Lens Cleaning
by Robert Monaghan
Upfront Cautions
Conventional Lens Cleaning Wisdom
Postings related to Lens Cleaning
Related Links:
Cleaning Lenses
with Defects (Copyright 1998 A. Calcui)
Kodak on Lens Cleaning
Dust Mites
Cleaning out of Cameras (W.J. Markerink)
Cleaning Cameras
Cleaning Collectible Cameras
How To Clean
Your Camera's Lenses
Cleaning Lenses by
Harry Fleenor [12/2000]
Opticlean (and posting) [8/2002]
Cautions:
My first caution to you is to follow Hippocrates' Rule - first, do no
harm!
My second caution is that you proceed at your own risk. I haven't and
can't test any of these ideas extensively, so they are just presented for
your information. The posters may or may not be better informed than
you or me. But the diversity of opinions and ideas is interesting in
its own right, and worth presenting.
My third caution is that less is more in lens cleaning. Most of the
damage in the form of scratches to lenses has come to be known as
''cleaning marks'' due to their source. The less cleaning and the less
vigorous cleaning you do, the better your lenses are likely to remain.
Conventional Wisdom
Conventional lens cleaning philosophy is very simple.
First, get the dust off the lens. Dust can cause scratches. Usually a
blower brush is recommended, sometimes with use of the clean brush
part if needed. Keep this brush for lenses only. Keep it clean and in
a dust-free environment. Canned air is not recommended by some
sources, as it can condense out chemicals and freeze lenses and is
usually too vigorous a blast when new can of air is used.
Second, lubricate the glass indirectly with very little fluid. Usually,
this means lightly moistening a piece of lens cleaning tissue and putting
on lens. Some sources recommend the moisture from your breath, but most
suggest using commercial lens cleaning fluid. Don't put the fluid
directly on the lens, as too much will soak into lens and may cause
damage (loosened elements). Use a spiral motion outward (some sources
recommend
counter-clockwise). Do not rub moist paper back and forth or hard on
lens.
Third, use a new and clean lens cleaning tissue to remove the moisture
and clean the lens. Again, a spiral cleaning motion is recommended.
One technique is to tear the lens cleaning paper in half, producing a jagged
edge paper segment that can be folded (for strength). Clean with these
paper pieces, discarding when done. Don't save on paper, as you may end
up scratching multiple lenses with the dust from one lens.
Microfiber cloth can be used as directed by manufacturer. Usually, this
means removing the dust first, then cleaning away smudges with the cloth.
Some sources
again recommend a spiraling outward motion from the lens center. Others
say just wipe and lift off fingerprints and smudges.
Please understand that you must keep your microfiber cloth very clean and
dust free! The cloth will pick up dust if you don't, and you will end up
scratching all the glass that you touch.
A very good idea is to put all these lens cleaning items into a zip lock
or similar bag, mainly to protect them against dust contamination.
Another good idea is to periodically vacuum out the contents of your
camera bag, to remove dust before it can really buildup.
Consider using a protective (UV) filter in adverse environments. In
really
dusty, muddy, or sandy environments, consider using an ewa marine plastic
bag to keep dust and mud out of your camera and lenses.
WARNING:
If you start disassembling lenses, you should be aware and able to handle
all the issues required for proper re-assembly. Not only do you have to
get them all back in the right order, but you have to ensure exact (and
we mean really exact) registration and positioning. If you don't
have access and knowledge to use an optical bench to recenter and
optically align your lenses, you have no business doing lens disassemblies.
Tolerances are measured in ten-thousandths of an inch, so take the
hint!
HEALTH HAZARDS:
Some recent books on health hazards in
photography emphasize that many old style cleaners such as benzene and
acetone
can have significant health risks. Be sure to be aware of these risks and take
precautions if you elect to use these chemicals.
At the least, be sure to use a very well ventilated repair site. And be
especially aware of the risk of fires with some volatile
chemicals such as ether or lighter fluid or other often recommended home
cleaning chemicals. Most cleaning chemicals will
have precautions listed on the container, which should be carefully
followed. In general, it is a good rule to avoid skin contact and to use
only in a very well ventilated environment where airflow minimized the risk of
breathing fumes.
Postings
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001
From: Bob Shell <bob@bobshell.com>
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [camera-fix] of addresses and lens cleaning
Lens makers recommend acetone to remove staining and most other crud from
lenses. Zeiss actually makes a cleaner and sells it. It is specifically
formulated to remove haze and fungus. I have no idea what's in it.
Bob
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001
From: Rick Oleson <rick_oleson@yahoo.com>
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [camera-fix] Re: of addresses and lens cleaning
I would be pretty careful in using acetone around an assembled lens,
as so many of them over the past 20 years or so have been using
polycarbonate in the barrels. Acetone will dissolve polycarbonate
very quickly. It ought to be okay with the glass elements themselves
if the lens is disassembled.
rick :)=
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001
From: Bob Shell <bob@bobshell.com>
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [camera-fix] Re: of addresses and lens cleaning
Good point. I was speaking of cleaning lenses which were removed from the
lens barrels.
Bob
[Ed. note: A useful test tip from a noted camera repairperson]
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Cleaning Tessars
The way to tell if the lens has gotten hazy is to open the shutter and
shine a flashlight through the lens. Any haze or other crud in the lens
will become immediately apparent. Also check the finder lens. Haze there
will reduce the contrast of the finder image and make it harder to focus.
Cleaning the finder lens requires actually more disassembly than the taking
lens and will also require re-setting the correlation between finder and
taking lens. The is perhaps better left to a repair type person.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998
From: Todd Belcher toddmb@intergate.bc.ca
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Cleaning Tessars
I use a dry lens cleaning product called the "Lens Pen" from Optex
(www.gentec-intl.com). It does a fine job of cleaning a lens, as long as
you clear the lens of any particulate matter with compressed air (to avoid
scratches). I prefer this dry cleaning method to a wet one, as it's much
less finiky. Although a bit of moist breath on the lens aids in removing
very "cruddy" lenses.
Todd Belcher
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
toddmb@intergate.bc.ca
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Re: German Glass
For those times when something more than just a wipe with a microfiber
cloth is needed, there are lens cleaning fluids. I have found two really
good ones, and a lot of rotten ones. The cheap ones are usually just
isopropyl alcohol with maybe a little detergent added. The good ones are
sold by Singh-Ray and Deutsche Optik. Both of these are used by the
military and by NASA for cleaning optics.
Bob
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
While we're on the topic of cleaning optics, it might interest you to know
how it is done at the lens makers. I've toured many of the major optical
companies in Germany and Japan, and of course things are made these days in
clean room environments. But occasionally someone slips up and gets an
element dirty. Or if lenses come in for repair they usually need cleaning.
First, any surface dust is blown off with compressed air from a filtered
supply. Then the surface is cleaned with an oil-free chamois leather.
These are damned hard to find in the USA, but last I heard Pop Photo was
still selling them. You could check a recent issue. I don't get to see it
any more because I refuse to pay for it, and Bert stopped putting me on the
comp list!
Bob
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Doug Braun dbraun@scdt.intel.com
Subject: [Rollei] More babble on coatings and cleaning
My humble observations:
I think coated lenses are more likely to remain in cood condition
because any damage done by cleaning is very conspicuous, even if
its effect on the image quality is minimal. But uncoated lenses
can basically be ruined by cleaning and still look "shiny". It's
only when you carefully shine light through them and look through
them that you can seen the zillions of tiny cleaning scratches.
I was looking at an older 2.8 in a shop last weekend, and I
noticed that the taking lens had too many cleaning marks to make
it really worth using (especially for the asking price...), but
the viewing lens was basically fine. Obviously the previous
owners were very concerned that that they get the most out of
their fine taking lens by always keeping it clean, and ended up
ruining it in the process. Because they paid less attention to
the taking lens, it survived...
Doug Braun
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] More babble on coatings and cleaning
Taking a pencil flashlight along when buying lenses or cameras is a good
idea. when shined through a lens it will show up any scratches or haziness
right away.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
Typical optical shop cleaners are pure Acetone as a degreaser and mild
solutions of Ammonium Carbonate for general cleaning. Kodak lens cleaning
fluid is a solution of Ammonium Carbonate with some Triton-X wetting agent.
The MIL spec cleaner is a mixture of mostly Ethyl and Methyl alcohol with
wetting agents or detergents.
Windex is mainly Ammonium Hydroxide. Presumably the Kodak cleaner is
gentler but Windex seems to work well and I have never heard any reports of
damage from it. A friend who worked for Bausch & Lomb some years ago told
me its what they used for general cleaning of binocular parts. Plain
Isopropyl alcohol of the 91% type available from the drug store is also a
pretty good selective degreaser and won't attack paint. Don't use rubbing
alcohol, its 1/3 water.
Loose dust can be blown off but I suggest using a hand air bulb rather
than canned air. The canned air can cause condensation on the lens but
cooling it rapidly. Dust that won't come off by blowing can be removed by
using Kodak lens tissue as a brush. Roll the tissue into a tube and
tear
it in half, with the feathery torn ends together. Use is as a one-time
brush. Use several for very dirty lenses. A regular lens brush can hold
grit and cause scratching.
The main thing is to use something which will neither scratch or etch the
lens and won't leave a residue.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: peter.kotsinadelis@octel.com
Subject: Re[2]: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
Better yet, Tokina and other Japanese use pure 100% methyl
alcohol. Best bet if grain alcohol since it leaves no residue,
but if you don;t want to go out and buy Everclear, the next
best is Methanol. $3 a quart in your hardware store. It works
perfectly but will leave a little residue, although not as much
as Isopropyl, which is cut 9% with water and other ingredients
added so people won't drink it (yes for real).
Peter K
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
I didn't mention "canned air". I tell people
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Dan Post dwpost@email.msn.com
Subject: Re: Re[2]: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
You can get 100% pure Isopropyl Alcohol through TechAmerica ( Radio Shack)
I had read where swabs with acetone were used by optical makers and
astronomers; I thought is might harm the cement that holds lens elements
together. I took a doublet from an old camera and soaked it in a film can of
acetone for about two weeks- no effect whatsoever. The caveat here is that
the lens was from a camera of recent vintage. Older lenses probably used
something like a balsam that would be affected. I have used the acetone on
mirrors, though, with good results.
I also got a large piece of microfibre fabric from a pricey dress shop- only
color available was green, and it's 12 buck a yard! I use pieces of that
with a dab of Edmund Scientific Lens cleaner on one corner, then gently
wipe
dry with the center. I keep all cleaning cloths, in a ziplock bags so they
don't pick up dirt from the bag or pocket! Keeping the cleaning cloth CLEAN
is more than half the battle!
dwpost@msn.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: Re[2]: [Rollei] Wardrobe and Lens Cleaning
Acetone will definitely dissolve Canada Balsam. If you must use it on a
lens be very careful not to let run into the housing. It can be a valuable
last resort when something oily has gotten on a lens and won't come off.
It will also dissolve some types of paint and lacquer used to finish
lenses.
Modern lenses are cemented with synthetic adhesives which are not dissolved
by Acetone. A better general purpose degreaser is 1,1,1,Trichrloroethylene
but it is considered an envronmental hazard now and is hard to find and
expensive.
The main thing is to use something that does not leave a residue. That
can also come off of paper or cloth used to do the cleaning.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
It isn't always Economical to Get a Lens Cleaned...
From: bdd@bach.cs.purdue.edu (Bozhidar Dimitrov)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Relief for dirty lens
Date: 4 Feb 1998
Gord Weber (Gord_Weber@msn.com) wrote:
I have a 25 year old SMC Takumar lens (55/1.8) that has signs of grime on
the inside element surfaces. It is barely noticable unless you hold the
lens
I use a local camera repair shop to get my Pentax SPF tuned up every
once in
a while. Is it wise to have a repair shop take the lens apart and clean it?
Opening it up and cleaning should be no big deal, but I wonder if it will
be worth it. I had an SMC-A 24/2.8 cleaned from dust and fungus, and it
cost about $70. The lens is still sharp as a tack.
Good luck,
Boz
Not Recommended, but for your information:
From: "Frank Filippone" red735i@worldnet.att.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Perceived lens problem
Date: 3 Feb 1998
Have you tried to remove the front and rear elements and cleaned them?
Unscrew element groups from shutter using moderate twisting action....
should some apart easily. Be careful and do not drop them..... you can
figure on throwing them away if they get dinged.
Clean using proper lens cleaning brush, gently carressing surface; Did
Dust move? Clean thoroughly but be very gentle.
If necessary, put lens cleaning solution on good quality lens paper ( I use
Kodak ) and LIGHTLY wipe surface with a circular action: Repeat with fresh
paper and solution.
DO NOT put solution directly on lens,,,,, DO NOT skip dusting with a clean
lens brush, and do not substitute your tie, some nice soft diaper, etc for
the brush or the paper.
Report your progress..... will help further...
--
Please do not auto-respond. Please respond to address below.
Frank Filippone
red735i@worldnet.att.net
Darrell Messenger dmess@iu.net wrote
Yesterday I bought a f8/90mm Super-Angulon at a camera show for $400.
The lens is physically near mint but what I thought was dust on the lens
when I looked at it at the camera show now appears to be dust inside the
lens. It is only in the front part of the lens but looks like dust on
at least one layer inside the lens and maybe two. Has anybody had
experience with this? I doubt this will be seen on the images but I
wonder if it might make part of the image appear soft. I am fairly new
to MF and would appreciate any help or ideas that any of you readers
might provide.
Thanx
Darrell
Better Advise IMHO
From: jbh@magicnet.net (John Hicks)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Perceived lens problem
Date: 3 Feb 1998
Darrell Messenger dmess@iu.net wrote:
Yesterday I bought a f8/90mm Super-Angulon
Don't worry about it; the dust won't cause any problems unless
there's really lots of it.
jbh
From: "Joe Cantrell" agiyo@cnnw.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.misc
Subject: Re: WIDE ANGLE LENS WITH SPOTS ALL OVER
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998
Rodney Tow wrote
Today, while cleaning my 35 mm Nikon lens, series e, I noticed that I see
thousands of little spots in the lens when I open the aperture all the way
and
look from the back of the lens through to the front. The spots do not show
up
looking the other way and I do not see them through my viewfinder. I
cleaned
the lens and this must be in the lens and not on the outer surface. What
is it
and what can I do? Please e-mail your responses.
Might well be only dust on the interior lens surfaces. Before I changed to
Canon, my Nikkors (which led extremely rugged lives in Southeast Asian
photojournalism) would get dusty on the elements either side of the
diaphragm. They cleaned up, no sweat, and I usually did it myself. I had
fewer problems with fungus in the Japanese lenses than I did in my Leitz
equipment, by the way.
Joe Cantrell
What not to do!
From: lockwood@world.std.com (Harry F. Lockwood)
Subject: Re: lens coatings
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998
sgingram@venus.uwaterloo.ca
wrote:
Don't even think about it - the lens will be toast, if it isn't already.
However, this long-term reliability issue may be of interest to Tamron.
Perhaps you could suggest to them that they 'buy' you lens back for
their labs to look over ?
Charles Mak wrote:
I have a Tamron lens that the middle lens coating is damage. ( It
seems like that it is de-nature and the glass is not clear any more).
I wish to wash the coating off in order to "save" the lens.I have took
the glass out already. Before I try thinner, sulfuric acid... etc, any
recommendation for removing the lens coating.
Charles
The above is good advice. The lens is coated with a hard dielectric
oxide/nitride that can only be dissolved in an acid such as hydrofluoric
(HF); sulfuric probably won't touch it. But HF will also dissolve the
lens. That could introduce some distortion.
HFL
--
Harry F. Lockwood
lockwood@world.std.com
http://world.std.com/~lockwood
Subject: My Bronica SLR
From: "Steven S. Gee" ssgee@acs.ucalgary.ca
Date: 1998/01/05
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
I own a Bronica EC-TL camera and I haven't used it for a long long time.
Being the neat freak I decided to clean my camera (big mistake) it wasn't
really dirty at all but I proceeded to clean the insides of it. (Its a 120
camera) I used canned air to blow the mirror clean but accidentally inverted
the can and all that liquid stuff came shooting out onto the mirror! It was
cold and white, it dried after a few seconds but left a stain mark (like
water) on the mirror. I was left with no other choice but to clean the
mirror with tissue paper and lens cleaner. I got everything off except near
the edge there is kind of a blue haze/tinge on the edge of the mirror, I
know for sure that it is the cleaners residue and I could remove it with a
dry piece of tissue paper. However, I don't want to scratch that darn
mirror (I did put 2 tiny ones into it) Will that haze affect the pictures?
