Please help... need lens filter & clearning advice

[cny730]

Hi everyone... I've been been actively reading through the posts in this forum for a few weeks now... I think I may have made some (potentially bad) newbie mistakes... I have a small background in film photography (Elan IIe, College courses, and college paper photography), but slowly lost interest in film once I stopped shooting B&W and lost access to a dark room. I sold my equipment in anticipation of the day when digital prices would come down. After some saving, I recently purchased a Drebel, and then got obsessed and purchased two "L" lenses (24-70 2.8 & 70-200 4.). Just yesterday I noticed some dust when looking through the lens (I live in Arizona) so decided it was time to clean my equipment. Using an OLD lens pen, I brushed the lens' glass (both lenses) AND the Drebel internal mirror. The dust was still there. Thinking it's time to buy a new lens pen, I went to my local camera store where I was told to NOT use such a thing on the Drebel. I'm told I could have damaged it, and that it can't be cleaned that way. They suggested I bring it in for a cleaning (@ $50 for same day service, and $25 for 2 day service).

What's the proper/best way to clean the Drebel, and hopefully remove some of the dust and specs I see through the lens?

Should I take it in for professional cleaning, or is this something most people do on their own?

Also, I spent $2,000 on two "L" lenses and didn't bother to buy a lens filter... I didn't think of it... in the past (maybe too long ago for my memory), I've made a point of putting a protective lens even on my cheap glass... Are they called UV filters? Which should I use? And, using it have any negative affects on the quality of the pictures... sharpness etc... (considering I purchased the L's for their incremental improvements in sharpness and the like)....

Any advice would be helpful... and yes, I should have read the manuals more thoroughly.

Thanks (for reading my long post)!

[ssim]

I think you would have to have one huge piece of junk on the front of your lens to see it through the viewfinder. Most dust specs are focussed out while you are viewing. Chances are that the dust spots you are seeing through your viewfinder are attached to the glass element in your view finder and don't find their way to the image.

I have a UV protective filter on each of my lenses. In some instances I will remove them at the time of shooting but generally they stay on. I always use recommended cleaning fluid with the corresponding tissue to clean the the lens or filter.

Cleaning the mirror in your camera probably doesn't damage it. It is highly likely that you are leaving dust specs behind that can find their way to your image sensor. I use pec pads to clean my image sensor and then use these to clean the mirror last.

For sensor cleaning, the following url is a good tutorial.

http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml

[DaveG]

Hi everyone... I've been been actively reading through the posts in this forum for a few weeks now... I think I may have made some (potentially bad) newbie mistakes... I have a small background in film photography (Elan IIe, College courses, and college paper photography), but slowly lost interest in film once I stopped shooting B&W and lost access to a dark room. I sold my equipment in anticipation of the day when digital prices would come down. After some saving, I recently purchased a Drebel, and then got obsessed and purchased two "L" lenses (24-70 2.8 & 70-200 4.). Just yesterday I noticed some dust when looking through the lens (I live in Arizona) so decided it was time to clean my equipment. Using an OLD lens pen, I brushed the lens' glass (both lenses) AND the Drebel internal mirror. The dust was still there. Thinking it's time to buy a new lens pen, I went to my local camera store where I was told to NOT use such a thing on the Drebel. I'm told I could have damaged it, and that it can't be cleaned that way. They suggested I bring it in for a cleaning (@ $50 for same day service, and $25 for 2 day service).

What's the proper/best way to clean the Drebel, and hopefully remove some of the dust and specs I see through the lens?

Should I take it in for professional cleaning, or is this something most people do on their own?

Also, I spent $2,000 on two "L" lenses and didn't bother to buy a lens filter... I didn't think of it... in the past (maybe too long ago for my memory), I've made a point of putting a protective lens even on my cheap glass... Are they called UV filters? Which should I use? And, using it have any negative affects on the quality of the pictures... sharpness etc... (considering I purchased the L's for their incremental improvements in sharpness and the like)....

Any advice would be helpful... and yes, I should have read the manuals more thoroughly.

Thanks (for reading my long post)!


Any dust you see through the viewfinder of your camera is on the groundglass viewscreen NOT on the mirror or the lens. That mirror is different from any mirror you are familiar with as it's surface coated with silver rather than back coated. So cleaning the mirror is both useless and potentially damaging to the camera. If you truly get sick of the dirt on your screen, send it in for a cleaning. But in no way will this dirt affect your images; so be really sure that you can't stand it anymore, before you spend the money.

The way I clean my lenses is with Kodak lens cleaning fluid and a well washed cloth (in this case a diaper). You put a drop of KLCF on the cloth and you gently swab the lens. YOU NEVER PUT THE CLEANING FLUID DIRECTLY ONTO THE LENS!!!! It will run down to the edge of the convex front element and then will seep in behind the glass. The glass is held in place with an adhesive (it used to be Canada Balsam) and take a wild stab at what this fluid will disolve?

If you want to use Kodak lens cleaning tissue that would be fine as well, but I've heard (possibly in error) that the chemicals on the eyeglass cleaning tissue - that you probably can get for free from your optomitist - may hurt the coating on the lens. As far as I'm concerend if it says Kodak then I know it's for lens use.

As well I have UV filter on all of my lenses and that means that I'm cleaning the FILTER 99% of the time rather than the front lens element. Every time you clean the lens you are damaging the multi-coating just a tiny bit. So clean the multi-coating on the filter and every few years throw the filter away. Of course I clean the rear element as well, using the same technique; but you should have to do that nearly as often assuming that you use a rear lens cap all of the time the lens is off of the camera.

Get good quality UV filters (Canon, B&W and so forth) and use them. UV filters are like seatbelts, you generally don't need them and this builds a false sense of confidence, because your need for the things come unexpectedly out of nowhere! I have some 20 + year old Nikkor lenses that always have had filters (L37C's which is Nikon speak for UV's) mounted, and the front elements are pristine.

[cny730]

THANKS guys... I'll put in an order for UV filters today... I'm less scared now about it than I was before my post... thanks for the responses!