What Lens Cleaner Do You Use?

I use a lens brush to wipe off any loose dust and then I use Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes. You can buy a box of 100 for about $5 at Walmart. I usually clean my lenses once a month or as needed. If you clean them regularly, you shouldn't get as much of a residue build up on your lenses. I haven't had any problems with smearing.

Mike, I use the CVS brand "Microfiber Lens Wipes" on my camera lenses and my eyeglasses. No lint, no scratching, and I use CVS coupons!

As odd as it may sound, I always use tissue paper on my lenses glass surfaces,...not the "Kleenex" kind,..but rather the tissue sheets you would find packed with shirts or clothing.

I purchase the tissue in large sheets online,... and cut them into approx. 5" x 5" pieces.

Tissue paper has a matte side and a semi gloss side,....I ALWAYS use the dull side following breathing on the lens glass,..USING A fresh sheet frequently.

I've done this for over 20 years now and never had any problems what so ever. I find it amazingly efficient.

I follow this with blowing air squeezed from a rubber,..."Giottos Rocket Air" rubber blower which provides a superb strength air stream to eliminate any then dust.

I may or may not use a lipstick shaped soft lens brush.

Years ago I had a bad experience with a liquid droplet application product and never used it again.

On occasion I will use a micro fiber cloth,...but mainly on my glass screw in filters.

I clean my lenses following each outing taking photos.

Mike, I use 100% old silk shirt, I cut a piece from my old silk shirt and use it every time the lens get dirty. The older the silk the better it get, microfiber is not working for me.

i came across this stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z4GFT8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ADBT80NE0OYE3&psc=1

California Accessories Calclear Lens Cleaner
it comes in a gel, but i can't fine it anywhere online.

seems expensive for what it is, but people claim it doesn't smear.

@marty, that sounds like the stuff i used in the past. and i think the lens cleaner dissolved it. though i don't think i tried breathing on it. i'll have to dig it out, maybe that one works better.

generally i clean when i know there is a smudge, when i see marks on the lens with a flashlight lighting the surface. before i go on a trip. on vacations i clean the rear element. but since they sealed the lens pretty well, this hasn't been an issue.

i just want to clean it, get no swirls, and move on.

i have a monitor to my side that i cannot get clean at all. i gave up trying. but on filters, like hoya, i can never get those clean. B+W usually gets clean, but lately i get the smudges mostly on the edges.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

I find my B + W filters smudge easily from finger moisture too,...I find fiber cloths work best on these,...I wash my fiber cloths with liquid soap from time to time, rinse completely using warm water and air dry thoroughly before use.
Can also machine wash but prefer by hand.

For LCD monitors I use a spray on product called,... "REXTON" lens and optical surface cleaner.

It's a neutral ph liquid that will not streak or damage these screens,..easy to use with a soft cloth.

There are other similar products.

I've never experienced swirls on my lens glass during cleaning,...do you keep your lens caps on between lens uses?

Be sure your storage compartments/cases,...however you carry your various lenses,..are clean and vacuumed out frequently.

I keep a UV filter on lenses, so I rarely clean the actual lens, then carefully with lens tissue. When the UV filter gets smudged, clean it with whatever until it gets nasty and then chuck it. They're cheap enough to be semi-disposable.

i have a hood on the lens, the lens itself is usually ok. its the filters mostly. the polarizer slips in and out of a pocket. and i find i tend to poke it now and then. then clean it, and find i left a star trail of oil on it. then look through it and realize there is dust on the other side only to repeat what i did to the front. then i just toss it back and wait till i get home to fix it. and now i'm carrying a close up filter and it has the same issues. it just won't let me clean it all the way.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

OLD COTTON TEE SHIRTS, from B&H, $19.95......

Rich

Doug,...I should have mentioned I too use UV screw in filters on my lenses (that's what I'm usually cleaning),...on occasion I will remove the UVs during exposures like shooting night skies.
I'll remove the UVs 2 or 3 times a year to do the lenses optics surfaces....same as I mentioned earlier.

My 500mm lens is totally exposed glass with no filter,...I only use my breath, tissue and blower,...and a lot of care when doing so ;-)

At one time Nikon recommended using soft cotton. So I always clean with a fresh washed old cotton t-shirt.I also use microfiber cloths, which I wash in the washing machine. Most of the time it is the lens filter I am cleaning. I use that big rocket blower thingy to blow off loose dirt first, if i have it handy. Most of the time I just blow off with my breath. Then I breath heavy to fog it up and provide a little lubrication. I learned that from an AP press photographer who covered the Mets. Once in a while I may use a bit of isopropyl alcohol on a cloth. Just a drop. I don't care for alcohol wipes like Ziess, but on a pinch i might use one. Its really just a disinfectant wipe labeled for lens cleaning. I much prefer a tiny bit of alcohol on soft cotton. And that is rare. Like when I am working in a dirty polluted environment. Otherwise I use my breath. I also have those lens pens, which are handy for optical view finders. But after a few uses I don't trust them. Old cotton shirt. is best. The one I have on is fine, if I just put it on. What you don't want to do is use a cloth that has been sitting unprotected in a camera bag and used a few times. As for lens caps i never took a good picture with one on so I tend to not use them.

LensPen - brush at one end - charcoal at the other.

Plus a rubber-rocket puffer!!!

i used to us a UV, but i found it does degrade the picture if just a little bit. it also increases the chance of vignetting. i still debate whether i need it or not, because i did scratch one, so i'm glad i had it on. but since removing it, i never had issues with scratching.

i've always feared the lens pen, it seems clean, but all its doing is spreading it over a larger area, i always think there will be a piece of grit in there and it will destroy stuff. i have a few lens pens actually (they usually come with a camera kit). one has 2 ends, i'll have to experiment on something expendable.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

the rocket blower works great, i once had a bulb of some kind that blew dust, problem was it didn't have that one way valve on the back, so it sucked dust. i use these on computers to remove dust, and one day i went to use it on the camera and shot more dust onto the lens. but worse was when i cleaned it off by sucking in water, i totally forgot i did that, and shot water on my lens. it didn't totally drain. and yes, the lens died, but some time after. i still should get that thing repaired (50 1.4 with focus issues), i'm afraid to know the cost to repair it).


i've heard that some cleaners will hurt the coating - is that true? ammonia seems like one. others seem to not like alcohol, its a bit confusing.

i only use a lens cap when i store a lens.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Never use a liquid lens cleaner. Just a dry lens cloth is all I've ever needed. I guess if I dropped a lens in mud or something . . . maybe.

I use a blower for particles then breath and microfiber cloth. Simply breathe on the front element and gently wipe, you'll be surprised how effective it is.

Technically you only need distilled water and cotton bud. Out in the field I have laboratory grade tissues that are lint free, these I use to remove water from the front element, I also use Ziess lens tissues. Along with good quality lens cloth which is always the first to reach for.

I just use a microfiber cloth. Sometimes my shirt.

Maybe avoid the flashlight? I know in the astronomy world flashlights are not recommended because they reveal too much gunk that won’t really affect the image.

i can't avoid the flashlight, it simulates sunlight. that's the glare you get when you have a swirl mark. many things look clean until you shine a light across the surface, then find out its, not at all clean.

on a mirror and such it might not be an issue. but when light streams across the lens you get glares, or ghosts, or smudge marks. it can really make a difference on how sharp the image is.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Microfiber cloth and eye glass lens cleaner. If this is safe for expensive plastic vision lenses it won't hurt your camera glass.

I also use my tee-shirt when I'm in a pinch.