Fingerprints

[treeshugger]

I remembered having the lens cap on, but alas I was mistaken. The shops are all closed and my available resources are toilet paper and water. Can I wait to buy good cleaning gear or will the oils and water and such damage the glass? What kind of cleaning gear do i need? Its a 17-40mm canon

PS im spending some rare time with my bro, a corporal in the marines who is a mortar forward observer. He uses top end optics from Leica (positioning/ distance etc, something called a vector and others) and normally carries around lens paper with him.

Thanks for the help in advance
David

[joegolf68]

Hopefully your bro has some cleaning paper with him. Water and such won't hurt it, but might not clean the lens.

Tell your brother thank you from us, for his service to his country. Good men and women are protecting our country and we owe them so much.

[treeshugger]

Ill carry on your message.
He hasnt any paper on him seeing as he is on leave
can i leave the smudge overnight?

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Certainly. Won't hurt it any. You can leave it as long as you like. I honestly couldn't say what to clean the lens with. I've just always had pec pads and eclipse with me. Someone else will have to help with that.

[tdaugharty]

It can damage the coating ... I'd attempt to remove as much as possible using a tissue. See this link.

http://www.shortcourses.com/how/care/care.htm#Cleaning%20the%20Camera%20and%20Lens

Good luck

P.S. Sorry Ronald. Not trying to affend you. Just read many articles about cleaning and it's always suggested to remove finger prints ASAP.

[joegolf68]

It can damage the coating ... I'd attempt to remove as much as possible using a tissue. See this link.

http://www.shortcourses.com/how/care/care.htm#Cleaning%20the%20Camera%20and%20Lens

Good luck

I read the link. When you say it can damage the coating, "what" can damage the coating? The water? The fingerprint? Not sure what you mean. :)

Edited to add: I read the first page of the link again, I see where they say that fingerprints can damage the lens, learn something new every day. Must be something in the oil?

[treeshugger]

My brother's wife gave me some lens cleaner for eyeglasses and an eyeglass cloth
can anyone give me a go ahead on this or will it hurt the coating?
the other options is toilet paper, and my brother says dont use any water

[tdaugharty]

I read the link. When you say it can damage the coating, "what" can damage the coating? The water? The fingerprint? Not sure what you mean. :)

Edited to add: I read the first page of the link again, I see where they say that fingerprints can damage the lens, learn something new every day. Must be something in the oil?

Fingerprint

Quote: " Fingerprints can be very harmful to the lens coating and should be removed as soon as possible. "

[Tapeman]

Don't use toilet paper as some are abrasive. Clean soft cotton and your breath works in a pinch. BTW it takes a major smuge to show in most pics.

[tdaugharty]

My brother's wife gave me some lens cleaner for eyeglasses and an eyeglass cloth
can anyone give me a go ahead on this or will it hurt the coating?
the other options is toilet paper, and my brother says dont use any water

Soft TP .. No Water .. Light circular motions .. Use a few sets of new tissue pieces.

Tomorrow you can get a blower and lens cleaning cloths to finalize the cleaning.

And as an added note. This is one of the main reasons I will always use a high quality UV filter.

[Jim G]

My brother's wife gave me some lens cleaner for eyeglasses and an eyeglass cloth
can anyone give me a go ahead on this or will it hurt the coating?
the other options is toilet paper, and my brother says dont use any water

I used glasses cleaner and microfibre cloths (bought from an optometrist's) to clean all of my lenses since day 1 and have never had any problems.

[Broncobear]

I used glasses cleaner and microfibre cloths (bought from an optometrist's) to clean all of my lenses since day 1 and have never had any problems.

I use the same...microfiber...works good.

[Jim_T]

The best thing in the world for fingerprints is the LENS PEN (http://nikon.binoculars.com/products/nikon-lenspen-21040.html?gclid=CIL1_e6NtIkCFTAEJQoduH_ZDw)

I couldn't live without a couple in my kit...

[treeshugger]

thanks for advice all
used glasses cleaner with q-tip
hopefully its not damaged

[Rebirah]

Uh oh, I got my camera on Christmas eve and accidentally touched the lens, and I haven't cleaned it, is my lens going to be damaged? It's not a big print, you can actually barely see it, but I'm worried. I'm afraid to touch anything on the lens because of smears.

[hard12find]

In a pinch isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol will work and is the main ingredient in most lense cleaning solutions, obviously the choices like microfiber cloth, lens pen, and a proper lens solution are the way to go. Jim