ICEINSPACE
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10-09-2009, 10:16 PM
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6EQUJ5
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 3,661
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what do you use to clean your camera lenses?
looks like maybe water (marks) or dust and water on my Canon lenses...what is the recommended technique to clean?
I have some lens cleaning tissue-Japanese apparently-but is that what one would use?
thanks for any tips
narayan
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10-09-2009, 10:18 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,121
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I use Acetone to clean the surface, and a MicroFibre cloth to wipe clean.
It cleans great and leaves no dust or anything behind.
Theo.
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10-09-2009, 10:27 PM
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6000 post club member
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Launceston, Australia
Posts: 6,570
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I'd avoid using tissues.
I'm sure there are many who'll tell you they are OK....and perhaps in some instances they are...but I'd be afraid of scratches.
Use a soft microfibre cloth and a good quality lens cleaning fluid.
Believe it or not, most of the time I use a cloth and just breathe on the lens to form a light 'fog' and wipe that off. It takes care of 98% of my cleaning jobs.
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10-09-2009, 10:51 PM
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Widefield wuss
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caboolture, Australia
Posts: 6,902
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I agree with Matt on that one... a good bit of breath and a microfibre lens cleaning cloth... works almost every time.. a camel hair brush can help to move the bits of light dust also...
My best thought is this.. put a UV filter on the end of the lens. this will protect the front element from dust particles, any pollen in the air etc...Its the safest to keep your optics safe..
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10-09-2009, 11:29 PM
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IIS Member #671
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Canberra
Posts: 11,159
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Narayan,
This thread has come up before.
www.lenspen.com
Do yourself a favour, spend the money and get a few of those. RB will back me up on this.
Regards,
Humayun
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11-09-2009, 09:14 AM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 26,059
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane
www.lenspen.com
Do yourself a favour, spend the money and get a few of those. RB will back me up on this.
Regards,
Humayun
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Narayan, what ever you do don't use tissue, even if it's supposedly good for lens cleaning.
H and I always recommend the Lens Pen, (Johnny Extreme also uses one).
It's the only thing I trust on my lens collection with to clean the front element.
I've even used it on my eye pieces.
If you do buy it, make sure you get the original, not a copy.
It's so good that there are lots of 'Chinese type' imitations out there.
Also, (and not everyone will agree with this) but I highly recommend buying a UV filter like Alex suggested.
It's the first thing I put on a brand new lens and it never comes off after that.
The only caveat with this suggestion is that you need to buy a high quality one like a Hoya Super HMC Pro1 series, it's super slim which avoids any possible vignetting effect on DSLRs and multi coated so you get the best possible light transmission and avoids colour shifts and flaring.
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11-09-2009, 12:21 PM
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IIS Member #671
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Canberra
Posts: 11,159
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I'll also highly recommend the Hoya Pro1 series stuff. I have their 77mm circular polarizer. It is superb.
They're not cheap, but, they're the goods.
Regards,
Humayun
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11-09-2009, 12:47 PM
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Widefield wuss
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caboolture, Australia
Posts: 6,902
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Yep.. I have the Hoya HMC Pro1 UV filters on all my lenses.. No chance that I'd take a good piece of glass outside without one... Shame my refractor doesnt have a thread in front of the objective... if it did, it would be getting the hoya treatment too!
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11-09-2009, 07:32 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Melb
Posts: 64
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I just use whatever solvent i have around such as ethanol, actone, isopropanol etc and wipe clean with a cloth. Im sure that lenspen is good but products like the baader 'optical wonder' is just diluted ethanol + isopropanol, theres nothing special about it.
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11-09-2009, 11:27 PM
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6EQUJ5
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 3,661
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thanks lads
much obliged for the information
Regards
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11-09-2009, 11:28 PM
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6EQUJ5
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 3,661
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PS any aussie supplier for the lens pen?
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11-09-2009, 11:31 PM
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Like to learn
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: melbourne
Posts: 4,835
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The Lenspen video was great. Who sells them in AU?
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12-09-2009, 12:47 AM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 26,059
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seeker372011
PS any aussie supplier for the lens pen?
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I used to be able to get them at the A.Geographic shops.
I bought a few double packs when they had their half price sale.
Haven't seen them stocked there for a while.
Might want to try local camera shops.
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12-09-2009, 02:22 AM
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IIS Member #671
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Canberra
Posts: 11,159
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I got mine from Australian Geographic when they had the authentic Lenspens. Since then, I've only seen Barska-branded ones, which are not the real deal. Do not be fooled by any stickers advertising that they are authentic.
I did send an email off to Lenspen asking about them but never got a reply. They have advertising on their page to make sure you don't get duped into purchasing non-authentic products. As Andrew said, it's such a good little item, that there is mass Chinese cloning of it going on.
I haven't been able to find them anywhere local in recent times, and, with the dollar being so strong at the moment, you should just order directly from them.
Regards,
Humayun
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12-09-2009, 06:18 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 942
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The best lens cleaning solution I've come across is the Bintel UHTC cleaning solution - the one apparently based on Dr Clays recipe. It has a very low tendency to leave streaks. I've never had much luck using len pens.
Terry
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13-09-2009, 08:38 PM
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Galaxy hitchhiking guide
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Shire
Posts: 8,278
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Blast lens with Dust Off to remove any grit
Brand name Kleenex (plain white, no aloe or additives!)
Brand name Windex (spray on to tissue, not the lens) for water soluble marks
Acetone for everything else. (again, applied to tissue first)
Acetone may leave an evaporation mark, but If you have a second (dry) tissue, a quick second wipe will avoid these.
One wipe=one tissue. Tissues are cheap, lenses generally aren't!
Any debris from the tissue then removed with a can of Dust Off or similar.
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23-09-2009, 02:01 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Carmel - Perth Hills
Posts: 303
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane
I'll also highly recommend the Hoya Pro1 series stuff. I have their 77mm circular polarizer. It is superb.
They're not cheap, but, they're the goods.
Regards,
Humayun
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I have those on most of my lenses too, great filters! although the thread tends to stick when i'm turning the polariser around so its a pain to get off
I was loaned a B+W Kasemann Polariser and I think I'll grab one of those when the time comes.. Mainly for the brass filter ring which didn't stick once while i was using it
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23-09-2009, 08:27 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 12,618
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I'm with Peter, Lens coatings are tougher than we think, and I feel we treat them like fairy floss, if you pay big bucks for L Glass, than one can expect it can take some punishment.
All this crap that Canon and others put out about not touching anything is just crap.
I have taken 3 filters out of a 5D and replaced then, handled them, wiped then clean, and replaced them, and this is what i image with now.
Don't be afraid.
Leon
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25-09-2009, 06:36 AM
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Bust Duster
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 4,846
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The argument against those cloths is that if you reuse them and there's dust on it from a previous clean, that can scratch your lens. The lens tissues are use once then throw away.
Similar to Peter, I use a rocket blower to blow off dust first. Then lens tissue one wipe, throw away. Then another blow to get rid of tissue fibres. That does it 95% of the time.
If there's a spot on there still, maybe breath on lens and another tissue wipe and blow.
Any tougher than that, the lens pen comes out. By now there shouldn't be any dust on the lens pen to potentially scratch next use.
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