I don't see it in the viewfinder, and the pictures still come out clear. Do
mirrors have microscratches from factory? Will the scratches I put into it
affect the pictures or the value of the camera? Is there replacements
mirrors? Do you have suggestions on mirror cleaning/care? (I know I should
avoid cleaning as much as possible. What is the camera worth these
days. I
have a 80mm f/2.8 lens, a 150mm f/3.5 lens, a 120 12 exp back and a
viewfinder that makes it into a front viewfinder camera. It is in brand
new/from factory condition.
P.S. Sorry for the long e-mail but I'm freaking out because of this
incident. Thanks a million for any suggestions.
Thanks
Steven
From: edeagle@wolrldnet.att.net (Ed Eagleton)
[1] Re: Where is the best place to get cleaning supplies
Date: Fri Feb 13 19:24:49 CST 1998
I need to find a mail or internet catalog for lense cleaning supplies, can
anybody help?
As a guy that cleans over a dozen lens surfaces a day I've gotta ask,
Why do
you need a whole catalog? A quart of Kodak lens cleaner is available
thru
your photo dealer as well as Kimwipes or lens tissue. A quart will last
me
many many months. I use cotton swabs, micro fiber cloths, small sections
of
chamois and Kodak lens cleaner primarily. A fifty fifty mix of water and
Windex for an oily lens or filter element. An ear syringe available at
most
pharmacies does a nice job of blowing off debris before swabbing and
tissue
lint afterwards.
Ed Eagleton
edeagle@worldnet.att.net
From: edeagle@wolrldnet.att.net (Ed Eagleton)
[1] Re: Help in camera cleaning
Date: Fri Feb 13 19:38:29 CST 1998
I am a novice and have just purchased a second hand nikon f70 camera...
the problem is that my lens (35 - 80 mm) is clean but everytime i look
through
the viewfinder there are spots on the crners and even what looks like dust
particles.... i know it is inside the camera and not the lens because even
when i remove the lens, and look through the viewfinder the dirt is still
there.... can anyone help me in what to do.
First off ''DON"T PANIC !'' the small spots are pobably on the focus
screen, the plastic screen sitting above the mirror. The n70 should have
interchangeable screens held in place by a small latch in the forward middle
top section just behind the lens mount.
If there are only a couple of minor specks ignore them and continue shooting.
If they really aggrevate you , lay the camera on its back, pull the tab
, the
screen and frame should drop down.
DO NOT touch the screen with bare fingers. This will leave oil on the
screen
and will possibly (probably) stain it. Use a blower brush or something
similar
and gently blow off the surface (both sides) and the inside of the prism
area.
The plastic is extremely soft and is easily scratched by improper
cleaning so
I hesitate to tell you to wipe on it at all but it is sometime neccesary
to
remove stubborn specks of dust and must be done with extreme care. BTW
these
specks are all but invisible when you are looking at the screen outside
of the
body.
Ed Eagleton
edeagle@worldnet.att.net
From: Rick Campbell rcampbell@marylhurst.edu
Subject: Response to How do I clean the lens of the Yashica 124G
Date: 1998-02-13
I once replaced the scratched rear elements on my 124G. Ordered a whole lens
set from Yashica. I made a spanner wrench from a paint knife with a file,
filing out the center and leaving two little tabs on each end, to fit the
notches in the lens. Then unscrewed the rear element and screwed in the new
one. Total time, including making the tool was about a half an hour. Didn't
seem to be any alignment possible, it just screws in. Maybe you're
supposed to
use custom shims or something but the original lens didn't have any and
the
picture quality was never hurt as far as I could tell. Taking out the
front
element is another story. Didn't try that.
Procede at your own risk! It really might be better to send it in but
some
people like to tinker. If the dirty part is on the front element you'll
have to
put the shutter on B to get to the glass. You might have fungus. Try
(with the
back open and shutter open) putting the camera out pointing to the sun
for a
few minutes. Sometimes this will unfog the fungus. Don't fry the lens or
start
back open and shutter open) putting the camera out pointing to the sun
for a
few minutes. Sometimes this will unfog the fungus. Don't fry the lens or
start
a fire ;-)
Good luck.
[Nikon Digest Feb. 16 1998 post:]
From: Tracey Goessel Doyle tgoessel@erols.com
Subject: Re: Lens Pen
Great gadget: I just replaced mine after roughly five years of
light
use. It's worked well for getting dust and an occasional
fingerprint
off my lenses. It replaces a separate brush and microfiber
cloth (or
lens cleaning solution and paper.) I find it easier to use
than
microfiber for removing fingerprints and less likely to leave
a little
ring of crud around the edge of the glass.
Jim Doyle
rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
From: nebraskaphantom yf92525@navix.net
[1] Re: Qs on cleaning multi-coating lens
Date: Sun Mar 01 08:00:39 CST 1998
NEWS FLASH
I just discovered a great product. Upon receiving my new Zeiss
multi-coated eyeglasses I was tempted with an offer to use their cleaning
solution which is formulated for multi-coated optics. They guarantee their
multi-coating for the life of the prescription--so I thought they would not
sell anything that would jeopardize their coating. This stuff is great! It
comes in a small three inch high, pump-spray bottle for about $1.75. With
one squeeze you get one pre-measured amount for each lens surface. It
leaves no film, and will clean grease,dirt,fingerprints, and the occasional
dog lick. Buy the way, the Zeiss "Tital" eyeglass lenses are fantastic.
With the AR coating they are color balanced so what you see is what you get.
Good luck.
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Cleaning lenses
Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998
Yup, works fine. You might want to add a hand operated air bulb.
The Kodak lens tissue an be used to make a disposable brush. Roll it
into a tube, tear and fold over. Use the feathered end as a one-time
brush. That way you don't have a brush with grit stored up in it just
waiting to scratch something.
Kodak lens cleaner is buffered so that it won't attack glass which
is sensitive or acids or strong alkalines.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 21:46:57 -0500
From: Tom Campbell
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net
Subject: Re: Cleaning Front Element
ghost who walks inside wrote:
>
> I recently bought a used lens, and no matter how much I breathe on it and
> use a lens tissue, or as a last ditch, kodak lens cleaner, there is an
> oily kind of smeary stuff on the front element.
>
> Has anyone used that ROR Residual Oil Remover solution?
>
> Does it work well?
>
> I've also seen something called "crystal clear" that apparently evaporates
> immediatley and so the marketing goes, doesn't leave any residual gunk.
>
> More specifically how safe are they for T*?
>
> Thanks.
>
> -jon
Jon
I don't know about any of these products. However, I was talking about
a year ago with my optician (also a photographer and a heck of a nice
guy for giving me discounts) and he won't use anything on coated lenses
but Eckerd's house-brand glass cleaner diluted 1:3 with water. He says
the Kodak stuff, which I had used for years, eats any anti-reflective
coating. I've started following his advice, though I had never seen any
visible or photographic evidence of a problem with the Kodak product.
I can't remember the name of the stuff, and my only supply is already
diluted in a spray bottle (mostly for daily glasses use). If you can't
find it, or if you live out of Eckerd's market area, drop a line and
I'll call the guy and ask the name, or find if their are other "house
brands" that have the same stuff.
Or, look at the bright side and see all the money you've saved on
Softars. Sorry, that was cruel.
Tom Campbell
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 08:45:02 CENTRAL
From: Waldo Berry wberry@dce.ksu.edu
Subject: Re: Cleaning Front Element
I use a three level approach to cleaning.
1. Before use I have a pen that has a very soft brush on one end a
half moon felt lined cup on it. For the light dust I use the brush
for the more stubborn dust and particles I use the cup.
2. If there is a smug on the lens I use my pentax lens cloth and a
mist spray. Carful to hit the glass and not the lens housing. Then
a circular motion moving from inside the lens to the outside. The a
few quick swipes with the brush incase there is any fiber left from the
cloth.
3. Sticky stuff, or really stubborn: A 3:1 dilution of citrus
cleaner, water and glass cleaner (non ammonia based).
If you get the lens wet for any reason make sure you dry it well then
let it sit out for a bit to make sure it is dry. Don't just stick it
all back in the back or case. A couple of cotton cloths or tea shirts
are placed over the lenses while the are allowed to air without the
caps on.
That's my ten cents
===================================================
Waldo O. Berry, III
wberry@ksu.edu
http://www.dce.ksu.edu/
Date: Thu, 02 Apr 1998
From: Peter Klosky PKlosky@bdm.com
Subject: Cleaning Front Element -Reply
Ok, what's your favorite way to clean the front (&rear;) element of your
beloved lenses?
I used to use Kodak lens paper that costs about a dollar at the camera
store, but now I use a cleaning cloth that is available from the camera
store for about five to ten dollars. The new cleaning cloth uses
microfiber technology, I think, and they are quite soft and clean quickly.
Many dealers tend to carry them in their pocket when selling cameras. In
a pinch, I use a piece of soft cotton cloth, such as a 100% cotton T-shirt.
As suggested in the Wildi book and seen by others, I breathe lightly on
the element to get a little condensation to form, to ease cleaning. As Wildi
also suggests, I use lens cleaning fluid of one type or another from the
camera store for the most intense cleaning. The breating lightly
technique bothers me a bit, as I suspect some corrosive saliva is
delivered, but I use it just the same.
Obviously, the best way to keep a lens clean is to prevent it from getting
dirty.
Date: Thu, 02 Apr 1998
From: John Gong jgong@cisco.com
Subject: Re: Cleaning Front Element
I use the breathing on/T shirt method without any problems. One comment I
can add, however, comes from (I think) a Leica lens instruction
recommendation: Don't use the lens cleaning fluid given by optomotrists for
cleaning glasses. The fluid is not compatible with lens coatings and will
adversely affect its longevity.
John
From: tired.of.spam@nospam.com (Rudy Garcia)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.misc
Subject: Re: cleaning photographic lens
Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998
joao gusmao jgusmao@ism.com.br wrote:
> Could someone help me: can I use compressed air to clean
> photographic lens? I was advised to use Falcon's Dust-Off
> Compressed-Gas Duster.
> Thanks in advance, joao
Joao,
Here is my personal preference for cleaning lenses.
Rudy's Lens & Filter Cleaning Guide
Step 1.
Use a blower bulb (not a compressed gas can) to gently blow off any
particulate matter from surfaces.
Step 2.
Follow up with a lens cleaning brush (I'm partial to the "lipstick" type
of brush). Never touch the hairs on brush, as you'll transfer your body
grease to the hairs and from there to the glass. Use the brush to dislodge
any particles that weren't blown away by step 1.
1 & 2 above are usually sufficient for most cleaning if you are careful
handling your equipment and keep you fingers off the optics, but if you
have to, then continue on to step 3.
Step 3.
Use lens cleaning tissue with a drop of lens cleaning fluid on tissue (I
use Kodak, or ROR if necessary). Wipe glass surface gently. If a residue
film resembling an "oil slick" (ie. multicolored rainbow like film)
remains after the glass is dry, then switch to ROR (Residual Oil Remover)
and repeat this step.
Thats it!
Microfiber cloth is great stuff, but I hardly ever use it. I rather use a
pristine tissue of lens cleaning paper rather than risking using a
microfiber cloth that is potentially harboring a small particle of grit
(like a sand grain) left over from previous use. One swipe with it and
whoila! instant "lens cleaning mark". Some of my lenses are more than 15
years old and the glass is like the day Nikkon manufactured it.
Hope this helped.
--
Use address below for Email replies. Address on Header is bogus to
defeat AutoSPAM.
rudyg@jps.net
________________________________
Rudy Garcia
The answers I have found have just served to raise a whole new set
of questions. In some ways I am as confused as ever, but I believe
I am confused on a much higher level and about more important things.
Author unknown
rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
From: mr500cm@pipeline.com (Mr500CM)
[1] Re: Alcohol as lens & camera cleaner???
Date: Tue Jul 07 20:51:12 CDT 1998
I've used what Leica has been using for years......Windex. It's cheap and
does the job and it won't hurt the coating on the lenses.
Lance
To reply, remove (NO SPAM) in address.
From: Garry Lee glee@iol.ie
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Alcohol as lens & camera cleaner???
Date: 5 Jul 1998
I worked out a way, years ago to clean lenses perfectly. It doesn't damage
them and they look like new.
Get cotton wool dip in water to which a little detergent (e.g. shampoo)
has been added, the mixture then agitated. Squeeze the cotton wool until
damp. Clean lens with circular motions. Then repeat with dry cotton wool.
If there's streaking, breathe on lens and then repeat rubbing with dry
cotton wool.
This works like magic and I've used it for more than 15 years.
Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998
From: wcmarti@ibm.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Alcohol as lens & camera cleaner???
An experienced camera repairman that I have a lot of respect for
recommends a "dilute" solution of sudsy household ammonia. This has
worked ver well for me, for several years. Cheap and effective, and
doesn't seem to harm the coating. I've also tried Ed Romney's ( I think
it was him ) suggested use of windex. Haven't noticed any adverse
effects over the past 2 - 3 years.
From: w.j.markerink@a1.nl (Willem-Jan Markerink)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Alcohol as lens & camera cleaner???
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 98
Buy those 100-pack CD-ROM alcohol cleaning tissues....US$5.
The individually packed/sealed photo-tissues are 10 times more
expensive....
Hey, I am Dutch, I am trained to discover things like this....;-))
Additional tip/trick: if you disassemble greasy cameras, and want to
remove the dirty grease, or want to remove nasty glue-remains (stickers
etc), you can let one of those CD-cleaning packs dry out, and refill it
with thinner or whatever strong dissolver....voila, thinner-tissues at
hand, without messing with a full bottle of thinner.
Also works with ordinary soap-packs (Wetties)....so don't throw the spoiled
(dried out) packs away....they can get a second life!
Just be sure to put a warning label on, so that you don't start with
thinner on your lens....or cleaning your kids mouth with it....;-))
--
Bye,
Willem-Jan Markerink
From: "David Foy" nomail@this_address.please
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Alcohol as lens & camera cleaner???
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 1998
Alcohols are probably not harmful, but they are ineffective compared to,
for example, dilute solutions of ammonia (Windex). Another tip, originally
from repairman-lore and most recently passed along by Ed Romney on his web
page, is a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide (from the drugstore) and
household ammonia. It is a very effective remover of the "haze" so often
mistaken for fungus, and Ed says it also removes fungus.
rec.photo.equipment.35mm
From: jpmccormac@aol.com (JPMccormac)
[1] Re: Best lens cleaner
Date:
Fri Jun 26 16:07:57 CDT 1998
Could anyone tell me which lens cleaner is the best on the market.
Lenspen; it really works. see www.lenspen.com
John P. McCormack
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/9273/gr1.html
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998
From: Januar Rahadi jrahadi@ibm.net
Subject: Re: Favourite method of cleaning your precious Nikon lenses?
My preferred method of cleaning my precious Nikon lenses is to not have to
clean it. I use my best effort to prevent dirt/dust/fungus from reaching the
lenses, through the usage of UV filters and silica gel packs. But when the
dirt/dust/fungus unfortunately reached my lens, this is what I do:
Preparation:
1. blower or a can of compressed air.
2. 95% alcohol or lens cleaning fluid (do not use thinner or other
strong cleaning fluid, it might solvent the lens coatings).
3. cotton buds.
4. lens tissue (do not use facial tissue).
Clean-up Method:
1. I prefer non-contact cleaning, if possible, using the blower. If you
use compressed air can, do not turn the can upside-down as this may cause
sprayed water. If the dust/dirt can be blown using the blower, then stop the
clean-up operation.
2. Drop the 95% alcohol to the tip of the cotton buds, and cautiously
wiped the lens using the cotton buds. You can exchange the cotton buds with
the lens tissue if you prefer, but I use cotton buds because it allows me to
wipe only a very small area-in-dirt of the lens. Never drop the alcohol
directly to the lens, as this may cause the alcohol to slip into the
internal of the lens.
3. Cautiously wipe the lens using the lens tissue in the circular
movement until the lens is fully cleaned-up.
4. Reinstall your UV filter to protect your lens from future
dirt/dust/scratches.
5. Always install the front-cap and the back-cap when you store the
lens.
Fungus Prevention:
1. Store your lens inside a tightened plastic bag (to prevent excessive
humidity from reaching your lens - humidity is to invitation to fungus),
together with some silica gel packs inside the plastic bag (to absorb
humidity that already exist inside the plastic bag).
2. Leave plenty of silica gel packs inside your camera bag.
3. Change all of your old silica gel packs with new ones regularly (I
renew all the silica gel packs every three month).
4. Do not expose your lens to excessive humidity situation, such as
rain or bad weather (Unfortunately, rain/bad weather often provide great
photo opportunities - you have to choose it yourself :) ).
Just remember, fungus is the most fatal class of lens dirt. It seriously
degrades the shapness, contrast and speed of the lens. It can reach inside
the lens, and worst of all, it can "eat" the lens coat! The only way to
clean fungus is to have the lens disassembled by a qualified technician
in a
qualified service shop. Even a qualified technician is sure to have trouble
in re-assembling the lens, because lens alignment tolerance is very tight,
and cannot be done without proper (and expensive!) lens alignment devices
that might not be available in your local service shop.
