p.2 #1 · How do you clean your front lens element?
I've used lenspens for about 10 years. Never had a scratch, and it gets everything off. For stubborn spots a quick bit of breath before using the lenspen works like a charm.
p.2 #2 · How do you clean your front lens element?
I used to clean the front element of my lenses regularly.
Then I picked up a used bargain 24-105 which had a scratched front element (about 1/4 inch), 1/3 normal price and I've not seen any issues.
It has changed my perspective and don't clean unless it's covered in spray
Jun 26, 2020 at 04:47 PM
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p.2 #3 · How do you clean your front lens element?
after the blower treatment it's kimwipes for me, the pec pads are not absorbent... re-using cloths means dragging the same abrasives around the surface of the lens over and over.
ror has a surfactant in it, so it lifts the solids off the glass, and it's the only thing that removes oil/grease, but it can leave a slight residue, so i follow it up with 99% alcohol, because it dries quickly.
methanol like eclipse evaporates even quicker, so there less chance of streaking.
p.2 #4 · How do you clean your front lens element?
Hoya has filter models with many levels of quality, durability and price. Their HD3 brand is their best and most expensive. Hoya advertise 99.7% light transmission. I know of no filter better than their HD3 but many that are inferior in certain areas. As my lenses change the HD3s are perpetual-I just move them over to the new lens.
p.2 #5 · How do you clean your front lens element?
johnahill wrote:
I used to clean the front element of my lenses regularly.
Then I picked up a used bargain 24-105 which had a scratched front element (about 1/4 inch), 1/3 normal price and I've not seen any issues.
It has changed my perspective and don't clean unless it's covered in spray
Depends on the way the light hits the scratch...it can cause some flaring. I had a scratched lens that took great pictures...except ever so often I'd get this flare when there should not have been any.
Most of my cleaning involves taking salt spray off the lens. Quite often I have to clean the lens ( filter ) every 5 minutes...it gets that bad.
p.2 #6 · How do you clean your front lens element?
doc4x5 wrote:
To the OP... The beach is an example of one of the few places a UV or other "protective" filter makes sense. It's a bit ironic that you gave up the filters, went to the beach, and got some spots. I never use filters unless I'm in blowing sand, dust, or spray, salt or fresh water. Check Roger Cicala's blog. He has an article showing how UV filters degrade the image. Here's a link https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2017/05/yet-another-post-about-my-issues-with-uv-filters/
This article shows you what a bad filter will do, not what all UV or clear filters wil do.
It also makes the point that many brands have different models ranging from rubbish to good, so you can’t just assume that because it’s a famous brand it’s good.
But various tests (lens tip comes to mind) suggest that the best protective filters - the top ones from Hoya and B+W among them - have no discernible impact in most situations (assuming they are clean!). If you do see some flare from lamps at night, say, you can always take it off.
But cheap ones from those brands are more problematic. Counterfeit filters are also an issue. I’m not sure, but I fear many B+W filters on eBay are fake.
p.2 #7 · How do you clean your front lens element?
Activatedfx wrote:
Buy a set of "LensPen" cleaning pens.
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A relative gave me one as a gift. I wouldn't use it on my camera lens but it would be OK on LCD , eyepiece, etc. I prefer the old fashioned method of lens blower and lens cleaning fluid applied to a lint free cloth.
p.2 #8 · How do you clean your front lens element?
About 30 years ago I got ocean salt spray on my brand new Leica 19mm Elmarit lens and it etched the coatings. Since then I use a high quality filter like HMC Hoya or equivalent on my most expensive lenses like my 100-400mm and Voigtlander 110. There is a huge difference between the cheap and the expensive filters. You can hold them up side by side and see how transparent they are in comparison and the absence of reflections.
p.2 #9 · How do you clean your front lens element?
About 30 years ago I got ocean salt spray on my brand new Leica 19mm Elmarit lens and it etched the coatings. Since then I use a high quality filter like HMC Hoya or equivalent on my most expensive lenses like my 100-400mm and Voigtlander 110. There is a huge difference between the cheap and the expensive filters. You can hold them up side by side and see how transparent they are in comparison and the absence of reflections.
p.2 #10 · How do you clean your front lens element?
