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Lenspen for cleaning optics (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Jaeger01
- Start date
Lens Pens
They are great. The best thing I have used to clean my binoculars and camera lenses. Get a big one and a smaller one.The big one is good for the big area of your lenses and the small one is good for around the edges. The Lens Pens don't dry out and they are the best on finger smudges. If you have some water spots you still might have to breathe on your lenses and then use the Lens Pen.
Dennis
Jaeger01 said:
They are great. The best thing I have used to clean my binoculars and camera lenses. Get a big one and a smaller one.The big one is good for the big area of your lenses and the small one is good for around the edges. The Lens Pens don't dry out and they are the best on finger smudges. If you have some water spots you still might have to breathe on your lenses and then use the Lens Pen.
Dennis
deborahp
Well-known member
Jaeger01 said:
I tried one of the Nikon lens pens with a brush on one end and a spongy thing with cleaning compound on the other, and it's great. I'm going to get another so I don't have to remember to switch it back and forth between binocular and camera bags. It seems to be able to repair small scratches on filters and to remove things stuck on binocular lenses that won't otherwise come off, though following it with a clean microfiber cloth is sometimes necessary depending on what was on the lens.
Theses cleaning pens are available at www.7dayshop.com for about £3.
xenophobe
Well-known member
First a brush, then a little lens cleaner fluid on a microfiber lens cloth. Usually works fine. Sometimes I'll break out the lens pen after normal cleaning.
I try to use the lens pen as little as possible and would prefer not to clean with something that might capture something abrasive and press it onto the lens...
I try to use the lens pen as little as possible and would prefer not to clean with something that might capture something abrasive and press it onto the lens...
That pad on a lens pen is nothing but a trap for dirt and grime and is likely to cause more harm than good. Get yourself a good lens brush, an air bottle, and either some good cleaning solution and lens tissues or pre-moistened lens cloths, and maybe a microfiber cloth, and you'll be far better off than using a lens pen. I'll bet more lenses are damaged from poor cleaning practices than all other things combined....
I agree. It may work well for "pure" greasy fingerprints etc., but if you get small grains of sand or whatever trapped on the pad, you may keep scratching your optics without noticing it. The problem is that the black "cleaning substance" works by filling the small scratches giving an illusion of perfectly clean surface. If you do use it, please make sure you carefully remove all particles, salt deposits etc. from the lenses before starting to rub them with the pad.Buster said:
I know that some professional photographers use the Lens Pen, but I still think birdwatchers who carry their optics in conditions where they can easily become very dirty, should use safer cleaning methods.
Ilkka
Jaeger01
Well-known member
After much research and reading the answers to my initial question here. I have decided that there are many ways to clean optics without damage to the optics. It basically gets down to what you are comfortable with and what gets your lens clean, wheither its with some decent liquid cleaner and lens tissues, damp lens tissues, microfiber cleaning cloths, lens pens, etc. Of the big 4 to whom I addressed the question of how and what to clean with, I only received answers from Swarovski and Zeiss.
My conclusions apply only to what I think after all this reading is that I will carry a lens pen in my birding bag and keep a pressurized can of air, a good brand of liquid cleaner and lens tissues at my desk for at home cleaning. For those occassions when they make get excessive salt or sand on them. The manufacturer of my primary bins (Swarovski) assures me that a gentle stream of water from a faucet should remove what doesn't come off with a decent breath of expelled air or a lens brush. All makers state that you should be careful to use a clean brush, clean air, clean lens pen (a half turn of the cap will refresh the pad), etc.
Most makers of modern optics (anything above dirt cheap, cheapies) applies a hard coating to the optics to protect them from frequent and reasonable cleaning (according to the manufacturers that responded).
If you ever get oil or a similar substance on whatever you use, discard and get new one or ones. They're pretty inexpensive to replace (keep a pair and a spare).
Jaeger near Chicago
My conclusions apply only to what I think after all this reading is that I will carry a lens pen in my birding bag and keep a pressurized can of air, a good brand of liquid cleaner and lens tissues at my desk for at home cleaning. For those occassions when they make get excessive salt or sand on them. The manufacturer of my primary bins (Swarovski) assures me that a gentle stream of water from a faucet should remove what doesn't come off with a decent breath of expelled air or a lens brush. All makers state that you should be careful to use a clean brush, clean air, clean lens pen (a half turn of the cap will refresh the pad), etc.
Most makers of modern optics (anything above dirt cheap, cheapies) applies a hard coating to the optics to protect them from frequent and reasonable cleaning (according to the manufacturers that responded).
If you ever get oil or a similar substance on whatever you use, discard and get new one or ones. They're pretty inexpensive to replace (keep a pair and a spare).
Jaeger near Chicago
Renze de Vries
Well-known member
The lens pen is magnificent the first time you use it. The second time it's very good. The third time it's good. Then after the xth time you start worrying.
Would you use a soft cloth on your lenses over and over on the same spot? That dirty spot which get's dirtier and dirtier by prolonged use? No you wouldn't, but that's exactly what you do with a lens pen.
Also, what colour of soft cloth would you buy for cleaning your lenses if you had the choice between black, red and white? Do I hear you say black?
Renze
Would you use a soft cloth on your lenses over and over on the same spot? That dirty spot which get's dirtier and dirtier by prolonged use? No you wouldn't, but that's exactly what you do with a lens pen.
Also, what colour of soft cloth would you buy for cleaning your lenses if you had the choice between black, red and white? Do I hear you say black?
Renze
xenophobe
Well-known member
Like I said, it's a great touch up if your lens is already clean. I would not use it to clean a dirty lens alone though. They definitely have a short lifespan. Brushes need to be cleaned often as well, or all you'll do is pick up dirt and particles to be later reapplied to the lens.
The Zeiss Portable Lens Cleaning Kit works great, and comes in a small zipper pouch, add to that a box of Zeiss 90 Pre-Moistened Lens Cloth you can get off ebay for under $12 shipped... And you're good to go.
The Zeiss Portable Lens Cleaning Kit works great, and comes in a small zipper pouch, add to that a box of Zeiss 90 Pre-Moistened Lens Cloth you can get off ebay for under $12 shipped... And you're good to go.
