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cleaning binocular lenses (1 Viewer)

notatwitcher! said:
"It's professional advice.
What works for a microscope will work for a scope and binoculars.
Scopes and binoculars are more durable than microscope lenses due to their coatings."

Sorry - BUT - whatever you may think, coatings are NOT more durable - how could they be? Every photograper has known that for years - use e.g. impregnated cloths that you would use on plain glass - a lot contain mild abrasives - and you are polishing the coating away. That's why the likes of Leica etc. say use a soft clean cloth and wash it when it get dirty or rinse under plain water. You might as well use washing powder . . .

The glass is much harder than the coating - but its your choice . . .

Mike

PS Steve J - just seen yours - note I said washing powder, not implying washing up liquid horror - oh no! - the Quatermass Fairey liquid is out to get me . . . !!!
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How can you be sure that the microfibre cloth you've just bought has no additives?
 
First, you don't have to clean them very often but when you do I suggest this:

Soap and water.
*Rinse them off first in tepid water under the faucet.
*Put a drop or two of dishwashing detergent in the palm of your hand with water and work up some suds.
*Gently work the suds with your fingers on the lenses, eyecups, etc.
*Rinse well.
*Dry with a clean towel, dab the lenses to dry (don't rub).
*Let the binos air dry for awhile.
*When dry, fog the lenses with your breath and wipe lightly with a micro-fiber cloth.

Perfect!

Forget chemicals, moistened wipes, canned air, lens pens, yada yada.... nothing beats micro-fiber cloths.
Just make sure there's no dust or grit on the lenses first.
 
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In the field, I use a lens pen, available from camera shops. Very soft brush one end, little chamois disc the other end. At home, water and a very soft cloth for cleaning spectacles (from Specsavers, I think!). As little as possible. I used to use kitchen towel occasionally but was warned off it by helpful BF members.
 
Sancho said:
In the field, I use a lens pen, available from camera shops. Very soft brush one end, little chamois disc the other end. At home, water and a very soft cloth for cleaning spectacles (from Specsavers, I think!). As little as possible. I used to use kitchen towel occasionally but was warned off it by helpful BF members.
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I've tried lens pens, I find them expensive, they don't last long, and they are useless on wet lenses, as you would expect. I cannot justify their cost and ineffectiveness, although they do work in perfect conditions, just to expensive for me.
 
Search me Dialyt, I didn't say anything about microfibre - but I nearly murdered a friend for using an impregnated spectacles cleaning cloth on my bins!

That said, no doubt Swaro, Leica etc don't give microfibre with their bins just to wreck them. But they're not impregnated . . . and wash frequently

My scope instructions say for cleaning say minimise or don't use cleaning fluids on the lenses because of risking damage to coatings.

I'm like Kevin and Sancho, rinse (with water) ) if really mucky, let dry or dab dry, fog by breathing on and use a very soft (or now microfibre) cloth.

Not gonna spend a lot of money on glass and risk wrecking it . . .

Mike
 
notatwitcher! said:
............That said, no doubt Swaro, Leica etc don't give microfibre with their bins just to wreck them. But they're not impregnated . . . and wash frequently...........

Mike
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Thanks for that, Mike, I never thought about my spectacle cloths being impregnated....I don't think they are, but I wash 'em regularly anyway. I don't know if most bins have eyecups that twist off, but my EL's do, and that makes them very easy to clean.
 
Spuds are OK and handy. You can clip it on your neck strap. I don't use it often. I don't clean my lenses often either for that matter. I've used Spuds on my Leicas and Nikons but only after first blowing on the lenses and then fogging them with my breath; and then I use it VERY lightly.
Bob
 
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I forcefully blow off sand and dust particles and use spit and a cotton handkerchief to wipe the lenses clean. How's that?

AND I don't even use a rainguard any more so there's plenty of cleaning to be done sometimes. Binoculars - and scopes - are made to be used, not pampered.

Best regards,

Ronald
 
Great thread with lots of good posts!

