How to clean your lenses?

[aggarcia]

I made mistake and now have fingerprints on the lens glass. What is the best way to clean these off?

[robertwgross]

It almost seems like we just had a thorough discussion on this topic.

Get a standard lens cleaner kit from your local camera shop, maybe $10.

Typically, the kit includes a small bottle of lens cleaner solution, a blower-brush, a piece of soft cloth, and some lens tissue.

---Bob Gross---

[HJMinard]

After acquiring the above items, put a drop or two of the fluid on the cloth or tissue - not directly on the lens - then use the cloth or tissue to gently remove the fingerprints. Oh yeah ... use a blower to remove all particles from the lens surface before using the moistened cloth/tissue.

[Reminisce]

www.lenspen.com
works great.

[DSMITH131]

www.lenspen.com (http://www.lenspen.com/)
works great.

I second that

[dewmuw]

Are they dishwasher safe? :)

[iof]

Are they dishwasher safe?


Top shelf only.

[scottbergerphoto]

ROR is the best lens cleaner there is. (Isn't it? :) )

[robertwgross]

Somebody might ask this: Why not drop the lens cleaner solution directly onto the glass lens and rub it in?

1. If you do that, some tiny portion of it will leak past the tight seal into the area that hold the lens. It really can't do any good there, and it it could help make a fungus problem if it gets all the way inside. You are just wasting it.
2. If you are applying the liquid to a polarizing filter, it is kind of awkward, since the liquid gets into the sliding joint of the rings. I saw one get rusty there.
3. All you are really trying to do is to make the solid cleaner (tissue or soft cloth) even softer than normal. About one drop of lens cleaner solution does this.
4. If you have a real bad case of road tar, then you will have to go after it more aggressively. When you see the paint stripping off the lens barrel, then you will know that you've gone too far.

For mine, I use about five drops of lens cleaner per year, generally when I've been shooting out in Belmondo's desert.

---Bob Gross---

[Tom W]

Somebody might ask this: Why not drop the lens cleaner solution directly onto the glass lens and rub it in?

1. If you do that, some tiny portion of it will leak past the tight seal into the area that hold the lens. It really can't do any good there, and it it could help make a fungus problem if it gets all the way inside. You are just wasting it.
2. If you are applying the liquid to a polarizing filter, it is kind of awkward, since the liquid gets into the sliding joint of the rings. I saw one get rusty there.
3. All you are really trying to do is to make the solid cleaner (tissue or soft cloth) even softer than normal. About one drop of lens cleaner solution does this.
4. If you have a real bad case of road tar, then you will have to go after it more aggressively. When you see the paint stripping off the lens barrel, then you will know that you've gone too far.

For mine, I use about five drops of lens cleaner per year, generally when I've been shooting out in Belmondo's desert.

---Bob Gross---

That bears repeating - put the solution on the tissue, not the lens. Good advice, Bob.

And if you've really got road tar, you've got some serious problems. Kerosene will cut road tar, but I don't suspect that it would be good for the lens. Best not to shoot while riding a motorcycle behind a large truck on a freshly-tarred road.