Simply stated: It is much better to prevent than to repair.
Warmest Regards,
Januar Rahadi
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998
From: Stewart.Long@bcm-ltd.co.uk
Subject: re:cleaning Nikon lenses
In reply to the suggestion to use a blower or alcohol, remember that
Nikon does not recommend this for ED glass as the glass is easily
damaged by extreme temperature change (stream of air)and solvents.
Stewart.
From: Scott Sansom ssansom@traveller.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning a lens
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998
Don't sweat it. Get some Kodak lens cleaner (or try plain old Windex as
some well respected camera technicians will recommend). Blow off any dust
or dirt with a can of compressed air (a decent lens tissue won't scratch
your lens, but the fine particles of grit that may be on your lens will).
By the way, those squeeze bulb type blowers are worthless. Wet the tissue
with the lens cleaner (never put the cleaner on the lens). Gently wipe
the lens in a circular motion. I sometimes I find that if I have got oil
on my lens from my hands that using a dry tissue to "mop up" the excess
lens cleaner will work better to remove the oil residue. You may have to
go through several tissues to get all of oil residue off. Also I always
wash my hands before cleaning my lens, I have found that if I don't oil
from my hands can get on the tissue and then get rubbed onto the lens. If
you do get any type of oil on your lens you should get if off as soon as
is reasonably possible. Oil left on the lens for an extended period of
time can react with the coating causing a stain. Even if this happened I
seriously doubt that it would significantly affect image quality. Even a
scratch will have suprisingly little affect.
You might want to get a UV or Sky filter to protect your lens in the future.
SNKEBYTE wrote:
> A dog hair fell on my new 28-105. Like an idiot, without even thinking, I
> nudged it off the lens..(A$$HOLE) I left a little grease dot...i DID NOT
> scratch the lens. I bought a lens cleaner along with some little tissue pack
> that came with it....heres the question
>
> How hard is it to get a lens clean? can it be made clean like new? I seem to
> keep streaking it...again..not scratches....just a little streak
>
> I feel really bad...like I have spoiled the integrity of the camera...any help?
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Cleaning Older Coated Lens
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998
jcpere@aol.com (JCPERE) wrote:
>I have heard alot about the soft coatings on older lens and would like to find
>out about precautions to take when cleaning them. My experience has been with
>newer (70's and later) lens or older uncoated lens. I normally just use Kodak
>lens cleaner and tissue, but have used things like alcohol on very dirty
>uncoated glass. Also I assume that modern coatings are more durable then early
>ones. Is this really true and when did the change happen?
>Thanks
>Chuck
Virtually all lenses made since 1946 which are coated have "hard"
coatings. The coatings are, in general, softer than glass itself but
not always. Soft coatings are found on a few types of pre-WW-2 Kodak
lenses on interior surfaces only. These lenses are pretty rare.
For a dirty lens clean as follows:
1, Blow off any loose dust with a hand operated blower. Canned air
can be used if you are careful with it.
2, use lens tissue or Kimwipes. Roll the tissue into a tube, tear it
in half and fold over so that the torn ends are together. That forms
a soft, one use only, brush. Put a drop or two of Kodak Lens Cleaner
on the end of this brush, not on the lens, and use it to pick-up any
visible stuff on the lens. Use each once only and discard it.
3, Once all visible dirt is off use the tissue in the regular way,
with a few drops of lens cleaner on it to finish cleaning the lens.
Never scrub the lens surface with anything.
For lenses which have oil or other material on them which the lens
cleaner will not remove try first 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, from the
drugstore (not rubbing alcohol, which is 30% water) on a lens tissue
as above. If that doesn't do it try reagent grade Acetone. Acetone is
a standard cleaner for optical parts in manufacture but must be
applied with great care since it will dissolve paint and will also
dissolve some types of lens cement. All solvents or cleaners should
be applied to lenses indirectly on tissue. It also helps to hold the
lens facing downward to keep solvent from running into the mount.
Few lenses will need such extreme cleaning. For routine cleaning
just blow off the lens gently and use the lens cleaner with a soft
lens tissue as above.
Kimwipes are lint-free paper tissue made for use with fine machinery
and optical parts. Its made by Kimberly-Clarke (they make Kleenex)
and is available in art supply and larger paper supply stores among
other places.
AFIK, the coated interior surfaces of soft-coated lenses can not be
cleaned without removing the coating. The Kodak lenses with this
coating are "Eastman Ektars" which are the pre-1946 versions of the
later Commerical Ektar and the lenses for the Ektra camera and the
lenses for the first version of the Medalist camera. There may be
other Kodak lenses. I don't have information about other
manufactures.
Zeiss also made some pre-war lenses with coatings but I have very
little information beyond that.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From: Ron Wisner 72072.2763@CompuServe.COM
Subject: Re: Cleaning Older Coated Lens
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998
Richard,
Perhaps this is an oversight, but you did not mention
"retro-coated" lenses, those which were not originally coated, but
coated by a third party after manufacture. Burk and James was the
most well known of those doing this, in which, by placing the
lenses in the vacuum chamber without the requisite heat to form a
good bond, they avoided the necessity of disassembling and
de-cementing the lenses. Unfurtunately, these coatings are not
resistant at all and are easily damaged. There are many of these
around, as they were coated by the thousands. To make matters
worse, they are especially susceptible to alkalies such as
ammonia, the very ingrediant in most lens cleaning fluids. Just
one application of Kodak lens cleaner can ruin a soft coating by
making it foggy. In those cases where a soft coating has been
irrevocably damaged I will make a pitch-lap using the lens itself
as the mold and simply polish the coating off. In these cases, no
coating is far better than a bad coating.
RW
From: George Huczek ghuczek@sk.sympatico.ca
Subject: Response to What's the best cleaning method?
Date: 1998-08-25
A few responses that came in to the question need to be challenged.
One recommendation was to use Windex(TM). This is not a good idea. It
contains ammonia, and may damage lens coatings.
Another was to use an alcohol-based solvent. My experience with this has
not been satisfactory. I tried using isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
from a pharmacy. It left a thin white film on the glass. I suspect it
has something to do with the purity of the solvent I used. Also, alcohols
may penetrate around the lens edges, if used too liberally, and affect the
lubricants as well as the lens cement.
I tried ROR yesterday for the first time and I am very pleased with it,
having used Kodak lens cleaner prior to that. The trouble I find with
Kodak lens cleaner is that I have to clean the lens twice: once with the
lens cleaner to remove what is on the lens, and a second time with clean
lens tissue to remove the thin film left by the lens cleaner itself.
I also recommend using Kimwipes EX-L tissues. You can order them in
small boxes of 280 sheets. They are perfect for the darkroom. They are
single-ply, extra-low lint wipes, similar to Kodak's lens cleaning tissue,
but less expensive.
From: funtasy@mbox2.singnet.com.sg
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Lens cleaning
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998
I have used a window cleaning spray liquid (the bluish liquid) to
clean some of my lens filters. I found that they did a very good
cleaning job, giving the filter a polished shine and also prevents
dust from sticking on it. Wonder if anyone has ever use this as a
cleaning agent for your camera optical equipments. . I like to know
if there is any problem if I use this window cleaner on my camera
lenses.
From: shaf5010@aol.com (Shaf5010)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Lens cleaning
Date: 28 Aug 1998
The "bluish" liquid you refer to most certaintly has ammonia in it and
could be very harmful to any coatings. The man made a good point - for
the relative cost of get the real thing.
From: rpn1@cornell.edu (Neuman-Ruether)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Lens cleaning
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998
Contrary to what others have said, I find window cleaner
excellent for lenses (do not apply it directly to the lens,
just a bit to the clean tissue or cotton swab...), and it
does not harm coatings or camera/lens finishes (it is an
excellent cleaner for camera/lens exterior surfaces, also).
David Ruether
ruether@fcinet.com
From: rpn1@cornell.edu (Neuman-Ruether)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Lens cleaning
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998
>You might also try a small amount of denatured alcohol on a lens cleaning
>tissue. It dries quickly, cuts through finger grease and leaves no
>residue. Or if you wish, try 40% ethyl alcohol. What you don't use to
>clean the lenses, you can mix with orange juice and some ice :-)
Yes, this works well, as does lighter fluid (naptha - but not
in orange juice! ;-). My "ultimate" grease-chaser, though, if all
else fails, is to make a thin paste of 1/2 dish-washing detergent
and 1/2 water, smear it around on the glass surface, and remove it
with window cleaner. Messy to begin with, but the end result beats
everything else I've tried. I keep my own glass clean enough that
mere (upward-directed! ;-) breath-fogging, followed by quick wipes
with a single Kodak lens-tissue (after washing my hands with
dish-detergent...;-) is all that is needed - but used lenses often
arrive with (UGH!!!) silicone "cleaner" on them, or other really
stubborn grease-messes...
David Ruether
ruether@fcinet.com
From: rpn1@cornell.edu (Neuman-Ruether)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Lens cleaning
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998
> Detergent?..... (stunned disbelief) Why not just put the whole damned
>camera outfit in the dishwasher and have done with it? [laugh]
Hmmm, you deleted the part of the post that explained that MY lenses
are kept clean, so they require little cleaning - but I buy WAY too
many used lenses (see my Nikkor evaluation list, on my web page, under
"I babble"...), and many are truly grungy, requiring fairly extreme
measures to clean them (removing silicone "lens cleaner" is the
worst!!!). The point is, several cleaners do work well, and having
used them often, over a period of time, I can report that, at least
with Nikkor lenses (and a few others...;-), Windex, alcohol, naptha,
and dish-washing detergent not only work, but do not damage the lens
(or coating) surface. This, I would think, would be welcome news...;-)
BTW, I'm in full agreement with you regarding filters (though I
prefer UV to skylight, for color neutrality...).
And, hey, back when cameras were all-mechanical, without those
electronic-whiz-bang innards, maybe one COULD just toss them in
the dishwasher, then carefully dry them out afterwards.....! ;-)
David Ruether
ruether@fcinet.com
rpn1@cornell.edu
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether
From Medium Format Digest:
From: Jim Thomas jwthomas@erols.com
Subject: Response to What's the best cleaning method?
Date: 1998-08-20
I would bet the farm that the magical mystery cleaning fluid was ROR-1
(Residual Oil Remover), great stuff that was recently discussed on the Leica
list. Everyone was amazed that so many others knew of this little "secret".
You first blow off the dust particles with canned air, then use a little
ROR-1
on a microfiber lens cloth such as Luminex or Photo-Clear. Works
great...
Jim
From Medium Format Digest:
From: Michael Heal
Subject: Response to What's the best cleaning method?
Date: 1998-08-21
At the risk of accusations of heresy, I'll tell you how I do it:
First blow away all the dust you can. I'd probably use compressed air,
but I
don't have any. Next, dampen a spot on a clean, lint-free cloth---a linen
tea-towl works well---with the (alcohol-based?) cleaner that's safe for
cleaning plastic eye-glass lenses. If you care a lot about the lens,
wipe only
once before using a new spot on your clean cloth. I use only the weight
of the
cloth against the lens, rather than adding pressure with my finger.
Q-tips(tm)
work well for very small lenses, such as eye-pieces.
Whatever the details of your technique, I believe that there are two very
important points:
- Put the cleaning fluid on the cloth, not the lens, and don't use too much
fluid. You don't want extra fluid to run inside your lens.
- Dust contains fine sand and other hard, gritty material. Any scratches
will be due to rubbing the dust between your cloth and the glass. Wipe as
gently as possible and switch to new, clean spot on your cloth very, very
frequently. Using a clean spot for each wipe is far more important than what
type of cloth you use. Also, use short, gentle, wiping motions that lift the
dirt, not smear it around or rub it into the surface of the lens. Most
cotton
or similar cloths are far softer than the lens coating and far, far
softer than
the grit contained in dust. Similarly, any fluid that will clean grease
without damaging your lens coatings and leaves no residue is fine. For
glass,
some people swear by Windex(tm), but notthe generic imitations. The
plastic eye-glass fluid is safe, inexpensive and readily available,
though.
If you have removed the element, for some reason, then an even better way to
start is letting room temperature water run gently over the
surface of
the lens. The water will often rinse off some more dust, further
reducing the
risk of scratches. I personally don't do this with filters because I
can't dry
between the glass and metal mounting ring. A water rinse is an excellent
starting point for cleaning eye-glasses, should you wear them. This approach
is essential for cleaning the extremely delicate surfaces such as the
front-silvered mirrors found in reflector-style telescopes or mirror lenses.
Use distilled water with such delicate surfaces so any drops will leave no
residue and need not be wiped dry.
All that being said, some modern, high-quality coatings are remarkably
hard and
scratch resistant. This fact has allowed their use in eye-glass lenses,
which
typically receive frequent and relatively rough cleaning. I met someone who
shamelessly cleans their Zeiss eye glasses on anything, any time, anywhere.
After a couple of years of this treatment I was very surprised that I could
detect no scatches or flare. I'm not advocating this practice and indeed I'm
sure there's a lot of variation between the different coatings from different
manufacturers, but perhaps hard coatings are a benefit of high-quality,
modern
optics.
Finally, remember that if there's only a little dust, it may be better to
leave
well enough alone. Left alone, the dust is not likely to damage your
lens and,
if there's only a little, may not decrease the image quality significantly.
Cleaning always involves risk.
From Medium Format Digest:
From: Jim Thomas
Subject: Response to What's the best cleaning method?
Date: 1998-08-21
Here's the link to the info site about ROR-1. I am NOT affiliated in any way
with the manufacturer, nor do I have any stake in the product at all. Just
wanted to pass along the information.
Jim
http://www.ror.net/index.htm
From Medium Format Digest:
From: Kip Babington cbabing3@swbell.net
Subject: Response to What's the best cleaning method?
Date: 1998-08-22
ROR is available from B&H;, if you can't find it locally. I'd never heard of
the stuff until somebody mentioned it on the Leica list, but then discovered
it's a standard shelf item at my local photo dealer. I'd looked at it for
years, never knew what it was, and just hadn't bothered to pick it up and
read
the label.
From: for7@aol.com (FOR7)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Kodak lens fluid leaves hazy film on lens???
Date: 26 Sep 1998
>I just cleaned my camera lens and skylight filter with Kodak lens cleaning
>fluid and paper. There now appears to be a dull hazy film on the lens and
>filter. This is only apparent when you shine a light at the pieces from a
>side angle. How normal is this and will it diminish picture quality. I tried
>recleaning the pieces and to no avail, cant get rid of the haze. Plain water
>didnt work either. I tried Windex with Ammonia D on the filter and it worked
>perfectly. Is Windex safe for my multicoated camera lenses? If not how do I
>get rid of the hazy film.
>
>John
You may have used to much lens cleaning fluid. Also get rid of the lens
cleaning tissue. An old piece of 100% cotton like from a t-shirt will do a
better job at evenly wiping the lens including any residue and is softer.
I get
that haze/ oil slick look sometimes after cleaning and I just wipe it
with the
cotton with alittle plain water and it comes right off. It sounds like you
either had alot of oily residue to begin with or like I said you used to
much fluid.
for7@aol.com
From: spam-abuse@worldnet.att.net (Tom)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Kodak lens fluid leaves hazy film on lens???
Date: 26 Sep 1998
I have had the same thing happen to me, and was sufficiently annoyed
to do some tests to see where the haze was coming from - the tissue or
the fluid. It appears that most lens cleaning fluids are fine by
themselves, but they dissolve trace amounts of oily material present
in the lens tissue. This can then deposit as a haze on the lens as
the fluid evaporates. I've also seen the same thing happen with
microfiber cloth.
My theory is that these traces of oil come either from your hand
(right through the paper, if you don't use a glove), or from the
machinery used to manufacture the lens cleaning tissue.
I agree about getting rid of the lens tissue, and yes, I have used
cotton with some success. However, I prefer to use microfiber cloths
that you know to be absolutely clean.
My current ritual is to wash out a bunch of these cloths in a clean
pot on the stove top, with one 5 min dunk with strong detergent, a
second dunk in weak ivory snow (to get out traces of the strong
detergent), and finish with a couple of rinses in hot pure water. Let
the cloths air dry (so they don't pick up soap from the dryer), and
then store them in ziplok snack bags for later use.
When you clean the lens, be sure to use minimal amounts of the fluid
cleaner (ie, just a few drops), and use a clean cotton glove on your
hand so that oils from your hand don't transfer to the cloth and
thence to the lens.
With respect to what fluid to use, I strart with weak (condensation
from my breath), progress to moderate ones (lens cleaning fluids), and
only use strong solutions (windex, etc.) if I absolutely must. The
danger with the stronger solutions is always that a drop might drool
over to the edge of the lens and pick up some real crud from the
threads, etc. which will then be virtually impossible to get rid of.
