Lens & Filter cleaning?

Hi,

I am trying to find the right strategy for cleaning my lenses and filters. I've seen Pec Pads and Eclipse fluid recommended, and in previous searches I saw Formula MC and filter paper.

Is Formula MC any good? Is lens filter paper soft enough to not do any damage? Could I use Formula MC on the sensor itself too?

Regards.

A squeeze-bulb blower, 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. Formula MC is a fine lens cleaner.

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).

Skip,

Thank you for the very detailed response. This one is being printed and glued to the wall =).

Regards.

General advice about sensor cleaning:

http://www.dmcphoto.co​m/Articles/SensorBrush​es/

However, if you want to err on the side of caution do not use the wet method.

The following system, which I use, removes stuff 90% of the time:

1. Rocket blower
2. Sensor brush (I use Arctic Butterfly)
3. Sensor loupe
4. LensPen Sensor Klear (this is the method that does the trick)

Confirmed by a "Dust-Aid" rep on this thread:

http://www.openphotogr​aphyforums.com …ht=sensor+clean​ing&page=4

And here as well:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …n-SensorKlear-Review.aspx



The solutions used in sensor cleaning are not as clean as people might think. Read the following thread:

http://www.openphotogr​aphyforums.com …highlight=senso​r+cleaning

Only safe way would be using a 100% pharmaceutical grade solution mixing ethyl, methyl and isopropyl alcohol. Not easy to get this stuff.

More info about what manufacturers use (funny what Canon people do; they are ruthless):

http://www.climaxphoto​.com …d200_sensor_cle​aning.html

http://www.climaxphoto​.com …d200_sensor_cle​aning.html


If you still want to go ahead with the wet method, make sure you buy the correct fluid and use the correct swab size:

http://www.climaxdigit​al.com/sensor_swab_usa​ge_chart.htm

durkhrod chogori wrote in post #8451417
General advice about sensor cleaning: .....

The thread is about lens and filter cleaning, not sensor cleaning....

I follow Skip's general procedure, but I use microfiber cloth instead of lens tissue. Lens tissue is caveman technology. Microfiber is softer, more absorbant, more effective, and reusable.

ec, the best way is you should as Canon service. it costs around 50 buck, then no more worry

sapathong wrote in post #8451776
ec, the best way is you should as Canon service. it costs around 50 buck, then no more worry

?????????

tgara wrote in post #8451755
I follow Skip's general procedure, but I use microfiber cloth instead of lens tissue. Lens tissue is caveman technology. Microfiber is softer, more absorbant, more effective, and reusable.

In my opinion, the "reusable" part is something I will never consider as an option. There's too much risk in bringing particles from a previous cleaning into the current job.

A washing machine cycle cannot possibly get every single tiny particle out of a cloth, and it only takes one to make a permanent scratch in an optical surface.

Hi,

I originally asked about lens/filter + sensor cleaning. Maybe they should have been separate posts? Anyway, I was just hoping to keep on hand only one set of cleaning supplies and was thinking blower + Formula MC + lens filter could do both. Sounds like I'll have to read up on the sensor cleaning part.

Regards