I am looking for advice on field cleaning my filters. I could say “lenses”, but all of my lenses have filters on, so I 99.9% of the time I am cleaning the filters, if that makes any difference.
The emphasis is on the field. Imagine that I am out in the wilderness, my hands are not the cleanest, and I have no access to running water, a nice clean workbench, etc. Yes, the sanest approach is to avoid cleaning of small stuff until I get home. But occasionally lenses get dirty and I need some cleaning.
The typical stuff I get on my filters is:
dust
sand
salty residues (mist near the sea, even if it had no contact with water)
gunk of unknown origin
volcanic ash (rare, but it’s the most hateful because it is really hard material and scratches surfaces easily)
Fingerprints are not an issue.
In the past I had a Lenspen with the carbon tip. It was getting to be 20 years old and I need a replacement. I tried K+F’s clone but it doesn’t do much, just smears the dirt around, so I am returning it.
Maybe some individually packaged wet wipes? Recommendations for particular brands are welcome. I am in the EU.
I just have an old Hama lenspen with a retractable brush at one end (and a cleaning surface under a screw off cap at the other end that I sometimes use) but usually carry a few Zeiss wipes with me as well.
I will probably go to a proper camera store at this point to see what they recommend.
From the Amazon reviews, a lot of LensPen clones are apparently (1) ineffective/bogus (may actually end up scratching the lens and not removing stuff) and/or (2) fakes of major brands that actually do work, but you cannot be sure if you are buying a fake one.
I only noticed this before with coin batteries. I never expected someone to fake a 2032 battery, but ran into some fakes — ostensibly from major brands — on Amazon. Since then I am only getting batteries from my electrical supply store.
Hi,
I always equip myself with a rubber bulb syringe, the kind you can find in pharmacies for cleaning ears. This is for dust that comes off easily.
At the seaside, the biggest risk is salt spray. Clean with demineralised water if possible, or filtered tap water to avoid any abrasive particles. I use special optical paper or disposable tissues from the brand K…ee…x, the only ones soft enough for this purpose. In the field, all this equipment is difficult to carry. Most of the time, dirt on the lens does not affect the sharpness of the images. It is better to make do with it than risk scratching the lens.
I don’t think carbon brushes are any better than the extremely soft brushes known as ‘petit-gris’ in French. For years, I have had a large brush used by professional make-up artists for this purpose.
If I have to clean my lens in the field, I guess a bunch of grass is probably easy to grab…
Just Joking
Seriously… I’d always start with a puffer. If it is big enough to be that noticeable, it is probably big enough to blow off.
Next, I’d use the fine, soft brush which is one end of a lenspen or clone.
Next, I probably wouldn’t use a lens wet wipe. Until I get home. In fact, I don’t carry them. I’m nervous of anything that might rub fine abrasive dust into the lens or filter.
That’s my 2cents. But hey, people are always offering 2cents but they never pay up!
I agree that this is sensible advice in most contexts; ie when you can get home quick, or you are done shooting until you do. But that is not always the case, hence this topic.
My heuristics for cleaning is roughly this:
dry, potentially abrasive stuff (eg: grains of sand): blow it off, or use a soft brush
dry, small stuff that does not blow easily (eg: dust): soft brush
wet, or sticky non-abrasive stuff (eg mist from seawater, salt residues, touching the lens with unclean hands, etc): microfiber cloth
What I hate is abrasive particles embedded into wet/sticky stuff. That is very tricky to clean in the field, so I tend to clean the lens proactively in situations that might arise.
The other thing I hate is ferromagnetic particles. You get them in volcanic areas, some grains in the black sand will be magnetic, and stick to anything magnetic, eg magnetic filters. I pick them off with my hand carefully.
I think that a basic kit that would serve me best would be something like a
a soft brush (would prefer the smallest one possible, with an enclosure that protects it from dirt, eg retractable or with a cap),
microfiber cloth
That said, I find modern coatings very tough and hard to scratch. I do my best to handle them carefully and so far avoided scratching anything, but for me it is just filters, not the front elements.