One of the worst situations is salt spray on the front element or
(hopefully) filter. The dried salt is highly abrasive, so you must
remove it b4 you wipe anything, but it takes large amounts of water to
get it off, so you risk the water getting into the threads if you try
to clean things up too quickly by using lots of water.
If the salt is on the filter, I must admit that I've taken to just
putting it under the faucet and dealing with the goop from the threads
later. If the salt is on the front element, patient, slow work is
about all you can do.
A light haze (visible only in strong side lighting, say from a
flashlight) can clearly be seen in photos, but usually its effects
are only visible in extreme backlit shots, or sunny sidelit shots if
you don't use a lens hood. A particularly annoying situation where
you don't normally think about the possibility of flair is an interior
head shot from across the room using a tele and flash, but with a
bright window just out of the frame in back of the subject to act as a
hair light. When the subjects begin to get a slightly washed out
appearance, I take a peek at my front elements b4 I recommend Iron
supplements or reach for the saturation control in Photoshop. This
haze is especially annoying when you are using high quality prime lens
precisely for the purpose of avoiding flair so you can take shots like
this.
Finally, heed all the more usual lens cleaning lore including:
1) B4 starting, blow off the lens to get rid of particulates that
could make microscratches as you wipe;
2) use the fluid sparsely so you don't dissolve anything under the
lens retaining rings or threads.
Regards,
Tom
Washington, D.C.
mem-tjm at att.net
(Note: Please use the above address, replacing "at" with "@" and take
out all
the spaces. Don't just hit your reply button, or your message will be
automatically forwarded to the spam abuse center at my ISP, att.net ).
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Coating lens
>Have you had any experience with ROR lens cleaner? I see these people at
>all the trade shows with their claims of 20% improvement in transmission by
>simply cleaning off residual oil from lens surfaces. It's a good cleaner,
>but I think the 20% is a great exaggeration.
>
>Bob
I've never used the stuff and can't find an MSDS for it. It may very
well be good stuff but I agree that 20% sounds a bit exagerated.
The most often used cleaners for lens assembly are reagent grade Acetone
or a mild solution of Ammonium Carbonate like Kodak Lens Cleaner. Windex
contains Ammonium Hydroxide which is a bit too alkaline to used very often.
Alkalies tend to dissolve some types of optical glass. One use of Windex
isn't going to melt your lenses however. An old friend, who worked for
Bausch & Lomb in their binocular plant told me they used Windex for
cleaning during assembly! I have no idea if this is true.
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Coating lens
...
Isopropyl is often mentioned as an alternative to Acetone. Do NOT use
rubbing alcohol due to the water content. Acetone is a superior degreaser.
Trichloroethelyne is also very effective but is diffucult to obtain these
days since it is an envrionmental hazard.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998
From: "Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter)" peterk@lucent.com
Subject: RE: [Rollei] Coating lens & cleaning
Well, if you have greasy lens the best thing to use it alcohol, and
thepurest you can find. Crystal clear is one on the market that works
very well. I would steer clear of the ammonia products largely because
they have water in them which can cause problems over time on the
coatings.
In a pinch, you can use everclear whihc is really pure alcohol and not
vodka. I fint the best middle ground for cleaning is to buy a quart of
methanol at the hardware store. This is very close to 100% pure and at
$3 per quart lasts quite a while.
Peter K
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998
From: "Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter)" peterk@lucent.com
Subject: RE: [Rollei] Coating lens
Why would you avoid methanol? Yes, it is poison if you drink it, but
other than that there is no problems. Chemically is will not damage
anything, but may dull painted areas if you clean it too long with it.
IT also dries very fast and has no odor. Pure Ethyl alcohol is very
hard to come by. Tokina uses a special Ethyl alcohol in the factory to
clean the elements. As to 100% Isopropyl, it is only available through
pharmacy and by prescription. The best you can find is 97%. The
Government is afraid people will dilute it and make a drink out of it,
hence the 3% impurities (which makeit smell, otherwise it is odorless)
are added. I agree with you on the mixtures.
PK
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: RE: [Rollei] Coating lens
...
Isopropyl has the same problem with moisture absorption that Ethyl has.
The 91% available off the shelf at drug stores here is suitable for use as
a cleaning solvent. It is only 91% because of the water absorption not
because of denaturing, it isn't drinkable in any case. Ethyl alcohol of
about the same purity can be also be obtained at pharmacies here without
paying a liquor tax. To get higher purities you need to buy these as
reagent grade chemicals. Denatured alcohol is Ethyl with somthing else,
usually Methyl in it to make it undrinkable.
Again, reagent grade Acetone is the traditional solvent used in lens
assembly and solutions of ammonium carbonate are used as routine lens
cleaners.
See the Summers Optical web site for information on how to clean lenses
for re-cementing etc.
http://www.emsdiasum.com/Summers/optical/cements/msds/default.html
...
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998
From: "Lehman John A." ffjal@aurora.alaska.edu
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: [Rollei] Trichloroethelyne availability
Richard Knoppow (dickburk@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
...
> Trichloroethelyne is also very effective but is diffucult to obtain
> these days since it is an envrionmental hazard.
It must vary by state, since I buy it in liter cans at the local Radio
Shack where it is sold as a circuit board cleaner.
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998
From: Carl Lantz ccwlantz@worldnet.att.net
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Trichloroethelyne availability
Lehman John A. wrote:
> Richard Knoppow (dickburk@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
> ...
> > Trichloroethelyne is also very effective but is diffucult to obtain
> > these days since it is an envrionmental hazard.
>
> It must vary by state, since I buy it in liter cans at the local Radio
> Shack where it is sold as a circuit board cleaner.
Trichloroethelyne can be very dangerous!
What you may be buying is probably trichloroethane.
I buy it as a chemical called Carbo-Chlor.
Carl Lantz
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Trichloroethelyne availability
...
I think you are right. The stuff that used to be put up in spray cans was
1,1,1,Trichloroethane. It is still available. I am not sure its any safer
than Trichloroethylene. Both can be decomposed into toxic gasses and are a
hazard around open flame. The ethylene is a suspected carcinogen but the
ethane has also shown some carcinogenic activity in animal tests. Both are
very good selective solvents.
But, I repeat, Acetone is the stuff routinely used in lens assembly. It
is not needed for routine lens cleaning. For that Kodak or Edmund lens
cleaner if just fine and safe to use and ROR evidently also works just
fine. I would use whatever is cheapest.
Don't put any cleaner directly on the lens, apply it with lens cleaning
tissue or Kimwipes and keep the lens facing down when applying it. That way
none will run into the cell.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
[Ed. related info on mirror cleaning...]
From Medium Format Digest:
From: stefan stefan9@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Response to How to clean camera mirror?
Date: 1998-10-20
A footnote to the above posting.
The fingerprint I could not see in the viewfinder so I elected
not to worry about it. But there were little crumbs of black
stuff (bits of decayed foam rubber or something similar) that
were gluey and made annoying black spots. I took an old, dead,
electronic SLR (unrepairable) and tried cleaning the mirror with
a brush made from loosely wrapping a piece of lens tissue aroung
the end of a cotton swab. This brush I made slightly damp with
bestine.
It worked. The bestine left a cloudy residue on the surface of
the mirror of the dead 35mm camera that evaporated in seconds. I
tried it on a corner of the mirror of the hasselblad with no ill
effect. I did the rest of the Hasse mirror and all the black
stuff and the fingerprints came off.
The black stuff was in the camera when I bought it. I think
there are some foam gaskets inside that are decaying; at some
time in the future I would like to replace those.
If the black stuff returns I will try this cleaning methosd again
but I don't reccommend you go slopping bestine on your camera
mirror. I plan to do this sort of cleaning only when I
absolutely must (like every 5 years or so). I offer no
guarantees; try it at your own risk, although I would warn you
that bestine may haze or dissolve certain plastic parts (I think
the fresnel viewscreen (or ground glass) in most 35mm cameras is
plastic). Try it on a camera you don't value, try it on the
corner of the mirror --- if you cannot accept the fact that there
is some risk involved here then don't do it.
The mirror of an SLR is silvered on the top surface, not the
bottom like your bathroom mirror. This makes the least abrasive,
brushing action harmful. Do not scrub. A repairman I met said
he cleans camera mirrors with a lens tissue wad held in tweezers
and is very careful not to let the tweezers touch the surface of
the lens. He didn't know if solvent would work but suggested it
might.
stefan
From: wlac@cs.rmit.edu.au (Wai Lun Alan Chan)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Lenses Coating
Date: 22 Oct 1998
>I've tried to clean my filters with a normal cloth I use for cleaning my
>spectacles but I find that introduces dust. I suppose that cloth they sell
>in camara shops are anti static but is it really any different from the
>normal cloth that we use??
That depends on what they are selling. I have tried the microfibre cloth
from Pentax and Zeiss. Both are pretty good in most situations. The
Pentax one is softer so easier to work with. The problem is they get
dirty easily especially if U have sweaty hands, but can be washed.
>Would cleaning lenses with cleaning fluid remove the coating on the lenses
>and cause any discolouration in the pictures?? I hope to know more about
>this subject before trying anything funny with my filters or lenses.
Normally this won't happen, but don't rub them too hard or anything can
happen. A product called "Lenspen" is also very popular and works better
than microfibre cloth sometimes. If U have money to burn, a product
from UK called "Opti-clean" is the very best. Brush it on, let it dry,
and then peel it off. Absolutely clean!! At about UK$10 a little bottle
(6ml), this product is not cheap. But if U have tried everything and
still cannot remove some dirt, this is the one. However, it is available
in the UK only. U have to mail order. U might contact
tonyberg@compuserve.com for more information.
>Does anyone here use orange filters for landscape pictures to enhance the
>contrast between the skies and clouds, I think there are people who does
>this with b&w film but what about colour film?
For colour photography, U should use polarizer. Circular or linear
(does not refer to their phyical sharp) depends on your camera.
===========================================================
=== regards, http://yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au/~wlac/ ===
=== Alan Chan wlac@cs.rmit.edu.au ===
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998
From: Dan Post dwpost@email.msn.com
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Plastic Cleaner
I have used the Turtle Wax rubbing and polishing compound to polish
plastic, and paint. For plastic especially small pieces I use a damp
cotton ball, and have even used it to polish up spots on my 2,8E where the
paint was chipped. there I smoothed the chipped edges with crocus cloth- a
very very fine iron oxide abrasive, used Fargo Enterprises Gloss Camera
enamel- building up about three thin coats, then used the rubbing compound
on a cotton swab to polish the finish to an almost new shine. I finished
but applying a tiny amount of Johnson's Paste wax to seal the finish- sort
of like touching up a fine auto- only smaller!
Dan
dwpost@msn.com
rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
From: "Mike" NEDSNAKE@email.msn.com
[1] Re: What do you clean the camera mirror with?
Date: Sun Nov 15 05:11:57 CST 1998
OK.......here's how I have cleaned mirrors for years. I use long fiber
cotton such as from a roll of Johnson & Johnson. I roll it up on a
tweezers and dampen with a high quality electronic degreaser like Blue
Shower. Then I VERY lightly wipe the mirror. I use the same method to
clean lenses. in over 20 years its never failed me.
DO NOT use Blue Shower on plastic OR composite materials, It could damage
the material.
--
Mike Jenkins
Over 20 years servicing medium format systems
rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
From: "ntc" ntc@ntc.com
[1] Re: What do you clean the camera mirror with?
Date: Sun Nov 15 22:30:50 CST 1998
If you can afford it , let the professional do the mirror cleaning job.
Inexperience cleaning could either scratch the mirror (silver) coating or
leave a nasty layer of film or streak mark on the mirror, which will dim
the view thru finder (acetone does it everytime)
But if you like to experiment with any suggested cleaning techniques, try
it on the piece of negatives and transparence first (errr not one of your
favorite one tho )and watch for streak mark, scratches. If it doesnt
hurt the plastic or the film emulsion, it should be safe enuff for old
mirror coating. Newer mirror coating are much harder but I would not take
any chances.
Do be careful with Acetone or any other strong degreasing chemical, it will
melt your foam and other plastic around the mirror, and that could create
more of the mess (!!!!)
Denatured Alcohol is one of the safe thing to try, I had used it to clean
negative and transparency in my old lab a few time.
dont use anything other than Kodak Lens Tissue if you must, it wont leave
much lint and if you careful it wont scratch the cleaning surface.
these are just a few cent worth from an ex-optical engineer/holographer
CN
rec.photo.equipment.35mm
From: davem@zeppo.cs.ubc.ca (Dave Martindale)
[1] Re: Cleaning lenses w/ caked dirt
Date: Wed Dec 02 21:54:08 CST 1998
dmozes@email.gc.cuny.edu writes:
>Is there a solvent that I can use to clean a really dirty lens? I have tried
>lens-cleaning wipes, then wipes with water, and then more pressure than I
>really ought to apply, and the lens is still caked. I wonder whether it have
>combined with something. Maybe this is hopeless. Any advice?
Before you start, take a good look at the contamination under a good
loupe or microscope. There have been times when I was unable to clean
something off a filter, and close examination showed that there was no
dirt there. Instead, the filter's coating was damaged in that spot.
Since raw glass reflects up to 8 times as much light as glass with a
good anti-reflection coating, areas of coating damage really stand
out. But they can't be cleaned away.
It depends on what the glop is.
For most real-world glop, water with a little detergent in it (often in
the form of lens cleaning fluid) will take it off. Sounds like you've
already tried this.
Some kinds of contaminants respond well to isopropyl alcohol. You need
a source of *pure* isopropyl - rubbing alcohol has added water and sometimes
oil and other glop.
Other kinds of contaminants can be dissolved by lighter fluid - the stuff
that comes in cans for liquid-fueled cigarette lighters. Surprisingly,
it seems quite pure.
These solvents dissolve things other than dirt (like plastic), so you
want to make sure they are applied to the glass only. Use a rolled-up
wad of lens cleaner or cotton Q-tip that is damp but *not* wet with
solvent. You don't want it being sucked in between the lens and its
retaining ring.
Also, these evaporate fairly quickly, and it's difficult to wipe them up
(with some lens cleaning tissue or a dry Q-tip) before they dry.
So it's quite possible for the solvent to dissolve some glop, move to
somewhere else on the lens, and then evaporate leaving glop behind.
Multiple attempts may be necessary, but as long as you are removing
some glop each time, you'll eventually get it.
Whatever you are using for drying, throw it out after one pass. Don't
try re-using lens tissue, or you'll be transferring glop back onto
your lens.
You may find that after using solvent, you want to go back and try
lens cleaning fluid (water) again.
If you use lens cleaning tissues, either handle them with gloves or
be *very* careful not to touch the lens with a portion of the tissue
that you've touched with your fingers. I don't know how often I've
spoiled a lens cleaning job by getting fingerprint oil on the lens
via the drying tissue.
I've heard of people using acetone to clean lenses. Acetone attacks
many kinds of plastics, so I'd try this only as a last resort. In
fact, I've never used it myself. You *really* don't want to get this
stuff inside the lens mechanism.
Dave
rec.photo.equipment.35mm
From: bob@bobshell.com
[1] Re: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE...
Date: Fri Dec 11 05:44:40 CST 1998
esquire-NOSPAM@.clear.net.nz wrote:
> I'll have to say that little unknown factory out in Taiwan (or was that
> Thailand). great lens cap. they seem to make it for everyone.
It is a little-known fact that using cheap third-party lens caps is dangerous
to the health of your lenses. Plasticizer fumes from some of them will strip
the multicoating right off the front of your lens, greatly reducing the
contrast in your images. Stick with proper name-brand caps to be safe.
Bob
rec.photo.equipment.35mm
From: Victor Grubsky grubsky@scf.usc.edu
[1] Re: Help: Cleaning Lenses
Date: Wed Jan 13 19:59:35 CST 1999
Gerry,
You heard several opinions here how to clean lenses. You can use these
methods with variable success but you are always at risk of scratching the
lens surface. I do optics for living, and here is how I do it in a lab.
You need:
1) tweezers;
2) clean dehydrated alcohol (methanol or ethanol; commercial isopropyl
alcohol will also work but not as well), "lens cleaning liquids" not
advised.
3) lens cleaning paper (Kodak makes very good one).
Procedure: Lens cleaning paper usually comes in size about 3"x4". Wash
your hands and fold one sheet down to ~1/2"x1/2" size. Grab it with
tweezers, so that ~1/5" is outside of the tweezers. Put several drops of
alcohol on that portion o f paper until it becomes wet (but not dripping).
Gently wipe the lens surface with the paper. If the lens has a lot of dirt
on it, use one piece of paper to do rough cleaning and another piece of
paper for thorough cleaning. If the lens surface has some big chunks on
it, wipe it only in one direction changing paper sheets often to avoid
scratching the surface.
