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Archive 2009 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

stwphotography
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p.1 #1 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Hello all,
I just recently cleaned my 85mm Lens and found it was very easy to clean the glass however the L Glass is a big question mark ?

Any help would be appreciated !

Dec 09, 2009 at 03:50 AM

mweddle
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p.1 #2 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

How is it different?

Dec 09, 2009 at 04:02 AM

thepiecesfit
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p.1 #3 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

id get some formula MC cleans that L glass like new

Dec 09, 2009 at 04:21 AM

BrianO
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p.1 #4 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

A little lens cleaning solution on a piece of lens tissue, then wiped gently on a lens that has been blown free of grit has always worked for me.

A Lens Pen or similar is a modern (more expensive) version of the same.

Dec 09, 2009 at 04:52 AM

gdanmitchell
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p.1 #5 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

stwphotography wrote:
Hello all,
I just recently cleaned my 85mm Lens and found it was very easy to clean the glass however the L Glass is a big question mark ?

Any help would be appreciated !

There is nothing different about it. Whatever worked on your 85mm prime will work on the 17-40. When I'm feeling fastidious I use a lens cleaning cloth and a bit of lens cleaning fluid. On other occasions I just breath a bit of moisture on the lens and clean

Dan

Dec 09, 2009 at 06:20 AM

trumpet_guy
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p.1 #6 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

I clean L glass and other glass the same way:
Some Eclipse fluid on a Pec-Pad. The Eclipse fluid (methanol)
evaporates quickly and leaves no visible residue. Works great for me.
But I seldom clean lenses, since minor dirt spots have no visible effect
on my images.

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:02 AM

skibum5
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p.1 #7 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

stwphotography wrote:
Hello all,
I just recently cleaned my 85mm Lens and found it was very easy to clean the glass however the L Glass is a big question mark ?

Any help would be appreciated !

same as anything else

formula mc on chamois/microfiber cloth works great (the latter way better than lens tissue)

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:03 AM

Gochugogi
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p.1 #8 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

I let my cat (or GF) lick it and juz wipes wiz ah pampers.

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:08 AM

stanj
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p.1 #9 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

trumpet_guy wrote:
I clean L glass and other glass the same way:
Some Eclipse fluid on a Pec-Pad. The Eclipse fluid (methanol)
evaporates quickly and leaves no visible residue. Works great for me.
But I seldom clean lenses, since minor dirt spots have no visible effect
on my images.

Really? I have found Eclipse to be absolutely terrible with lenses - it evaporates too quick to be useful and leaves strange smears behind. Don't ask me how / why. I have found lens cleaning fluid, which specifically evaporates more slowly, much more useful.

Then again I may be doing something wrong, as most often I'll breathe and use a microfiber cloth

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:10 AM

EA6B
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p.1 #10 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

I use spit and an old t-shirt!

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:13 AM

Daniel Heineck
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p.1 #11 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Ideally--semiconductor grade isopropanol and microfiber. (when I bring my lenses into the lab)

Realistically--breath + microfiber.

Dec 09, 2009 at 07:53 AM

alexandre
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p.1 #12 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Windex

Dec 09, 2009 at 08:38 AM

jcolwell
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p.1 #13 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Eyeglass cleaning solution from the drugstore.

Dec 09, 2009 at 11:17 AM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #14 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

if its a sealed lens then a quick run thru the dishwasher usually works. Be sure to use the extra sparkly rinse aid though

Dec 09, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Eric Gottesman
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p.1 #15 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Ian.Dobinson wrote:
if its a sealed lens then a quick run thru the dishwasher usually works. Be sure to use the extra sparkly rinse aid though

Oh that's why weather sealing is important!

-Eric

Dec 09, 2009 at 02:29 PM

carlsbadbum
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p.1 #16 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

alexandre wrote:
Windex

...and then I use my neck tie. It's 100% silk imported from China

Dec 09, 2009 at 03:39 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #17 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Once I blow off (lift off very carefully if stuck) any grit or such, a broad tipped lens pen does a super cleaning job. The only drawback is that periodically the lenspen needs to be replaced otherwise it might become an agent of your lens destruction.