Dialyt,

I think that the issue of most concern is to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that, before ANY cloth or tissue is used, ALL abrasive grit is removed from the lenses...either by flushing or air burst. Using even the best lens cloth in the world with foreign grit on the lenses will only result in lenses looking similar to those shown by 'Surveyor' (post #6, this thread). Using the methods that I posted (post #7, this thread), I have been cleaning my eye glasses, camera lenses, bin lenses, and spotting scope lenses for many years. Yes, I have occasionally scratched my eye glasses, but they are lightweight polycarbon (plastic) and I was careless. I have never scratched the lenses on my camera, bins, or scopes. Best to all.

Ron
 
Good point. Come to think of it, I should flush the lenses with water every time.

I think that the issue of most concern is to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that, before ANY cloth or tissue is used, ALL abrasive grit is removed from the lenses...either by flushing or air burst.
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Do you all do anything special to wash your microfiber cloths? Hand wash with triple-purified holy water? Or just toss it in with the rest of your laundry?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I'd think that fabric softeners or those anti-static cloths you throw in the clothes dryer might be bad juju for our microfiber friends.

Any advice? I'm overdue to wash mine...|:$|
 
dave_in_michigan said:
Do you all do anything special to wash your microfiber cloths? Hand wash with triple-purified holy water? Or just toss it in with the rest of your laundry?
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Dave,

I think you may have raised an important issue here. Many of us just toss them in normal laundry. I know the microfibers don't like antistatic or softener treatments, but one point I didn't think of until now is the washing detergent itself. At least here in Finland non-phosphate detergents are quite popular because they are considered ecologically friendly. The compound that substitutes phosphate is called zeolite and this is actually small, porous, crystalline mineral (a kind of synthetic clay), which sounds like material to avoid in lens cleaning cloths :eek!:. Extra careful rinsing might be a good idea after washing with phosphate free detergents - or avoiding them altogether.

Best regards,

Ilkka
 
I'm not offering this up as the ideal solution to cleaning MF cloths but here's what I've done and it worked well...

Take a clean pot or other vessel in the kitchen that can hold at least a few quarts of water.
Fill with hot water and just a couple of drops of dishwasing liquid.
Add your MF cloth and let it soak for a while.
Drain it, squeeze it out, and rinse it a half dozen times or so.
Hang it on a clean line somewhere (bathroom?) to air dry.

A couple of additional points..

Don't use a dishwahing liquid that's "gentle on the hands" as it probably has some kind of oils or lotion in it.

Once the MF cloth is completely dry, store it in a large, new zip-lock baggie.
 
Here are pics of Leica Trinovid 8x42 BA oculars and objectives. You can see the scratches.
I am not real sure if I scratched them or they came like this. I think the former, sounds like paper napkin damage (a napkin, however soft, is still a wood product)

I think I used microfiber cloths from day one, but just recently started rinsing the whole lense under running water.

I noticed that Swaro EL has vastly more durable coatings ...
 

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Thanks for the tips, everyone. Lots of helpful advice in this thread.

I think I'll hand-wash my MF cloths with dish soap. Sounds safe and easy.

I hope to keep my binoculars and camera lenses free of those dreaded scratches.
 
Best advice on cleaning I've ever seen -- I found this out through experience!

Boomer said:
I think that the issue of most concern is to be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that, before ANY cloth or tissue is used, ALL abrasive grit is removed from the lenses...either by flushing or air burst. Using even the best lens cloth in the world with foreign grit on the lenses will only result in lenses looking similar to those shown by 'Surveyor' (post #6, this thread).
Click to expand...
 

Care should be exercised when using microfiber for cleaning of sensitive surfaces. By nature it accumulates dust, debris, and particles inside its material. Sensitive surfaces (such as all high tech coated surfaces e.g. CRT, LCD and plasma screens) can easily be damaged by a microfiber cloth if it has picked up grit or other abrasive particles when you use it. The cloth itself is generally safer to use on these surfaces than more common cloths, particularly as no cleaning fluid is required for cleaning such surfaces.

One solution to ensure safe cleaning of such surfaces is to wash and dry the microfiber cloth after each use, care should be taken to use prescribed washing and drying methods to ensure proper handling.

 
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