Good luck,
Victor
From: josh@WOLFENET.COM (Joshua_Putnam)
Newsgroups:
rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.misc,rec.photo.misc
Subject: Re: Best way to clean sea salt off lens?
Date: 21 Dec 1998
David Mikulin way2much@slip.net writes:
>Just back from a trip to Hawaii and noticed there are a lot of salt
>spots on my caera lens. What's the best way to clean the salt off the
>lens without scratching it? My first guess is to use a liquid (water /
>alcohol) to dissolve the salt first.
I usually use a soft cotton cloth soaked in distilled water to
dissolve salt off of lens surfaces -- don't wipe at all at first,
just hold the wet cloth in place on the surface and the salt
dissolves into the water on the cloth. Repeat a few times, then
go ahead with your usual lens cleaning method.
--
Josh@WolfeNet.com is Joshua Putnam / P.O. Box 13220 / Burton, WA
98013
From: drgreenlee@mindspring.com (Dave Greenlee)
Newsgroups:
rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.equipment.misc,rec.photo.misc
Subject: Re: Best way to clean sea salt off lens?
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998
>Just back from a trip to Hawaii and noticed there are a lot of salt
>spots on my caera lens. What's the best way to clean the salt off the
>lens without scratching it? My first guess is to use a liquid (water /
>alcohol) to dissolve the salt first.
1. Don't do any rubbing until you disolve any solids. You may be
able to remove some salt/dirt by blowing with compressed air.
2. Don't apply any liquids directly to the lens. The seals are not
inended to be waterproof and some liquid may find its way inside the
lens.
Your best bet is to take any reasonably soft, absorbent material
(paper towel, washcloth, T-shirt, etc.) and dampen until it's moist,
but not dripping. Gently apply to glass and hold steady for a couple
minutes to dissolve salt and absorb. Find a clean patch of material
and repeat process until you're reasonably sure that you've gotten it
all. Set lens aside to dry, then confirm no remaining grit. Then,
clean lens normally to remove any lint or water spots.
rec.photo.equipment.35mm
From: bob@bobshell.com
[1] Re: Cleaning a lens
Date: Sun Feb 07 08:30:17 CST 1999
Charlie Wolfe cdwolfe@home.com wrote:
> I am always anxious about damaging the lens element coating when
> attempting to "clean" an expensive lens.
>
> What is the "proper" method for cleaning the front lens element?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie
The most common damage repair shops see is lens scratching from over zealous
cleaning.
Lenses should be cleaned as seldom as possible. A little dust won't hurt the
photos.
When a lens REALLY needs to be cleaned, such as when it gets a greasy
fingerprint, you should first blow off all surface dust. Hold the lens with
the front down, and blow with an ear syringe or similar. I don't recommend
the "canned air" since it has been shown in tests to come out with enough
velocity in some cases to damage some coatings. Gentle blowing is all that
is required.
Once you have done this, inspect the element with a bright light to see if
anything is still clinging to the front element. If so, use a soft clean
brush to loosen it, and then blow again, and inspect again.
Once all visible dust is gone, then, and only then, can you use lens tissue
or a lens cloth. The old rule was always "never touch a lens with a dry
tissue or cloth". Moisten the lens tissue or lens cloth with a good quality
lens cleaner and wipe gently in a circular motion, starting in the center and
working to the edges.
The best lens cleaner I have ever found is Bonito, currently available in
Europe and the UK, but not yet in the USA. The next best things are the lens
cleaners sold by Deutsche Optik and Singh-Ray.
Bob
Date: 31 Dec 1998
From: Charles Steinmetz csteinmetz@nym.alias.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Cleaning Lenses
One more opinion:
(CAUTION -- exercise judgment -- your mileage may vary)
I was disappointed with ROR -- it did not do, for me, what it claims. So I
went back to what has worked extremely well for me for several decades --
99% isopropyl alcohol. (This, or 91%, was once generally available only in
little 4 oz. bottles from the pharmacy -- now it's commonly available in 16
oz. bottles from the grocery or pharmacy.) CAUTION: do not use anything
labeled "rubbing alcohol." Use only 99% [or 91%] isopropyl alcohol, with
no additives. 90% grain alcohol ("Everclear") works too, but it is not as
aggressive at dissolving films of crud on older lenses. Acetone is great,
but NOT ON ASSEMBLED LENSES and NOT ON PLASTIC LENSES, because it dissolves
most paints and plastics.
Contrary to some advice here in the group, I clean the front and back
surfaces of each lens every time I use it. I also disassemble the elements
to clean all the internal surfaces whenever they show the slightest film
(viewed by shining a small flashlight obliquely into the lens and looking
through the other end with the shutter open). If you don't wait until
there's a build-up of grit on the lens, you're much less likely to scratch
it. I still have the first good lens I ever owned, and after 33 years of
this treatment the glass looks exactly like my newest lens under the
microscope. I've used Kodak lens tissue and micro-fiber cloth with good
results. Avoid inferior lens tissue -- the stuff you get free from your
camera dealer, or anything designed for eyeglasses. DON'T PRESS OR RUB --
use a "tuft" of tissue so you can't put any pressure on the lens surface.
Wet the tissue, not the lens. Get it pretty wet, but not dripping wet.
Follow with a tufted, dry tissue. Keep doing it until the lens is spotless
(no streaks). This may take a while at first, because there's crud under
the retaining ring at the edge of the lens that the alcohol dissolves and
washes out onto the surface. Check your results by breathing on the lens
to fog it. A properly clean lens will show no streaks when fogged, and the
fog will clear absolutely evenly.
Now, a question: I've heard of "goop" you apply to a lens that dries to a
sort of rubbery, peel-off layer -- kind of like facial mask. Does anybody
here have any experience with this stuff, or at least know a product name
or supplier?
Enjoy!
Charles
From: Roger Bergeron roger_b@earthlink.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: found ROR. (lens clean) supplier
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999
I've read mention of this 'ROR.' solution for lens cleaning.
Locally in northern california, I've not come across it at local
shops. Finally, I see it advertised in a catalog. Just in case
anybody else is interested, here's where I found it.
Archival Image (800-688-2485)
PO BOX 3776
Ocala, Fla. 34478
1 oz squeeze bottle $2.99 / 2 oz spray $5.29 (plus shipping)
I'm hoping that this finally gets rid of that residue that just
won't go away no matter what I've tried so far. (Also hoping no
damage occurs to any lens coating on my Nikons.)
Roger
From: h.nareid@nareid.demon.co.uk (Helge Nareid)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Cleaning Old Lens' Surfaces
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999
dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
wrote:
> Actually, coatings are easier to scratch than bare glass.
This is nearly always true, even though _modern_ coatings can be very
scratch resistant. In particular, the coatings on the outer (exposed)
elements of a modern multicoated lens are nearly always designed with
scratch-resistance in mind. The term multi-coating covers a wide range of
coating types, and they are normally matched very closely to the
application. On the other side of scratch resistance - I had occasion to
discuss customised coatings with a coating specialist last week, and he
mentioned coating types which would be severely damaged by contact even
with water condensation.
> If its dusty blow as much surface dust as possible off using a hand
>operated blower. Then brush off what is left using a brush made of
>lens tissue by rolling a piece of tissue into a tube, then tear it in
>the middle and fold the two halves back so that the feathered end
>makes a brush. Use each once only, picking up as much dust as it will
>hold. Then toss it and make another.
Good advice.
> The surfaces can be cleaned using any standard lens cleaner. If the
>lens is quite dirty place the tissue across the lens and drop some
>cleaner onto it. Drag the tissue off the lens. Use fresh tissue each
>time.
> All this is a bit heroic for most cases but will be helpful when a
>lens has a lot of grit on it.
The classic technique for cleaning delicate optical surfaces.
> If there is oil on the surface try 91% Isopropyl alcohol. If that
>doesn't do it the standard optical shop cleaner is reagent grade
>Acetone. Acetone must be used with great care since it will dissolve
>paint and optical cement.
We tend to use methanol. It is slightly less effective than acetone, but
it is much safer in use, and is much less to likely to inadvertently
remove an expensive coating. Pure ethanol is nearly as effective - in the
region I come from in Norway, moonshining is a fine (albeit illegal)
tradition, and a friend of mine used to make moonshine of a quality
suitable for lens cleaning (which is highly uncommon, by the way) ...
--
- Helge Nareid
Nordmann i utlendighet, Aberdeen, Scotland
Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000
From: Dan Cardish dcardish@microtec.net
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net
Subject: Re: Best method to clean the lense glass...
Every book and instruction sheet that I have ever seen with information
about lens cleaning warns against using the silicone-treated paper meant
for eyeglass cleaning. These papers apparently will scratch and or damage
the coating on the lens.
Dan C.
[ED. note: not all coatings are "rock hard" see lens faults pages...]
From Hasselblad Mailing List:
Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000
From: Jim Brick jim@brick.org
Subject: Re: Best method to clean the lense glass...
Tools:
Microfiber cloth - clean
ROR
Chamois (or tee shirt cloth) - clean
0. Make sure there is no heavy "grit" on the lens surface.
1. Breath and microfiber cloth. Don't be afraid to rub.
if that doesn't get everything,
2. ROR and a chamois. Scrub as much as necessary. Lens coatings are rock
hard.
If you have a problem really cleaning your lenses, don't ever go to a
Leica
or Hasselblad "clean and check" session. They use exactly what I outlined
above. I've been cleaning my lenses for fifty years and have NEVER EVER
damaged a lens by cleaning. And my lenses are always sparkling clean.
If you local dealer doesn't have it, get ROR from the manufacturer by
calling (212) 877-8760.
Jim
Austin Franklin wrote:
>What, do you guys think, is the best/safest way to clean your Zeiss lenses?
>
>Typically, I have been using canned air (that, if sprayed 'wrong' leaves
>residue), brush (that leaves streaks...), Kodak lense paper and lense
>cleaning fluid...that doesn't get the lense perfectly clean no matter how
>hard I try...
>
>Thanks, and Happy New Year!
>
>Austin
From Hasselblad Mailing List;
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000
From: Steve Grimes skgrimes@ma.ultranet.com
Subject: Re: Best method to clean the lense glass...
"Cleaning marks" is a euphemism for abrasions to the coatings and surface
of a lens that don't quite qualify as actual scratches. They are caused
by using hard lens tissue, shirttails, and/or too frequent cleaning of a
lens by absentmindedly twirling a balled up rag or such around the surface
of the lens.
Its best to avoid touching a lens surface, if it has to be touched use
only a no additive complete evaporating cleaner (Test the cleaner by
pacing a droplet on a piece of plain glass and see what's left after it
evaporates-- there must, at a minimum, be no greasy residue) and the
softest no additive paper tissue (such as plain white Kleenex) or
preferably many many times washed 100% cotton as used in "t" shirts.
Always, always have some kind of moisture on the surface of the lens when
touching it with anything at all.
S.K. GRIMES -- FEINMECHANIK -- MACHINE WORK FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
153 Hamlet Ave. (5th floor) Woonsocket RI, 02895
[Ed. note: Mr. Grimes is a well known lens and shutter repairperson and
lens "mechanic"...]
From Hasselblad Mailing List:
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000
From: Steve Grimes skgrimes@ma.ultranet.com
Subject: Re: Best method to clean the lense glass...
I suggest you not use Kodak lens tissue or Kodak lens cleaner. Both have
additives which seem to leave a greasy residue. I use a product from
Denton Vacuum Co.: http://www.dentonvacuum.com/index.htm I buy a case or
two for my own use every once in a while -- Its not featured on their
web-site and it may be retailed by Edmund Scientific; brand name
"Super-Cote" cleaner. SKG
S.K. GRIMES -- FEINMECHANIK -- MACHINE WORK FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
153 Hamlet Ave. (5th floor) Woonsocket RI, 02895
[Ed. note: Mr. Nagler developed the popular Nagler series eyepieces for
astronomical telescopes etc.]
From: "Fdeal" fdeal@uswest.net
Newsgroups: sci.astro.amateur
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000
Subject: Re: Mirror Cleaning Product
This is what Al Nagler said about cleaning solutions:
"Choosing a cleaning fluid is the most widely debated topic involving lens
cleaning. The anti-reflective coatings on eyepieces and objective lenses
are durable enough so that almost no liquid (short of a corrosive) is
going to damage them, although some cleaning fluids can leave a film.
Reagent grade acetone and methanol are ideal, and may be available in some
pharmacies, but alcohol or acetone from a hardware store can also be used.
Do not use nail polish remover, as this usually contains perfumes and oils
which will leave a film. Windex or Glass Plus can be used to remove
water-soluble deposits. If you have a favorite lens cleaner, feel free to
continue using it. Methodology is what's most important."
Excerpt from TeleVue's page on Astonomy-Mall.
I had good luck with the acetone mainly because it is so easy to work
with. Once you remove the gook there is no more worry about residue.
BTW, the GC grade acetone is much more pure than reagent grade - retails
for about $120 per gallon though.
Peace,
Frederick Deal
> >From: "Fdeal" fdeal@uswest.net
>
> >I found this hole in the wall company here in Phoenix that sells "Gas
> >Chromatography" grade acetone (HR-GC grade to be more specific). It is
> >guaranteed to leave no more than one part per million residue.
>
> In GC/MS (gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy), even minute amounts of
> impurity can screw up the results.
>
> I would worry about acetone affecting multicoatings, but if not, the lack of
> impurities is very useful.
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999
From: "David Foy" dfoy@marketactics.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Fog on lens on TLR
Use a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide (household concentration, from
the supermarket or drug store) and ammonia cleaner (also household
concentration). Mix it just before you use it, since it doesn't keep. Swab
it on gently with a Q-tip. It removes haze and atmospheric deposits, which
is often confused with fungus, but it won't actually repair a lens which
has been damaged by fungus. It's worth a try on your Elmoflex. This
cleaning technique isn't original with me -- it came from Ed Romney.
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999
From: koshaugh@teleport.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Fog on lens on TLR
I have had great luck with equal parts of ammonia mixed with hydrogen
peroxide. I apply with Q-tips, sometimes it requires moderately
aggressive rubbing. For cleaning marks on the front lens, typically
these marks have to be extremely bad to effect the picture quality. I
have polished them out using jewlers rouge, this will remove the coating
on the lens (I use this only on a lens that will be displayed, I would
not use this on any lens that I intend to use).
karl
[ed. note: some TLRs have shiny metal finish lens covers or caps, here's a
tip for other owners looking to clean these...]
From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999
From: "Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter)" peterk@lucent.com
Subject: RE: [Rollei] Mirror Lens Cap
Russ,
Its a metal coating. I have used Noxon with a Q-Tip but you have to be
careful not too use it too much because it will remove the metal. Once is
all you really need. It will get rid of mst of the scratches.
Peter K
> From: Russell Wheeldon[SMTP:Russell@rkwheeldon.freeserve.co.uk]
> Reply To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 7:19 AM
> To: Rollei Users List
> Subject: [Rollei] Mirror Lens Cap
>
> Does anyone know exactly what the mirror finish is made of and how best to
> renovate a slightly scratched surface back to an as-new mirror finish?
> Polishing with a soft cloth seems to add additional fine scratches! If it
> is Chromium is a re-chrome required?
>
> Russell Wheeldon
> Manchester, UK.
> russell@rkwheeldon.freeserve.co.uk
From Nikon Mailing List:
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999
From: Simon Freidin s.freidin@medicine.unimelb.edu.au
Subject: [NIKON] How to clean the mirror?
To clean your nikon mirror (there are instructions in the camera manual)
1.. Look at mirror and note the partial mirroring has coloured
irregularities (see 4 below)
2. Blow off dust with large rubber bulb blower. Don't use canned gas -
it can leave a nasty oily reside if the can is tipped over during use
(ie when you need to just get that back corner)
3. Gently wipe clean with micro-fibre cleaning cloth - good ones made by
Dust-off, Hoya etc. They remove grease from mirrors and lenses without
damage.
4. See coloured irregularities in the clean mirror and know that you
didn't damage the mirror 'cause they were there before you wiped it :-)
Simon
From Contax Mailing List:
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000
From: "Bob Shell" bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [CONTAX] "Purple" Smudge on mirror
I use lens cleaning fluid which is generally made of isopropyl alcohol,
water, and a little detergent. I don't think anything in it is toxic.
Acetone is suspected as a carcinogen and not so easy to get around here.
I was at Schneider's USA facility last week and they use acetone to clean
filter blanks and lens elements, but with very elaborate ventilation
systems. You don't smell a thing when you walk through their production
area.
Bob
From Hasselblad Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000
From: Joe Codispoti joecodi@thegrid.net
Subject: Re: Cleaning with Microfiber?
