Hi, all,
I still have something left in a very old bottle of Kodak’s Lens Cleaning Fluid, for which I paid the equivalent of about 90 US Cents a l-o-n-g time ago.
What’s considered the best lens cleaning method/fluids nowadays?
[When you buy glasses/spectables, you might get a small sample
of their special cleaning fluid as well. But I do not like those fluids
at all, because they often leave the surface terribly static 
]
Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden
I’m very pleased with what VSGO offers.
I use their Camera & Lens Cleaning Solution Spray and Swabs set (V-C01-E) for my lenses and their Full Frame sensor Cleaning Kit (VS-S03-E) for my sensors.
Never had any issues with either. I have been using the sensor cleaning kit for almost 2 years now, I bought their lens cleaning kit a few months ago.
Personally, I buy Zeiss lens wipes, you can get them at an extremely reasonable price on Ebay.
Years ago I picked up a couple of bottles of Rexton Optyl 7. I’m just getting to the last of that now, but it’s always worked great for camera lenses and telescope eyepieces (even refractor objectives).
Personally, and for the most part, I pay more attention to my lens-cleaning technique than I do any cleaning fluid (if I use any at all). I learned the hard way (many moons ago) that you can use the ‘best’ cleaning solution in the world, but it won’t stop you grinding bits of sand into your coatings. 
I have a religious technique that’s always worked well for me and I stick with it.
Instead of fluid, I tend to use a bit of steam from some purified distilled (de-ionized) water — it’s cheap, has no impurities or chemicals, and works a treat — but I only use this if I really have to. I tend not to clean my lenses any more often than is required.
I have filters on most of my lens - so I’m not as concerned about the actual lens - but I usually just use a microfibre lens cloth, (supplemented by breathing on the lens sometimes…) and if it’s really grubby a damp tissue to more “lift” dirt off first.
Maybe I’ve always done it wrong… 
If it’s a polarizer or square filter, yes. But I dispensed with UV / haze filters years ago. I figured why put a cheaper piece of glass in front of my lens? My lens is already cheap enough. LOL Besides, the lens hood will protect the lens better than a filter.
Mmm… I think this is something everyone had their own view on! I’ve never noticed any issue with image quality, although to be sure, I haven’t actually tested it… getting worried now 
But I’m very nervous of exposed front elements when I’m out and about - filters also allow me to dispose with lens caps… one thing less to loose!
Well a hood will help prevent flare and contrast loss. A filter sitting out in the light could (?) contribute to said issues…
Just sayin’ … 
I’ve found the best way to prevent a lens from getting dirty is to never take the lens cap off — all of my photos are a bit boring, but my lenses are the cleanest in business. 
If money’s no object, Pacrow Professional Lens Cleaning Fluid “was judged the hands-down best lens cleaning solution at the Camera Assistant Olympics a few years back” and is “considered the absolute best product in its field,” apparently.
I used to have UV filters on my film camera lenses but not on digital. Apart from the lens hood argument (I often have them off or reversed on lenses, anyway, as they don’t fit in my small camera bags otherwise), I read that a UV filter could shatter with an impact, creating more damage. I’ve no idea if that makes sense. I dropped my main camera and lens on hard concrete once from my too-quick access bag. The bayonet snapped off but the lens elements were ok and the lens was repairable by a manufacturer licensed shop. I had a small plastic hood on it at the time.
A front lens is pretty thick and hard. It can hit without damage something that can break the filter and make glass shards that scratch the lens.
Or don’t take them out of the boxes
Don’t use the stuff on a good lens after storing it too long. The more volatile components will have evaporated and the remaining liquid may have so questionable quality.
I used to use some stuff that I painted on a lens, a bit like nail varnish. It dried into a film which I then peeled off, taking any dirt or dust or fingermarks with it.
I can’t remember what it was called.
FWIW I always blast off as much dirt as I can with my Giottos Rocket before getting near it with fluid or a tissue/cloth. What’s no longer on the lens can’t scratch it!
I use a clean part of the T-Shirt I’m wearing.
But only if the lens is so dirty it would show in the pictures – which has to be something really big, even on wide-angle lenses. So in the field usually nothing.
At home sometimes I’ll wipe over a lens with a microfibre cloth I just used for my glasses while it is still a little damp. My eye glasses definitely get way more attention then my lenses – but one I have to see all the day, the other rarely has a negative effect at all.
Relevant video:
20 years ago while going digital I removed all filters from my lenses.
Film was bad, you wouldn’t see the difference, but even on a 6 megapixel camera the quality difference was clearly visible.
I have lenshoods on all my lenses, most of them metal, often just two step-up and step-down rings combined – just enough to keep the front glass touching anything.
With super wide angle lenses this does not really work, so I have one or two lenses with a filter on them so I can’t scratch them while running around in the woods, dropping the lens into the bag and so. Yes, lens caps for transport but not while working.
Nice side effect of the step-rings: sizes are freely selectable so all my standard lenses are stepped towards a 67mm diameter so they all can use the same lens caps.
You make a valid point, but I think this depends on the filter. I have experienced some IQ degradation (mainly loss of sharpness, visible when pixel pieeping) with cheaper filters, but with the K+F UV filters I started using a while ago there is no visible degradation for the lenses I tested.