Front lens cleaning, water drops.

Hello Guys,

First sorry if I post to the wrong part of the forum, but did not really find anything specific for this kind of question.

So it happened to me yesterday, that I was shooting a model in their garden.
And suddenly the timed watering system started working, but I only noticed it, - looking through the lens at that moment - when I got a nice little shower.
Would not be a problem normally a few drops don't really do any damage to the camera.

Then I noticed, that the front lens had some water drops on it.
I wiped it clean, yet today I noticed, there are small circles on the front lens.

I tried to lean it with my lens pen, but did not work, tried then with these moist eyeglass cleaning "cloths", but did not work either.

So how to clean that? Did anyone ever had such an issue?

Thanks.

Hmm.. Usually a good wet cleaning should take care of that. How wet was the eyeglass cleaning cloth? Might want to put an extra squirt of isopropyl on it and clean again.

gjl711 wrote in post #18386333
Hmm.. Usually a good wet cleaning should take care of that. How wet was the eyeglass cleaning cloth? Might want to put an extra squirt of isopropyl on it and clean again.

Well I can't really say how wet they were, but they are specially made to clean eye glasses, and usually work on lenses too.
Not this time though.

Maybe with more isopropyl. I could try that later.

I suppose the rings are deposits from hard water - mostly calcium and magnesium salts. Stuff like this won't dissolve in isopropyl alcohol. And it might be very slow to redissolve in water too.

I would try a cloth damp with water, preferably distilled, and maybe a very tiny amount of detergent. Don't rub, just dab. The water might disperse the deposit, or dissolve it. Don't let any liquid get to the edge of the glass because it can get drawn into the lens. No guarantees, it is just a suggestion, and your risk. Hopefully it helps.

Archibald is right, most salts will not dissolve in isopropanol. Use a weak, dilute acid. Try a tablespoon of white table vinegar in a cup of distilled water. Wet the cloth with the solution and dab. Don't WIPE anything until the deposit is gone.

Actually, after some time, (months) they disapreared...

Maybe some chlorine water droplets....they could dissolve over time. You state you tried isopropyl: a lens cleaner can be different. They don't have a fast drying alcohol, but a denatured water with methanols and oils to counteract fast drying solutions.

I know many don't like filters, but here is a case where they are nice, especially if you might ever stand a chance of getting wet.

Breath on the lens to get a little condensation and then wipe with lens pen. That works best for me with spots that don't come off right away.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18519059
I know many don't like filters, but here is a case where they are nice, especially if you might ever stand a chance of getting wet.

Oh, filters are such a bother and they mess everything up.

I get water drops on my lenses' front elements all of the time because I always use them out in the rain and snow and sometimes they face up into the weather because of the way I carry them and because I don't use cases or lens caps.

I have never had any problem getting the spots off with breath condensation or lens cleaning fluid. . A few years ago some fools at Nikon wrote something of a warning against using one's breath, saying that enzymes could damage the lens' coating - what a bunch of hogwash that is, and completely untrue. . If someone's breath is that bad then they have a lot bigger problems to worry about than little waterspots on their lens.

In fact, I usually just don't bother getting the spots off for quite some time because they don't show up in the photos unless I'm shooting straight into a bright sun. . Spots and dust and scratches on a lens are little things that just don't matter and we shouldn't worry about them. . Just leave 'em there on the lens - your photos will be just fine, even when printed HUGE and/or when pixel-peeping at 100%.

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