Marc,
I have tried the local fabric stores in several cities but the type of
microfiber that is used in lens cleaning is manufactured only in Japan and
is not carried by stores in bolts of fabric. The "micro" fiber found in
local stores is not fine enough to qualify for the genuine article, nor
does it have the micro "hooks". According to the my sources only Japan has
the technology to spin a thread fine enough to be called micro. I was told
the head of a leading fabric manufacturer in Los Angeles, that the
majority of resellers of microfiber cloth have turned to other materials
because of the exorbitant cost of the fabric. Many companies now market a
microfiber cloth that feels like microfiber, has the properties of
microfiber, but looks like terrycloth. IMHO it is too thick and can trap
grit that could scratch lenses. It is marketed as a household cleaning
item.
Joe
...
[Ed. note: about mirror cleaning - be warned, it is easy to damage a
front surface mirror by improper cleaning etc...]
From: pauls@shell3.shore.net (Paul Secinaro)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Date: 14 Jul 2000
Subject: Re: Mirror cleaning?
I would suggest going to deja.com and doing a discussion search on
"collodion". You should get at least a few hits from the astronomy
newsgroups, where cleaning large expensive mirrors is a common chore. I've
never used it but collodion is supposedly a sort of gooey stuff (I think
they use it in liquid bandages, and also early wet-plate photography) that
you spread on the mirror and let dry. Then you peel it off, along with
all the dust, oil, and gunk that was on the surface. It is totally
non-abrasive and apparently it is what many camera techs use to clean
mirrors. You can order it at pharmacies by asking for pure collodion
U.S.P.. It's also good for cleaning lenses. Sounds tricky to use on a
mirror though since you're working in such confined quarters with so many
delicate things nearby (like shutter curtains, focusing screens, and light
sensors).
There's also a product called Opti-Clear that's supposed to work even
better, but it's very expensive.
Paul
From Contax Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000
From: "Bob Shell" bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [CONTAX] Re: Blower
I don't know where you are located. In the USA the best and easiest brush
to buy is a ladies makeup brush available from beautician's supply shops.
If you have a Sally Beauty Supply store in your area, they have a good
variety. These are made from very soft hair and will not damage lenses or
cameras.
The best blower is an ear syringe (for squirting water into your ears)
from a drugstore. They come in different sizes and I find one of the
medium ones (about 3 1/2 inches long) perfect for lenses and cameras.
The combination blower/brush sold in camera stores, in my opinion, are a
waste of money.
Bob
- ----------
>From: "Terry Sham" tsham@netvigator.com
>Subject: [CONTAX] Re: Blower
>Date: Sun, Jul 16, 2000, 10:23 PM
>
>I think the compressed air is difficult to use. Would you mind to recommend
>a good blower and brush to me.
From Leica Mailing List:
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000
From: Jim Brick jim_brick@agilent.com
Subject: [Leica] Re: Pancro "professional" lens cleaning fluid
I agree 100%. I switched from ROR to ClearSight about six months ago and
it is indeed, great stuff.
Jim
Brian Reid wrote:
>I am a fanatically happy user of ClearSight optical cleaner; see
>
>http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/clearsight.html
>
>It does not leave any residue. I once used ROR, but this stuff is
>better. Not half an hour ago I cleaned the glass of my flatbed scanner
>with it.
From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Planar 2.8F Service?
you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I just picked up a 2.8F in EX ++ condition. That would be my guess not being
>a Rollei specialist. I must say it is an amazing pece of workmanship.
>
>The camera seems to have been sitting for quite some time. Although
>everything seems to work properly, in looking through the taking lens there
>is noticable dust. I don't want to risk scratching the lens and am wondering
>if anyone has a surefire way of cleaning lenses. Am I better off sending it
>out for a CLA?
>
>If CLA is the way to go I would appreciate any recomendations.
If the dust is on the outside of the lens it should be easily removable
without scatching. First, blow off as much as you can with a hand air
bulb.
Then use Kodak lens tissue as a one-time brush. I recommend Kodak tissue
because it becomes feathery when torn. The brush is made by taking a
tissue, roll it into a tube and tear in half. Fold it so that the torn
ends are together. Use this as a one-time brush. Pick up as much dust with
it as you can in _one_ pass. Then make another bush and us _it_ once. Do
this until most of the dust has been removed.
Then use a tissue with Kodak lens cleaner. Lay the tissue on the lens
and put a drop of cleaner on it. Then drag it off the lens. Use it once
and do the same thing with another tissue. After nearly all the dirt has
been removed you can use a tissue with some cleaner on it to finish the
job.
This rather elaborate method is suggested when a lens is really dirty,
you don't need to do all this stuff each time. Mostly lenses just need to
be blown off gently every so often.
If the lens has gotten oily try ROR, a lens cleaner made by
Photographic Solutions. For real problems Acetone is the standard optical
parts cleaner but is dangerous to use on a camera since it will dissolve
plastic and paint. Its strictly a last resort.
Kim Wipes will do instead of the Kodak tissues but don't make quite as
good brushes.
Although Windex probably won't hurt the lens it is considerably more
alkaline than the Kodak cleaner. Windex is Ammonium hydroxide, Kodak
cleaner is ammonium carbonate and two wetting agents, an ionic and a
non-ionic one.
Lenses which are dusty inside, or which are hazy inside, are best left
to an expert, although the procedue for opening them is not particularly
complicated or difficult.
The centering of lenses, of which you are warned often, is accomplished
by the mounting itself and by precision manufacture. If a lens is put back
in its mount carefully the mounting will automatically center it provided
it was made correctly.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Leica Mailing List:
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000
From: Jim Brick jim_brick@agilent.com
Subject: [Leica] Re: underware
Ted wrote:
>As for the "under short cleaning cloth,?" Sure it's a worth while topic from real life
>experience of acquiring free lens cleaning material for those precious Leica lenses some
>LUGNUTS carry on about. You unfortunately don't take this seriously! But the information
>is passed on most sincerely .
>.
>So what's your problem of giving free advice from a long time Leica User, to
>those who wish to clean their lenses! At least it may save them some money for film
>rather than buying an exorbitantly over priced piece of material that "will not do any
>better job!".
>
>ted Grant
Yeah!!! I agree!!! Even though I have some of those microfiber cloths,
which were given to me as promotions, I still prefer a ripped off piece of
cotton Tee shirt or a ripped off piece of cotton jockey shorts. And I have
been cleaning all of my lenses (some date back to the 60's) a lot over the
years and there is nary a mark or fletch on any glass. Many of the
microfiber cloths are so smooth and slick, you can't get a grip to
actually clean your lens.
Lenses and cameras were made to be used and used and used. The more you
use them the better they work.
If you are out photographing and you look down and there is crud on your
lens, give it a blow, then breath on it, then pull out your shirt tail and
give it a wipe. Then continue photographing. When you are done, tuck in
your shirt.
Jim
[Ed. note: a handy tip from noted glamour photographer and Shutterbug's
editor, Mr. Bob Shell...]
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Strong performance from the Jena Tessar (MX)
> From: pkkollas@gorge.net (Print It, Inc.)
> Reply-To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000
> Subject: Re: [Rollei] Strong performance from the Jena Tessar (MX)
>
> What is UV-type haze? I have 2 out of 3 f2/50 Schneider Xenons with haze,
> some of it relatively easily cleaned off, and some VERY difficult to remove.
> In fact, so difficult that i have not yet succeeded completely. Even tried a
> small amount of toothpaste. Kodak, ROR, and Acetone won't remove it.
> pk
I don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but some types of
optical glass are subject to surface staining. I've been working with one
of the optical designers at Schneider trying to clean some of this off a
lens element I have. His advice is to couple hot breath on the lens with
an immediate wipe with an acetone dampened lens tissue. This does take
off the surface stains, but it may take many applications to do it.
Bob
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Strong performance from the Jena Tessar (MX)
you wrote:
>> From: pkkollas@gorge.net (Print It, Inc.)
>> Reply-To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>> Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000
>> Subject: Re: [Rollei] Strong performance from the Jena Tessar (MX)
>>
>> What is UV-type haze? I have 2 out of 3 f2/50 Schneider Xenons with haze,
>> some of it relatively easily cleaned off, and some VERY difficult to remove.
>> In fact, so difficult that i have not yet succeeded completely. Even
tried a
>> small amount of toothpaste. Kodak, ROR, and Acetone won't remove it.
>> pk
>
>
>I don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but some types of
>optical glass are subject to surface staining. I've been working with
one
>of the optical designers at Schneider trying to clean some of this off a
>lens element I have. His advice is to couple hot breath on the lens with
>an immediate wipe with an acetone dampened lens tissue. This does take
>off the surface stains, but it may take many applications to do it.
>
>Bob
A good many lenses seem to develop a whitish haze on inside surfaces. I
don't know the cause for certain. Mostly it comes off with lens cleaner.
Other cleaners to try are pure Acetone (the stuff from the hardware store
may leave residue), pure Methyl alcohol, or a non-ammonia type glass
cleaner like Glass-Plus or Sparkle (not Spray-and-Sparkle, which is an
ammonia cleaner, like Windex). Acetone should be used with great caution
since it dissolves many kinds of paints and plastics.
If the haze won't come off examine it with a loupe and flashlight to
make sure it isn't fine etching from fungus. Etching is not removable.
I've also encountered old lenses with black dirt inside. It looks like
the lens was held over a candle. This stuff came off with lens cleaner.
The last lens like this I cleaned was a c.1938 Tessar on a Speed Graphic
which had been in storage for many years. It cleaned up perfectly and is
an excellent lens.
Haze can develop in lenses in a surprizingly short time.
Glass can become discolored from oxidation. This often looks like an oil
film on the surface, sometimes like a bluish cast. It functions similarly
to a lens coating so is no problem. It can not be removed by solvents,
only by re-polishing the surfaces. Since is probably improves the lens
slightly it should just be left alone.
Note that separation of cemented elements, especially those cemented
with synthetic cement, can also result in an oil-film look. However, this
will clearly be inside the lens, not on the surface. Tarnish is usually
found mostly on the front surface due to its greater exposure to the air.
However, various kinds of glass are more or less subject to it so there
can be a lot of variation.
Some glass "stains" or turns brown. Good optical glass should not do
this unless subjected to intense radiation. A few lenses were made with
radio active glass during WW-2 and often the radio-active elements have
browned with age.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000
From: bigler@ens2m.fr
Subject: Re: [Rollei] OFF-TOPIC cleaning recipe
> see http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/broncleaning.html on lens cleaning tips
>
> the 50/50 hydrogen peroxide (drug store) and household ammonia worked
> well with some old hazy lenses for large format, might be worth a try?
Just for those interested in Silicon microtechnology : the 50/50
hydrogen peroxide + ammonia recipe is the first step of the so-called
"RCA" standard cleaning process for Silicon wafers (the main
difference with house hold chemicals is that silicon processing
chemicals should be of the purest grade). It removes all organic
contaminants. I assume the mixture is un-stable and should be
discarded after use.
BTW speaking about ammonia, here is the recipe to blacken brass
optical parts: make a solution of copper sulfate in ammonia. Just dip
the brass parts after a careful cleaning to removing all grease
(aceton, alcool). The technicians at Institut d'Optique who did that
used to warm the mixture up to 70-80 deg. C (150-165F), but at this
temperature it is impossible to work without a laboratory vented hood.
I assume that at a lower tempreature the process will be simply very
long which may not be a problem for doing it once at home.
-- Emmanuel BIGLER bigler@ens2m.fr
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] OFF-TOPIC cleaning recipe
....[above post]
This is curiously very similar to Kodak HE-1 Hypo Eliminator, a
combination of weak hydrogen peroxide alkalized with ammonium hydroxide.
Most glass cleaners, like Windex, are dilute Ammonium hydroxide with
added surfactants. Kodak Lens Cleaner is Ammonium Carbonate and two
surfactants, one ionic and one non-ionic. There are glass cleaners like
Glass-Plus or Sparkle which do not contain ammonia. According to Helge
Naried, who is a Phd optician, the current standard cleaning solvent for
optical assembly is reagent grade methyl alcohol. In the past reagent
grade Acetone was recommended. The very pure state is to avoid streaking
or other residue from contaminants.
Since some types of optical glass are attacked by strong alkalies it is
best to avoid them.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000
From: "Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter)" peterk@avaya.com
Subject: [Rollei] Lens cleaning
A good friend of mine uses Everclear Vodka for lens cleaning.
Its inexpensive, near pure and does not streak. Personally I use
methanol for a dirty lens and ROR on occasion.
Peter K
Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: lens haze
"Robert" robertdel@earthlink.net wrote:
>If a lens has a slight haze, What causes it and can you fix it? or does that
>come with age?
A lot of lenses seem to get a coating of white haze on inside
surfaces. I am not sure of the cause, possibly its from the
anti-reflection paint in the cell outgassing over many years. In any
case, it cleans off with ordinary lens cleaner. Getting at the inside
of the cell is usually pretty easy but how exactly depends on how the
lens is mounted.
Some larger lenses have threaded back retaining caps, but many
lenses have threaded retaining rings on front or back which do not
have slots. These are removed with a friction tool. The easiest way to
make one is to take anything tubular which is the right size to fit
the ring and put double-stick tape over its edge. Use that to turn the
ring. Some rings have paint over the threads on the front of the cell,
that must be cleaned off by very carefully swabbing it off with some
Acetone on a cotton swab.
Once the retaining rings or caps are removed the lens element will
simply fall out with a little coaxing, or can be helped out with a
little sticky tape applied to its apex (make sure its clean). Once the
cell is open clean the available glass surfaces with lens cleaner. The
lens element can be replaced with the aid of a little tape on its apex
as above. Most elements fit fairly closely into the mount so will
settle in slowly as the air escapes around the edge, don't try to
hurry it. You can poke it slightly to make sure it goes in square. If
its cocked don't force it, you will chip the edge. Once in replace the
cap or ring. The design of the lens mounting is such that lens
elements are automatically centered, you can NOT disturb the centering
by removing and replacing an element in a mounting despite the
frequent warnings about it. The spherical surfaces of the glass are
held by a narrow ring on either side so it will be pushed to the
center automatically.
Even a fairly light haze will devestate the contrast of a lens. I
think that it is a common reason some older lenses compare badly with
newer ones. Certainly modern coatings are very effective but most old
LF lenses have few glass air surfaces and should have very good
contrast, at least visually, if not dirty or damaged.
A note: Some haze is the result of fungus. If caught early it can be
removed as above and the glass should be given a wipe with Chlorox to
kill off the spores. Fungus emmits acid as part of its life cycle, the
acid can etch or pit the glass, leaving a ground glass effect in
patches where the fungus was. There is no fix for this, the lens is
ruined.
To prevent fungus or mildew lenses (or anything else) should be
stored in cool, dry surroundings.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Shutter cleaning with alchol?
you wrote:
>Following recent discussions on cleaning shutters I popped down to my
>chemist today to buy some alcohol. They had no ether, and she gave me a
>bottle with a label that reads
>
>'METHYL ALCOHOL 99.3%'
>
>Is this suitable for cleaning shutters and lenses? I will be cleaning the
>entire shutter by immersion.
>
>Thanks,
>Shaun
>South Korea
I am informed by a friend who works with very advanced optical systems
that pure methyl alcohol is now the precribed standard cleaner for optical
parts. I don't know about shutters but I doubt it would damage anything. I
would check it on the paint. Naptha works well for shutters. The best
solvent was 1,1,1,trichloroethane but its a serious environmental hazard
and not easily availalable. Immerse the shutter and blow out the excess
solvent with air after taking the shutter out. The idea is to remove any
oil or grease and leave no residue especially on the shutter blades. If
the shutter needs lubricating (many will run fine dry) use a very fine
synthetic oil on the bearings of the gears of the clock work speed
regulator. Compur also specifies a very light molebdenum grease for
certain sliding parts. When I talked to the last distributor for Compur
some ten or so years ago, they were recommending operation of the shutters
as nearly dry as possible.
Kodak Lens Cleaner is a very respectible cleaner for optical parts. Its
intended to be non-damaging with a more neutral pH than window cleaners
like Windex, which are otherwise similar.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2001
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] testing focus by projection?
you wrote:
>Thanks Richard,
>
>I'm curious about your standard. Would that be with the uncoated Jena
>Tessar? I have a chance to buy an earlier automat with the bayonet on
>the taking lens only and a Jena Tessar. I've heard a few favorable
>comments about these recently.
>
>Gene
Mine is about a 1936 model. It has an uncoated Jena Tessar but no
bayonets, only push-on accessories fit it.
The lens is a good one. I also have two f/4.5 Jena Tessars on old Speed
Graphics. Both are very sharp lenses. They have detectable spherical
aberration when wide open but are sharp to the edges at f/8. The Kodak
Ektar has no detectable spherical but still needs to be stopped to f/8 to
get rid of the coma. These old Tessars are very good lenses. The main
fault is that many of them have gotten hazy inside. The haze cleans off
with ordinary lens cleaner but you must get the front cell open. The Speed
Graphic lenses are easy, the back element screws out, but the Rollei
lenses require making a friction tool to remove the front retaining ring.
