Any specific cloth for cleaning lens?

I have some microfiber clothes but I am concerned if there are specific types that need to be used on a lens? I really dont want the ones I currently have to scratch the lens. I have canned air to blow particles off already.

If there is a certain type that is needed could someone point me in the right direction by showing me what I should get on Amazon? Or do they carry something decent at a store like Wal-Mart?

Thanks!

Lose the canned air!
Try A Giotto Rocket Blower and a LensPen along with the micro fibre cloths by 3M which are available at various retailers including Wal-Mart...if you must. http://www.amazon.com …lower%2Celectro​nics%2C331

is there something wrong with using canned air?

Ratjack wrote in post #14342682
is there something wrong with using canned air?

With certain precautions, none whatsoever! There is an anti canned air brigade here. Just ignore them! Canon techs use it themselves.

Just remember if using the canned air inside the camera body, make certain to clear the nozzle of any moisture before you start, keep the can bolt upright at all times and only use short sharp bursts (it can cool down enough to freeze and throw out ice crystals with long bursts).

Ratjack wrote in post #14342682
is there something wrong with using canned air?

Not for lenses or outside the camera. If you don't use it a lot, on a regular basis, and try to blow your sensor clean, you might end up worsening the situation by letting some of the propellant (it's not "air" like we breathe) splash on it. Also, if you try blowing out the mirror box, you might damage the shutter with too strong a blast.

T-shirts rock for cleaning front elements.

Canned air is safe when used properly, in short bursts. The 'air' is very cold. Long blasts can freeze. Not good for lens element; the rapid contraction can crack or shatter glass.

The only 'cloth' safe to use on a lens is unused. Recommend Pec-Pads. Use a new one each time. Microfiber will not scratch glass or (modern) coatings, however, the cloth can pick up a hard piece of dust that WILL scratch. That is why using a new clean cloth each time is important -- to prevent picked-up dirt from scratching.

Canned air is not compressed air at all, but an inert gas and a chemical propellent, or a liquid chemical which is volitile. Neither is great for camera parts except exteriors of bodies and lenses. I've never seen a can that says "compressed air".

Use a Giottos Rocket blower first, large size, for gentle air and portability. If you want to use air safely, use a DataVac by Metro. It's all steel, has several plastic nozzles which give you either a gentle or powerful airstream, depending on the nozzle diameter. The gentle one with a wide diameter can be used on lenses, or internal mirrors. I use it without a nozzle to clean the surface of a sheet of fine art paper before printing.

The intermediate power nozzle can also be used on lenses and internal mirrors. I use the narrow nozzle and the skinny one with the flexible elbow to blast dust out of my computer tower. You can't believe how clean that gets all the boards and fans. The DataVac is all steel with plastic nozzles, and is cheaper than 5 ten-ounce cans of propellant. The air is filtered through the device.

For cloths, I get 13"x15" smooth surface microfiber ones from Photoclear made by Schneider Optics, owner of B+W filters from www.2filter.com. Expensive comparatively, but last forever and are washable. 2filter has excellent prices on anything that goes in front of your lenses.


Photos courtesy B&H

I've published this a few times, but here would be another good place for it.


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A squeeze-bulb blower such as a Rocket Blower by Giottos, quality lens tissue (such as that sold by Kodak and now Tiffen), a good lens cleaning fluid, and PROPER TECHNIQUE is the way that I have cleaned my lenses for decades.

What is "proper technique"?

First - the goal is to clean the lens (or filter - I would use the very same process) without grinding any dirt/debris into the lens. To me, this absolutely dictates single-use surfaces for anything that touches the lens. That's why I use lens tissues instead of a washable cloth or - particularly - something like a lens pen.

Here are the steps that I use to clean a lens:

1. Use a squeeze-bulb blower to blow any loose dust off the lens. 90% of the time, step 1 is all that is necessary.

2. Take a lens tissue out of the pack. Fold it once, holding only what was the ends of the tissue. You want to be extremely careful to NEVER TOUCH the areas of the lens tissue that will be touching the lens. This will avoid transferring oils from your fingers to the lens.

3. Moisten the folded portion of the lens tissue with a little lens cleaner. You don't want the tissue dripping wet, but it must be damp.

CAUTION: NEVER apply lens cleaner directly to the lens (though it won’t hurt a filter, you don’t want liquid leaking into the lens’ innards).

4. Wipe LIGHTLY across the lens ONCE with the damp tissue. Then either turn it over or fold it so that you can wipe again, but with an unused surface. You can do this as often as needed, as long as you never wipe the lens twice with any surface of the tissue. This prevents scratches. Again, make sure you never touch an area of the tissue that will touch the lens.

5. Ensuring that the lens is actually clean, use a dry tissue, handled the same way as above, to wipe the lens dry. Since you have already removed the dirt, there's no risk of scratching the lens with the dry tissue.

6. Dispose of the used lens tissues in a proper trash receptacle.

That's it in a nutshell. Simple and effective. I've been cleaning my lenses this way for over 40 years, and all of them have pristine glass (and none have ever worn "protective" filters).
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Soft old t shirts work great for minor smudges and such.

3M Microfiber Lens Cleaning Cloth.

I like Zeiss pre moistened wipes, can be bought @ wal-mart.

I like the Canon gray lens cloths, seem to clean the glass better than the microfiber ones. I believe they are 18% gray as well.

spudz

http://www.spudz.com/