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Thread: Lens Cleaner

  1. #11
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Seems some eat it!
    Tin Can

  2. #12

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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    Jim!

    This what I have been looking for, meaning how do some sellers get the glass so clean?

    I never clean any lens unless it comes to me coated with scum

    One last thing, where and what exactly do we want?
    Go to a Health Food Store and get Activated Charcoal Capsules. I dump several into a 35mm film can. I also use actual Q-Tips because they use better cotton and there is no stiff wooden stick to worry about.
    Dip the Q-tip in the charcoal and knock it against the edge to remove all excess. GENTLY begin in the center with circular motions and move to the rim. Normally one time does the trip for me and I only clean my lenses yearly at best, but second trips around are OK. If I happen to get a fingerprint on the surface, I clean it immediately.

  3. #13
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Thanks Jim, will do, as needed

    I don't think I ever put my fingerprint on a lens since 1958 when I started shooting Pentax

    I worked with an 'expert' who always printed the lens, really bothered me, then another 'expert' stole the entire set

    But I sure see a lot of fingerprints on OP glass

    If the lens is expensive and rare I put a good filter on it with caps

    Sometimes I even use the filter...


    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Noel View Post
    Go to a Health Food Store and get Activated Charcoal Capsules. I dump several into a 35mm film can. I also use actual Q-Tips because they use better cotton and there is no stiff wooden stick to worry about.
    Dip the Q-tip in the charcoal and knock it against the edge to remove all excess. GENTLY begin in the center with circular motions and move to the rim. Normally one time does the trip for me and I only clean my lenses yearly at best, but second trips around are OK. If I happen to get a fingerprint on the surface, I clean it immediately.
    Tin Can

  4. #14
    Pieter's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Noel View Post
    I use Activated Charcoal powder on a Q-tip. Makes them shine, and never a sign of a scratch.
    The lens pens use activated charcoal, I believe. I have a bottle of ROR--haven't used it yet.

  5. #15
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Bought 2 never trusted them

    I do trust Jim Noel

    Quote Originally Posted by Pieter View Post
    The lens pens use activated charcoal, I believe. I have a bottle of ROR--haven't used it yet.
    Tin Can

  6. #16
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    I prefer Purosol to ROR. I have both.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  7. #17

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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Brandy is excellent!
    A few sips and I forget all about cleaning the lens
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  8. #18
    Nodda Duma's Avatar
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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Quote Originally Posted by Oren Grad View Post
    Any particular dish soap recommended? Are the perfumes and colorings that are often included anything to worry about?
    Not IMO, but the old Navy optician I used to work with preferred Dawn. I just cleaned a telescope primary mirror last weekend with 15 years of accumulated pollen, dust, etc from being regularly pointed up at night and including surviving smoke from a fire. I’d have to look to see what dish soap we have. Maybe Palmolive? Looks brand new, which I was pretty happy about as it has to be sent to the original factory if it has to be recoated. Water, soap, gloved hand to wash the surface, then rinse in distilled water.
    Newly made large format dry plates available! Look:
    https://www.pictoriographica.com

  9. #19

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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Ha! As a guest at a wedding years ago I noticed that the photographer would take occasional breaks to clean his lenses - with the back of his necktie! When I approached him about this...he secretively turned the tie over to reveal a sewn-in, microfiber cloth!

    I've sworn by my years-old bottle of Formula MC lens cleaner...as I find it to be self-lubricating. Takes a bit more patience as it does tend to "smear" a bit early in use - but a second piece of lens tissue (preceded by a breath) does the trick. I also keep a micro-fiber handy...but am very careful about this in its re-use prior to re-cleaning/replacing.

    I am extremely leery of anything significantly volatile (like alcohol), unless a given lens is basically spotless to begin with. Other folks mileage may vary on this.

    If I have time, I'll first blow off any loose material with an ear syringe, followed by a gentle wipe with the ragged (but soft) edge of a piece of rolled up/torn in half lens tissue - after which the other rolled/torn half, moistened with some fluid, is used for application in gentle, center-to-edge of lens circles (always clean from center to edge!)...an initial polish with second, torn half/sheet of tissue - and then a final polish (typically preceded by breath-fogging) with either the other half of that tissue, and/or an entire clean sheet.

    Finally, I've learned to not be overly obsessive about cleaning my lenses, aside from blowing with compressed air. Culprits which, for me, do indicate cleaning include fingerprints/grease and evaporated seawater, or after photographing in some chemically caustic (industrial) environment. And (here in Vermont) sugar houses - can make equipment pretty sticky, and leave lenses coated with a fine, sticky mist!

  10. #20

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    Re: Lens Cleaner

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    Bought 2 never trusted them

    I do trust Jim Noel
    Thanks for the vote of confidence.

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