Not too hard to do and cleaning restores the contrast of the lens.
I am not sure what causes the haze. Perhaps its accumulated stuff from
the anti-reflection paint inside the cell. I've seen the same effect on
coated lenses so its not the glass itself. In any case it comes off easily
and doesn't seem to do any damage.
Rollei made a lot of variations of the TLR but I suspect the optical
performance is about the same, depending on the lens quality. All Rolleis
seem to have pretty good means of holding the lens parallel to the film
and holding the film fairly flat. The finder gives excellent focusing
means, one reason Rolleis have always had a reputation for exceptional
sharpness, despite the same lens being used on a variety of other cameras.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Leica Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2001
From: Jim Brick jim_brick@agilent.com
Subject: [Leica] Re: Lens cleaning advice: thumbprint
>Adam Bridge wrote:
>
>> Okay, I was cleaning my lens, I'd taken off the UV filter, and I TOUCHED
>THE DAMN COATED LENS. It has a map of Brazil on it now.
Adam,
Lens coatings are far from fragile. You would have to make a direct effort
to damage the coating. It is an ion deposit bonded to the glass. It is not
something that is just painted on. You can clean your lens as much as you
wish, using ROR or ClearSight (I endorse ClearSight) and a microfiber
cloth, or a shirt tail, or breath and underware, whatever.
It simply is not easy to hurt a lens. That said, I advise against breaking
the filter you have in front of your lens as the shards of filter glass
will gouge gashes in your lens coating. Filters are wonderful things for
enhancing a photographic result, but are a liability in all other
respects.
Jim
From Leica Mailing List;
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2001
From: Jim Brick jim_brick@agilent.com
Subject: [Leica] Re: ROR vs. ClearSight
Martin Howard wrote:
>So what's the deal with this ClearSight stuff?
>
>Now all of a sudden one could -- after reading the LUG recently -- be
>forgiven for thinking that ROR is no more effective than soapy water and
>that ClearSight is the way to go. So, what's the deal? Is ClearSight
>"better"? The same stuff in a different bottle? Or are lens-cleaning fluid
>manufacturers simply trying to subvert us by using a few corrupt LUGGERs to
>influence the rest of us? ;)
>
>M.
Jeez Martin, how behind the 8-Ball can you be??? Go to:
http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/clearsight.html
or contact Joe directly at "Joe Codispoti"
I've been using it for nearly two years and can attest to its wonderful
lens cleaning properties.
Jim
[Ed. note: an important W A R N I N G !!!]
From Zeiss Interest Group
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2001
From: Jochen jochenmabuse@ngi.de
Subject: Re: Re: New Zeiss Fungus Treatment
hallo Pat,
your mixture has a high pH and that means it can be dangerous for some
glass surfaces, especially the coated ones !
be careful and wear a eye protection,, it is also highly dangerous for
the cornea.
Jochen
Pat Mullen schrieb:
> I have found that NOTHING works anywhere near as well as a 50% mixture of
> ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, mix it just before you use it and apply with
> a Q-Tip.
From Zeiss ZICG Mailing List:
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1969
From: "Robert E. Smith" rsmith@dmv.com
Subject: Re: Re: New Zeiss Fungus Treatment
Jochen wrote:
> hallo Pat,
> your mixture has a high pH and that means it can be dangerous for some
> glass surfaces, especially the coated ones !
> be careful and wear a eye protection,, it is also highly dangerous for
> the cornea.
> Jochen
>
> Pat Mullen schrieb:
> >
> > I have found that NOTHING works anywhere near as well as a 50% mixture of
> > ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, mix it just before you use it and apply with
> > a Q-Tip.
No chemical should be taken for granted and proper precautions
followed. Most of these precautions are logical: do not drink; do not
wear (wash off if contacted); do wear eye protection and gloves ( I do
not find the peroxide or ammonia particularly irritating to skin, but
you might); and particularly - keep the materials out of reach of
children and well labeled and dated.
The chemicals mentioned in the originator's post are common
household items in most homes in the U.S. Peroxide is sold mostly as a
3% solution which is hazadrous only if misused. The ammonia is more
annoying than dangerous, handled properly.
There is no reason for alarm in the use of most household chemical
agents if properly used. Follow directions and watch the storage
aspects. In my previous life as a chemical engineer, I have been
exposed to many hazardous materials including many used in darkroom
work, elemental mercury, solid and liquid sodium, asbestos, 45%
potassium hydroxide aquious solutions, and the _most hazardous_ of all,
high pressure (4500 psi) oxygen, and yet. after 45 years of this, I'm
writing this post.
Truly, dr bob.
[Ed. note: for info only, caveat repairer! don't work on lenses unless you
have experience and tools and resources needed to do so effectively!]
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Film for Uncoated Lenses
david@morris-email.freeserve.co.uk (David Morris) wrote:
>dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow) wrote:
>Many thanks Richard,
>
>I checked the lens for haze and there was some. The front part of the
>lens unscrewed easily, so I
>was able to clean the front and rear of the front group and, with the
>shutter on T, the two faces of
>the rear group. However, there is still haze left on the inner faces of the
>front group which I
>assume is of two elements. With this partially cleaned lens, using a
>6x9 rollfim back, I got flare
>which reduced the image contrast. I also was given a Voigtlander 6x9
>folder with another Skopar and
>this has exactly the same problem. Otherwise both lenses are sharp and
>compare well to later
>lenses.
>
>I cannot see any obvious way of opening that front group. Any ideas?
>
>
>David Morris
If there is not an obvious back cap the lens is opened by removing
the retaining ring on the front. This is the part with the lens name
on it. They unscrew although most of them do not have slots or dots
for a spanner.
They are removed by using a tubular tool the right diameter to touch
the ring but not the glass or edge of the cell. This can be a bottle
cap or a section of thin metal tubing from a hobby shop, its not
critical. The edge is covered with double stick tape to from a
gripping surface. The body of the lens is held in a rubber glove to
give some gripping action. Be carful not to squeeze the edges of the
mount where the ring is or you will be clamping down on the ring.
If the threads are painted over (as they often are) you must remove
the paint. Acetone usually works. It should be very carefully applied
with a cotton swab to soften and remove the paint in the threads but
not the paint anywhere else. The ring may be resistant at first, but
once started it will come out pretty easily. Be careful of it and the
cell, the walls are very thin, the threads are fine, and both easily
damaged.
If the lens does not fall out when the cell is turned upside down it
can be helped out by sticking a bit of sticky tape to its apex and
gently coaxing it out. Once out clean both inerior sufaces with Kodak
lens cleaner. The haze should come right off. If it is resistant, or
there is some streaking try cleaning with a glass cleaner like Glass
Plus or Sparkle. Very pure alcohol is also a good cleaner.
After cleaning blow out any dust particals and re-assemble the lens.
Be VERY gentle replacing the front element, don't force it. Us a bit
of tape again as a handle. The fit at the edges usually has little
tolerance so the air inside the cell must escape slowly as the element
settles back in place. Once its in replace the retaining ring and
tighten it using the same tubular tool. Finger tight is enough. The
design of the mount and ring automatically center the glass so that is
not a consideration. You may or may not choose to repaint the threads.
Unless they cause some flare I would just leave them alone.
This sort of cleaning will probably not be necessary again for ten
or twenty years.
Even a slight haze inside the cell raises hob with contrast. Once
cleaned you will see a very definite increse.
The Skopar is a very respectible lens, Voigtlander was a quality
brand.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Contax Mailing List;
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: [CONTAX] Cleaning lenses
> From: Markus Berheide berheide@ridgefield.sdr.slb.com
> Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001
> To: contax@photo.cis.to
> Cc: Tom Christiansen tomchr@softhome.net
> Subject: Re: [CONTAX] Cleaning lenses
>
> Peter mentioned acetone, but I would not recommend it since it might also
> attack plastics.
Acetone is what Schneider recommended to me, but they were speaking of
lens elements removed from the lens barrel. The drill is to breathe on
the lens and wipe with a cotton cloth dampened with acetone before the
mist evaporates from the lens. They recommend this particularly for
lenses which have become stained by atmospheric contaminants. (Yes, some
types of optical glass are subject to staining, but they are not normally
used for front or rear elements.)
I'm currently revitalizing a 180mm f/2.8 Schneider lens for Rollei medium
format which had gotten wet. The second element has some staining and I
am trying to clear it up again. So far no luck. I haven't tried the
acetone yet, though. Waiting for it to be warm enough to work with the
windows open! So far the staining has resisted ROR, Eclipse and Deutsche
Optik cleaners.
Acetone is dangerous stuff, though, so use with extreme care and lots of
air circulation. It is toxic and highly flammable.
Bob
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001
From: John Hicks jbh@magicnet.net
Subject: Re: [Rollei] OFF TOPIC: Recommendations for/against the LensPen?
you wrote:
>I really don't want to smear/scratch my 40mm/2.8 Sonnar and wondered if
>anyone has used the LensPen system?
Pens/pads and cloths have surfaced on the market many times; everyone's
gotta have them, then word spreads that anything reusable can easily pick
up grit which makes "cleaning marks," then no one wants 'em.
John Hicks
jbh@magicnet.net
FRom Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] OFF TOPIC: Recommendations for/against the LensPen?
you wrote:
>Oops. Forgot to ask...
>
>>> I am not very enthusiastic about anything which is reusable, including
>>> the often recommended camels hair brushes.
>>
>> Does this include those microfiber cleaning clothes? Is it recommended to
>> avoid those as well? Or, is there a way to use them that's OK?
>
>Are there any disposable cleaning tissues that are larger and thicker than
>the small Kodak tissues. I always had a hard time using them. What about the
>archival paper wipes that are designed for cleaning negatives?
>
>Doug
>>Doug Brightwell
>doug@dougbrightwell.com
The main thing is that anything which can pick up grit can cause
scratches. Microfiber cloths work well but have the same problem. I think
they can be rinsed out.
I like Kimwipes, a sort of lintless tissue intended for laboratory use.
The material has been screened to remove grit and I understand Kimberly
Clarke also uses a magnetic field to get iron particles out of the pulp.
Kimwipes come in several sizes up to quite large ones. Not too expensive.
They are sold at paper supply houses and many art supply stores. They are
good wherever you want a lint free and scratch free tissue.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Re dim Viewfinder
you wrote:
> I mostly read all of the fine information
>on it.
>
> I just recently acquired it and i have shot only a
> It appears to function just fine, and i am impressed with the
> i can hardly
> So, in low light situations
>where a large aperture is indicated, i am ending up with improperly focused
>photos.
>
> The mirror appears to be
> Any help would be appreciated/
Something odd here. Check the condition of the mirror and focusing
screen. Even the standard screen should not be this dim. Look at the
mirror through the viewing lens, it should be clean and in good condition
(no sivering flaked off). Ground glass can get very dim when its dirty or
oily.
It can be cleaned with a little dishwashing detergent and warm water but
you have to get it out of the camera. Not too difficult for an Automat.
There are four small screws which hold the focusing hood in place. Once
its lifted out the ground glass can be lifted out. You can clean the glass
and the mirror benieth it. Use one of the "streak free" glass cleaners
like Sparkle or Formula 409 Glass cleaner on it, wiping by draging a sheet
of lens tissue or Kimwipe over it. Use the tissue just once. Also clean
the back of the viewing lens with the same stuff and some lens cleaning
tissue.
If, when everything is clean the image still looks dim you may need a
field lens or one of the newer style bright screens. My bet is that the
viewing system is dirty. Rolleis are not real bright but should not limit
you to bright daylight either.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: [Rollei] OFF TOPIC: Recommendations for/against the LensPen?
you wrote:
>I really don't want to smear/scratch my 40mm/2.8 Sonnar and wondered if
>anyone has used the LensPen system? This topic a heated debate on other
>photography list servs.
>
>Thanks,
>R.J.
I am not very enthusiastic about anything which is reusable, including
the often recommended camels hair brushes.
Clean lenses by first blowing off the surface with a hand bulb. Canned
air can be used but be careful, it can reach pretty high pressures.
After blowing off use a brush made of lens tissue. Kodak tissue works
very well but even Kimwipes do OK. Roll the tissue into a tube, tear in
half and fold so the feathered ends are together. Use this ONCE and toss.
You may have to use several to brush dust of a lens. The point is that it
applies very little pressure to the surface, picks up particles, and
doesn't drag them over the surface again.
For general cleaning any of several types of lens or glass cleaners can
be used. Optical glass, and especially modern coatings are not that
sensitive.
Kodak lens cleaner is very mild. It is made using Ammonium carbonate
rather than the higher pH ammonium hydroxide found in Windex.
Another cleaner which works well are the 2-Butoxyethanol cleaners like
Sparkle, Formula 409 Glass Cleaner, and several others. Hewlett Packard
recommends these for cleaning the platens of its scanners. Very pure
Methyl alcohol is now the standard cleaner for optical assembly. Used to
be reagent grade Acetone. Be careful with either. Ususally they are not
necessary and the Acetone especially will remove paint and can get into
lenses and attack the cement. Its a good idea to _never_ apply a lens
cleaner directly to the lens. Put it on a lens tissue or Kimwipe. Use that
to apply it to the lens. Use another tissue to blot it up. Do not be
stingy with tissues.
Another way to clean very dirty lenses, is to first blow them off gently
(high pressure air can force sharp particles to scratch the surface).
Then lay a lens tissue on the lens. Put some lens cleaner on the tissue
and drag it off the lens. This will often remove the bulk of the dirt
gently enough not to cause scratches.
In any case, be gentle with any cleaning you do.
Its a good idea to keep the lens clean rather than to have to clean it.
A good lens cap works.
Finger prints should be cleaned off immediately. The oil in your skin is
acid enough to cause some etching if its left long enough. Also, the oil
can be a source of neutricion for fungus. Fungus exudes an acid as part of
its metabolism which will etch or pit lenses.
Another tip, Moisture condensed on lens surfaces for long periods can
also cause pitting. Lenses should be stored in a dry place.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Hasselblad Mailing List;
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001
From: Joe Codispoti joecodi@thegrid.net
Subject: Re: How to clean Acute matte D
I clean mine (as well as lenses and other delicate items) with ClearSight
which has no alcohol, no ammonia, and no harsh chemicals. See
http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/clearsight.html
Joe Codispoti
From Hasselblad Mailing List;
Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2001
From: David Gerhardt davidgerhardt@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: How to clean Acute matte D
This doesn't sound very high tech, but I've cleaned all my focusing
screens over the past 25 years in the same way (all hasselblads, both
standard & acute matte):
1. blow any grit away with a gentle compressed air jet, then
2. "breathe" on the top surface of the screen (forms a "mist"), then
3. wipe off very gently with an old well-washed t-shirt.
And I NEVER clean or touch the bottom side of the screen (generally clean
the screen by removing the waist level finder; leaving the screen in the
camera).
Just to double check, I went thru my 203 owner's manual. The only
reference I could find regarding the cleaning of focusing screens was the
following:
"Lens cleaning solvents or other chemicals should not be used on the
focusing screen..." (pp84)
The "Wildi" book doesn't add much; he just adds to "Brush the screen
clean, if necessary, using a moist cloth or lens-cleaning tissue. The same
applies to the Softars and soft filters, both of which are made from
acrylic materials..."
It sounds like the trick is keeping the underside (with the fresnel
molding) from getting dirty! ;-)
David Gerhardt
email: davidgerhardt@mindspring.com
From Hasselblad Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001
From: Joe Codispoti joecodi@thegrid.net
Subject: Re: How to clean Acute matte D
Aside of the obvious and logical methods to clean a screen or front
surface mirror i.e.: blower and soft-hair brush, there is one more method
that I have used with great success: Coat the surface to be cleaned with
rubber cement, several layers to make a thick coat. Allow to dry
completely. Lift a corner of the gummy coating and peel away. The rubber
cement will have absorbed all dirt and grime and will remove it. As I said
earlier, I have used this system and it is very effective.
In the end the best policy is to clean often enough to *prevent* the
accumulation of dirt that becomes twice as hard to clean. An ounce of
prevention...............
Joe Codispoti
From Nikon MF Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 07 May 2001
From: lexmack@lava.net
Subject: Re: [Nikon MF) Lens cleaning
Sorry, it is Optyl-7, by Rexton, B&H; has it for super cheap.
I say it needs a good technique because you really do need it.
At first, I had a problem with streaking, but since I figured out the
best way to use it, its the best, barring the Opti-clean that I can't
justify 95.00 for. (yet)
I use 2 sheet of lens cleaning paper, fresh. I have two more on standby.