Dec 09, 2009 at 04:06 PM

tonyabbott
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p.1 #18 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

If we are talking specifically about the 17-40, you shouldn't have to clean it as, I believe, you should have a UV filter attached, to stop it sucking in dirt and dust when you zoom. Just clean the filter.

Dec 09, 2009 at 05:25 PM

Speter
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p.1 #19 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Doesn't the 17-40 have the internal elements exposed without a UV filter, since the front element moves up and down as you zoom? I always have a filter on so I don't really care how I clean it. Sometimes use my shirt

Otherwise I blow the dust off first then use lens cleaning solution with a lintless cloth.

Dec 09, 2009 at 06:02 PM

trumpet_guy
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p.1 #20 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

stanj wrote:
trumpet_guy wrote:
I clean L glass and other glass the same way:
Some Eclipse fluid on a Pec-Pad. The Eclipse fluid (methanol)
evaporates quickly and leaves no visible residue. Works great for me.
But I seldom clean lenses, since minor dirt spots have no visible effect
on my images.

Really? I have found Eclipse to be absolutely terrible with lenses - it evaporates too quick to be useful and leaves strange smears behind. Don't ask me how / why. I have found lens cleaning fluid, which specifically evaporates more slowly, much more useful.

Then again I may be doing something wrong, as most often I'll breathe and use a microfiber cloth

Interesting. Well, I admit I have to act quickly before the fluid evaporates, but it seems to work well for me.
I don't have streaking problems with it.

Another good product is Formula MC cleaning fluid. Sold in many camera stores.
You have me curious about the Eclipse now. I think I'll go clean a lens again.

Edited on Dec 10, 2009 at 08:45 AM · View previous versions

Dec 09, 2009 at 06:43 PM

stanj
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p.1 #21 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

trumpet_guy wrote:
You have me curious about the Eclipse now. I think I'll go clean a lens again.

Please report back. Also, Eclipse or E2?

Dec 09, 2009 at 08:38 PM

trumpet_guy
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p.1 #22 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

I use regular Eclipse

Dec 09, 2009 at 09:51 PM

jcolwell
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p.1 #23 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

tonyabbott wrote:
If we are talking specifically about the 17-40, you shouldn't have to clean it as, I believe, you should have a UV filter attached, to stop it sucking in dirt and dust when you zoom. Just clean the filter.

The 17-40L does not "suck dust". You can use a filter to make it 'weather proof'. I only do this (on any lens) in harsh environments; otherwise, no filter is better than any filter. YMMV. Of course, I use special-purpose filters like CP and ND when I want the effect.

Dec 09, 2009 at 10:09 PM

trumpet_guy
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p.1 #24 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

stanj wrote:
trumpet_guy wrote:
You have me curious about the Eclipse now. I think I'll go clean a lens again.

Please report back. Also, Eclipse or E2?

OK. Using regular Eclipse fluid and a Pec-Pad, I cleaned the front element
of my Tamron 17-50/2.8 lens. I used 8 drops of Eclipse on a Pec-Pad that
was folded twice. The Eclipse didn't pull the stuck-on crud "into solution"
on one pass, so I had to go over areas repeatedly. But, when I was done
it looked clean.

I then decided to check how Formula MC would do on this now clean lens.
Five drops on a Pec-Pad was a bit too much, but after wiping and drying
with the dry portion of the Pec-Pad, I noticed a film on the lens.

A repeated cleaning with 5 drops of Eclipse took the film right off.
I'm sold on the Eclipse solution for lens cleaning. As always, use what
works in your situation.

Cheers,
Tim

Dec 10, 2009 at 08:44 AM

stanj
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p.1 #25 · Cleaning Your 17-40L Glass?

Thanks for the procedure! I'll try again, with my excess arsenal of E2 and PecPads that I'd otherwise never use

Dec 10, 2009 at 05:22 PM


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