In those rare occasions when a protective filter may cause reflections I temporarily remove it. Otherwise I have a PF on at all times. I have lenses more than thirty years old that have never been cleaned.
p.2 #11 · How do you clean your front lens element?
I despise cleaning my Loxia lenses and it's so easy to leave a fingerprint on those protruding front elements. My solution is to use a relatively good UV filter & just take it off for night time photography. UV filter ghosting is a very predictable endeavor, during the day my B+W filter doesn't have a ghosting problem in almost any situation. At night if you have strong leds or floodlights in the central area of the frame all hell will break loose though, but this is mostly true for all filters, since they are parallel with the sensor & 0% reflection is an unobtainable goal.
This is the absolute worst daylight ghosting I could produce with my B+W mrc nano uv filter, the decagon shaped ghost is almost never visible. This is a pretty abnormal photo in the sense that before cropping the sun was very near the center of the frame. (the bottom blob is the Loxia lens's own ghost)
p.2 #12 · How do you clean your front lens element?
Sinasina wrote:
I despise cleaning my Loxia lenses and it's so easy to leave a fingerprint on those protruding front elements. My solution is to use a relatively good UV filter & just take it off for night time photography. UV filter ghosting is a very predictable endeavor, during the day my B+W filter doesn't have a ghosting problem in almost any situation. At night if you have strong leds or floodlights in the central area of the frame all hell will break loose though, but this is mostly true for all filters, since they are parallel with the sensor & 0% reflection is an unobtainable goal.
This is the absolute worst daylight ghosting I could produce with my B+W mrc nano uv filter, the decagon shaped ghost is almost never visible. This is a pretty abnormal photo in the sense that before cropping the sun was very near the center of the frame. (the bottom blob is the Loxia lens's own ghost)
I would be surprised is the decagon had anything to do with the filter. Are you sure it wouldn’t have been there without the filter? The lox 21 does sometime produce ten sided aperture images without a filter being on.
p.2 #14 · How do you clean your front lens element?
DavidBM wrote:
I would be surprised is the decagon had anything to do with the filter. Are you sure it wouldn’t have been there without the filter? The lox 21 does sometime produce ten sided aperture images without a filter being on.
Truthfully I have yet to see ghosts like that decagon with the filter off, maybe I should see what happens with the sun in the frame center with the filter off. Anyhow the tiny blue dot close to the decagon is 100% the filter.
p.2 #15 · How do you clean your front lens element?
Fair, I've found I have to let the alcohol dry/flash a bit before I start using the wipe. About 10 seconds works, maybe wave it around a bit. Then its pretty streak free. If it's dirty sometimes I'll use two, one fully wet to clean and another that i'll let dry a bit before using.
saxguy wrote:
I've used the Zeiss wipes before, but many times when I'm done I can see streaks on the lens - or, more specifically, areas where I can see an iridescence where it dried.
p.2 #18 · How do you clean your front lens element?
I worked for one of the big camera stores from NYC for a bit a few years ago, and we used this combo on everything optical (lenses, viewfinders, LCDs, filters, etc.):
Gets rid of all dust/debris/gunk without leaving any residue or scratching the front element. I use this all the time before weddings to clean my lenses and EVFs.
p.2 #19 · How do you clean your front lens element?
Jman13 wrote:
Why not? That's what it's designed for. It's a soft microfiber tip. Never had an issue in well over a decade of using them.
Nothing wrong with lens pens but.....like any contact based method you should use a blower brush with vigour first, to remove particles that may otherwise scratch coatings.
Remember with lenspens, MF cloths, lint free wipes etc it’s not the cleaning tool that is the potential problem, it’s the stuff already on the lens that may be moved around.
One reason for using a good wet cleaner on a lint free pad first is because it may loosen and remove potentially scratchy Microparticles. Then when it’s cleaned off with a micro fibre a lens pen might be used on just the locations where there is smudging.
