudges or dust particles?

Thank you.

See a thread called "fujinon lens and other dusty issues" in the XL1 Watchdog > Lens & Optics forum elsewhere here on the Community... other replies to this topic welcome here... this needs to become an article on the website. It's an excellent question.

Thank you
 

Thanks again!

Gilbert

I've tried a few different lens cleaning clothes but the best I've used are generic brand Camera Lens Wipes. They are 4x6 and for a $1.75 you get 50 of them at BHPhoto. It might be me but I find the cloth cleaners to accumulate finger grease quickly and I'd spend more time than necessary cleaning my lens and filters.

Hope this info helps you.

I was under the impression that video lenses should NEVER be wiped clean, because of micron-thin anti-glare coatings on them.

Hi,

There have been many methods of cleaning lens over the years and I don't think there is only one correct way to do it. Years ago, the '70s, I went to a PMA show (Photo Marketing Association) in Chicago, could have been Vegas. Olympus Camera had a bunch of their Home Office tech wizards there in the booth. I asked one of them how do you clean a lens? He proceeded to make this little cleaning tool out of two q-tips and a couple sheets of lens cleaning tissue. He applied a couple of drops of Kodak lens cleaning fluid to his tool and start to cleaning a filter with a nasty, greasy finger print on it. He rubbed quite hard on it, kinda scrubbing and circular motion on the filter. He finished cleaning by using a dry tissue and breathing on the filter to create a mist on the surface and again rubbing quite hard to polish the surface and remove any streaks. I questioned his technique further and he explained the modern multi coatings are in fact quite hard and are not easily damaged. To demonstrate his point he took a lit cigarette and rubbed it out on the surface of his newly cleaned filter. The filter was undamaged. The point of this story is I don't think you're really going to damage your filter or lens with the "wrong method". Watch out for things that might scratch like sand and other abrasives. Remove all traces of them by blowing or using a fine brush. Then once sure all traces are gone clean away.

I use one of those micro fiber cleaning cloths. I check for sand (I live in Florida) and blow on the filter leaving a mist. I then polish or rub in a circular motion till all smears are removed. If I need to get something really nasty off of a filter I use fluid, lens tissue and q-tips to remove it, then finish with the cloth.

How do you get greasy smudges off an LCD screen? Another trick I learned is to get a piece of scotch tape and apply it to the sreen surface (again checking for sand first) and then pulling it off. Off comes the grease, oils, dust, etc. leaving your LCD screen like new. For really stubborn grease repeat until clean. I will rotate the direction I put the tape on 90 degrees and that seems to help sometimes. Good luck

Jeff Donald