I fold the edge of 2 sheets over, so I have a section of 4 sheet layer,
about 1/4 the length of the sheet. I place one (1) drop of Optyl-7 on
the middle of the folded section, then move immediatly to the lens
surface. I start in the middle, then drag the wetted drop section
lightly out to the edges, rotating the lens until the whole surface is
smoothly coated. With no delay, I move to the un-wet section of the same
sheet, and move in the same pattern. If any streaks exist after the
first dry wipe, I move to the ready 2 dry sheets. This gets the lens
'squeaky' clean. Got a replacement front element from Nikon factory
clean after I put the positioning suction cup on the -inside- surface
and left a nice very subtle ring.
I don't use it with the cloths, although I do use the cleaning cloths
but with the Zeiss cleaner, also very good.
From Leica Mailing List;
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001
From: Jim Brick jim@brick.org
Subject: [Leica] Re: leica lens cleaning tissues
You want the very best lens cleaning cloth and solution, contact Joe
Codispoti.
"Joe Codispoti" joecodi@thegrid.net
and see them at
http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/clearsight.html
Jim
From Leica Mailing List;
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001
From: Jim Brick jim@brick.org
Subject: [Leica] Re: cleaning...
ClearSight is reasonably new and makes ROR seem like well used dish water.
Try it. You "will" like it.
I have a small bottle and one of their cloths in a zip lock bag, in my
darkroom, each of my camera bags (LF, MF, 35mm), and one in my office. Yes
sir yes sir five bags full...
Jim (used ROR for many years, but no more) Brick
Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2001
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Cleaning An Old Old Old Lens
photoassistant@hotmail.com (WL) wrote:
>I have a 15 inch lens from the 1800's cut for waterhouse stops.
>I want to use it but it has a some mold in between the elements of the
>back part of the lens. I can see that there is a space between the elements
>and it corresponds to a thin line that runs around the barrel. It looks
>like this is where it should separate for cleaning but I can't seem to
>unscrew it. What am I doing wrong? How do I clean it?
>
>thanks in advance,
>
>
>WL
If the rear has air spaced elements there is probably either a
retaining ring on the end which faces outside or a threaded cap on the
part facing the inside of the barrel. Retaining rings can be removed
with a friction tool. This is simply a tube of the right diameter for
the ring with a layer of double stick tape or a sticky rubber washer
on it. The tube can be anything the right diameter. Sometimes its
necessary to unstick the threads with a little Acetone.
The lens can be cleaned with any standard lens cleaner or with pure
Methyl alcohol. I find the new "streak free" type glass cleaners work
very well for lenses.
Fungus can look like a spider web or like circular blotches. Usually
a darkening at the edge of a lens is a sign of a cemented lens which
is starting to separate. Very old cemented lenses may show crystalized
Canada Balsam all over, or it may be milky. Such a lens must be
recemented. Not hard to do but getting the lens out may a problem if
its burnished into the mount. Air spaced lenses are very seldom
burnished but a single cemented element, like the rear element of a
Tessar, often are.
Write with more details. The lens can almost certainly be salvaged.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Rollei Mailing List;
Date: Wed, 30 May 2001
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Looking for some info on this Zeiss lens I have.
Fishhead fishhead76@MailAndNews.com wrote:
>Carl Zeiss Jena
>Nr 804330
>Tessar 1:4.5 13.5cm
>
>It is in a compur shutter with T,B 1-200
>
>Shutter works and sounds good. (compared to my other shutters)
>Lens is clean and scratch free.
>Correct me if I am wrong but it does not appear to be coated.
>
>Is this lens good for anything?? Will it cover 4X5??
>Can the date be determined from the serial number?
>I suppose I need to get a lens shade to shoot outside.
>I only shoot 4X5 B&W film.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>gregarpp icqmail.com for reply
Its a good lens. Not coated. The serial number is in a break in the
Zeiss list but it probably dates from about 1927 - 1928. The shutter
is probably a dial set Compur, that is the speeds are set on a small
dial at the top. This type of shutter was succeded by the "rim set"
Compur about 1930. If its in a rim set shutter it could still be
original since lenses were made in batches and mounted later.
The lens is probably from a folding camera. 135mm is the right focal
length for 3-1/4 x 4-1/4. It will cover 4x5 when stopped down. The
135mm Tessar was pretty much the standard lens on Speed Graphic
cameras before 1940. It will cover 4x5 but must be stopped down to at
least f/8 to be sharp in the corners. It was considered desirable to
have a somewhat wide angle lens on a press camera.
I have two Tessars on old Speed Graphics and both are very sharp
lenses, nearly as good as the later Kodak Ektar.
Sometimes old lenses get hazy inside the front cell. This lens has a
removable back retaining cap on the front cell which makes it easy to
open for cleaning. I've cleaned a couple of old Tessars which looked
like somone had held them over a candle. Whatever this shmutz was it
came right off with ordinary lens cleaner leaving the lens sparkling
clean. Inside haze or dirt will reduce the contrast very much more
than the lack of coating so its worth cleaning.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Hasselblad Mailing List;
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001
From: Henry Posner/B&H; Photo-Video henryp@bhphotovideo.com
Subject: Re: Best Lens Cleaner? ClearSight
you wrote:
>all LUG (Leica Users Group) members who have tried ClearSight have
>agreed that it is a superior product.
>Take a look at the ClearSight page for all info regarding lens cleaning
>products as well as cleaning procedure/hints.
>
>http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/clearsight.html
I am happy to report that we are now retailers for this well-recommended
product.
--
regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Sales and Training
B&H Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio Inc.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
From Hasselblad Mailing List:
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001
From: Jim Brick jim_brick@agilent.com
Subject: Re: Best Lens Cleaner? ClearSight
Joe Codispoti wrote:
>Don,
>
>all LUG (Leica Users Group) members who have tried ClearSight have agreed
>that it is a superior product.
>Take a look at the ClearSight page for all info regarding lens cleaning
>products as well as cleaning procedure/hints.
>
>http://www.thegrid.net/joecodi/ clearsight.html
>
>Joe Codispoti
I agree 100% with this. ClearSight is indeed the best lens cleaner I have
ever used. And I have used everything over the past 50 years!
Jim
From Hasselblad Mailing List;
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001
From: Joe Codispoti joecodi@thegrid.net
Subject: Re: Best Lens Cleaner?
It is extremely important to remove all dust and particles on a lens
*before* proceeding with the removal of the film accumulation on a lens
surface. It is important to remove all solids, including seemingly
harmless dust in order not to grind them into the coating of the lens.
This is done best with a soft brush (incidentally, it is not camel hair
but squirrel or sable). Finally, the lens is wiped with a cloth moistened
with a cleaner of some type, preferably one that leaves no residue.
Depending on the cleaning frequency, the first step may be omitted, but
under no circumstance should the lens be wiped with a dry cloth.
Eventually the lens would show cleaning marks, from microscopic to obvious
ones.
Try looking at your lens coating with a magnifier, you might not like what
you see.
Joe Codispoti
...
From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001
From: "Marko B." <marko.b@email.si>
Subject: Re: Water Spots
Micro fiber cloth, breath on the lens and gently wipe the spots off.
Shouldn't be any problem with water drops. I use Pentax mico fiber cloth
on expensive and cheap lenses and never noticed anything wrong.
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com>
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
Subject: Re: [camera-fix] fix the outside
Windex and paper towels can do wonders to get rid of the
stench of tobacco on cameras. I've had this same problem at
times with things I have bought, and the Windex treatment
eventually got them so I could put them up close enough to
my nose to take photos.
Bob
> From: David Adams elrey314159265359@yahoo.com
> Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
> To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [camera-fix] fix the outside
>
> I bought a Canon AE-1 on Ebay. It is in good working
> order. However it reeks of cigarete smoke! Is there
> anything I can do to clean it off and remove the stink
> without worrying about damaging the camera?
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002
Subject: Re: [HUG] Re: Lewis and his scratched lens
From: george day george@rdcinteractive.com>
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net>
Second. I use dust-off (discharged lightly and held rather far from the
front element) and, until recently, sterilized cotton, brushes and breath.
Not to sound like a billboard, but I picked up Joe's brush and cleaner, and,
wow -- great stuff. My wife and I spent most of yesterday hiking and at the
beach. I came home with three lenses that had a considerable amount of sea
spray on them: 50 and 110 FE and 90/2 Leica M. Pricey stuff to mess up. A
few careful minutes later, all were very, very clean -- as were my fogged
eyeglasses. Effective stuff.
"Joseph Codispoti" joecodi@charter.net> wrote:
>
> In response to Peter Rosenthal petroffski@mac.com>
>
>
> Peter,
>
> Regarding the filter-for-protection issue, there are two well entranched
> camps resolutely diploying all arguments to support or negate the usefulness
> of such a devise. I tend to agree with your reasoning that where the broken
> filter may have damaged the lens, the cause of the broken filter might have
> damaged the lens directly anyway.
>
> I agree with you also that cleaning lenses inproperly is a cause for
> scratches and damaged coatings.
> There are plenty of professionals who fail to see the value of proper
> cleaning.
> I disagree, however that frequent cleaning is not good for a lens. Modern
> coatings, unlike the old Planars', are very tough. Cleaning a lens with a
> brush instead of cloth and liquid may be sufficient in most cases (a clean
> brush causes no damage), but a clean lens is much preferable to a dirty one
> for obvious reasons.
>
> Joe Codispoti
From: "Joseph Codispoti" joecodi@charter.net>
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net>
Subject: Re: [HUG] Re: Lewis and his scratched lens
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002
From: "Dr. Elliot Puritz" drpuritz@bellsouth.net>
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net>
> Hi George...did I miss something? What is/are Joe's brush and cleaner?
>
> Elliot
For complete info visit www.clearsightusa.com
Joseph Codispoti
ClearSight USA
P.O. Box 150, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 USA
www.clearsightusa.com
joecodi@clearsightusa.com
From: elemar@home.com
Subject: Re: Cleaning TLR mirror?
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001
bachchaconne@my-deja.com wrote:
: Just got my Yashica MAT 124 G. Quite a few dust particles on the
: mirror are visible looking through the viewing lens (not thru' the
: focusing screen.) Any way to clean it other than taking it to the
: technician?
: Andrew
If you can see the dust sharply when you use the viewfinder, the dust is
on the bottom or top of the focusing screen, not on the mirror. Dust and
junk on the mirror can decrease the brightness of the image on the
focusing screen and possibly decrease the contrast, but it will not be in
focus.
I have never taken apart a Yashica MAT, so I don't know how easy it can be
done. I have removed the focusing screen on an Autocord and it was easy.
You just remove the screws that hold the hood/screen in place. Once you
get it off (If there are any shims in the system, remember where they
go.), you can use 'canned air' to gently blow off the dust. Just make sure
you are careful and follow the directions on the 'canned air' so you don't
squirt any cold liquid on the screen.
Ray
--
E. Ray Lemar elemar@home.com
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001
Subject: Re: Cleaning TLR mirror?
From: Bob Salomon bob@hpmarketingcorp.com>
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
elemar@home.com
at elemar@home.com wrote
> you can use 'canned air' to gently blow off the dust.
N E V E R use canned air to clean a front surface mirror!
If you need to blow dust off use the bulb from a blower brush or ear
syringe.
These mirrors are extremely delicate and should not be touched and should be
cleaned as infrequently as possible (read ONLY WHEN NEEDED).
HP Marketing Corp. 800 735-4373 US distributor for: Ansmann, Braun,
CombiPlan, DF Albums, Ergorest, Gepe, Gepe-Pro, Giottos, Heliopan, Kaiser,
Kopho, Linhof, Novoflex, Pro-Release, Rimowa, Sirostar, Tetenal Cloths and
Ink Jet Papers, VR, Wista, ZTS www.hpmarketingcorp.com
From: thesandfox@aol.comb (TheSandFox)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: 01 Sep 2001
Subject: Re: Are B30 filters useable on Bay 1 TLR lenses?
>From: bachchaconne@my-deja.com
>Came across a dirty round rubber B30 hood
>yesterday. Something like brown stains all
>over both. I wonder whether that's fungus
> Is there a way to safely clean
>off all fungus so nothing's left to spread onto my lens?
>Andrew
It is more than likely "hand sweat" from use or cigarette smoke residue. Both
can be cleaned off with soapy water. If it is fungus then use a mix of clorox,
water and dish detergent. The mix is 1 part water + 1/8 part clorox and 1 drip
of dish soap.
TSF.
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
From: Ron Schwarz rs@clubvb.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001
Subject: Re: [camera-fix] of windex
>Storing them in film cannisters shouldn't be the cause. Window cleaner
>taken from either the original container (which, by the way is also plastic)
>or the recycled film cannister don't appear to produce different effects- or
>for that matter, marks still appear regardless of where the fluid came from.
Semi-tangential to this, but it might save someone some grief -- I suggest
avoiding all "eyeglass" cleaning fluids, no matter how wonderful the claims
on the label. All of them that I've tried seem to leave a film that is
near-impossible to remove. It smears around, and more fluid -- and more
wiping -- just smears it around more.
My conclusion, after deconstructing the benefits claimed on the labels, is
that the "anti-fog" and so forth depend on "something" being left on the
lens surface. My logic is that any "benefit" imparted by the fluid would be
entirely dependent on it leaving something *on* the lens. Otherwise -- if
it just left a perfectly clean lens -- there would be no way for the
cleaning fluid to have any affect on the glass. IMO the most important
characteristic of a lens cleaner -- besides removing dirt and not damaging
the coating -- is that it must leave absolutely *no* residue. Anything
that leave an anti-fogging "something" (or anti-static, or anti-anything)
on the lens is automatically disqualified.
Caveat: if you've got to go on a shoot in a hostile environment where
you're faced with either the loss of the job (due to fogged lenses from
miserable temp/humidity combo), or "gunked" lenses (from eyeglass type
cleaner) that you can restore afterwards with some no-residue cleaner, then
you'll obviously do what makes sense rather than follow "good advice" by
rote.
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
From: "rmacleay" RMac@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2001
Subject: [camera-fix] Re: of windex
--- In camera-fix@y..., "stuey63au" madfamily@b...> wrote:
> I've been contemplating making my own cleaner out of distilled water,
> isopropyl alcohol, and/or ammonia. Anybody got any ideas on amounts
> and relative merits of each?
Inasmuch as Zeiss advertises its own lens cleaner as
Ammonia-free...
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
From: "ervinhill2000" ervinhill2000@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2001
Subject: [camera-fix] Windex ???
There seems to be a bit of discusion about the use of windex. I've
been using it for about 40 years with no problems. I used it to clean
the ROR of my lens when it smeared. But if anyone wants to try, here
are some others:
Formula "40" by "Sprayway" Try local art stores
Home brew = 2 parts water, 2 parts alcohol, 1 part ammonia
>From Leica??? = 10% ammonia, 90% distilled water, and a very small
amount of hydrogen peroxide to kill fungus
Crystal Mist, #32-034BDZ, Navy Brand Manuf. Company, 3670 Scarlet Oak
Industrial Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63122 (314.861.5500) (Cleans damper
goo off mirrors)
Regular film cleaner works for mirrors (cleans the goo)
To: camera-fix@yahoogroups.com
From: "junebug1701" junebug1701@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2001
Subject: [camera-fix] Lens cleaner formula/glass cleaner formula
I got this formula from one of the astronomy newsgroups. The trick is
to use 99.9% isopropanol, not the 70% that the drugstores sell. Also,
use distilled water, not spring water or mineral water, but distilled
water. Finally, one small drop of Palmolive dishwashing liquid to act
as the surfactant:
---------------
FWIW, I make my own optical lens cleaner as follows: 50/50 mixture
of distilled water and the purest isopropyl alcohol I can obtain,
plus one tiny drop of liquid dishwashing detergent per quart of mix.
Works great for eyeglasses, camera lenses, binoculars, monoculars,
telescope eyepieces, and refractor telescope objectives. Works
better than any commercial lens cleaner I've ever tried. I've found
that it also works well on mirrors and also to clean the insides of
vehicle windows. A few years ago, I sprayed it on outside mirrors
which were covered with ice, and was very pleased to see not only
that the ice melted, but also that the mirrors drained clear without
me having to wipe them off.
-- Gerry
Gerald Pearson & Sue Sarlette (suegerry@muscanet.com)
---------------
For years, Consumer Reports has tested various glass cleaner
products, and they still report that their own homemade formula works
better than any of them. Here is their formula:
Consumer Reports' glass cleaner
1/2 cup ammonia
1 pint 70% alchohol
1 tsp liquid dishwashing detergent
Add water to make 1 gallon.
To: "Camera-Fix" camera-fix@yahoogroups.com>
From: "Bob Mazzullo" rmazzullo@si.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001
Subject: [camera-fix] Re: Photo-Flo
Sorry to butt in like this...I haven't seen the whole thread....but I have
never used Photo-Flo from Kodak. When I was younger, "messing
about" in the Ft. Wadsworth Army darkroom (my friends were Army
brats) we were told Palmolive dishwashing liquid was essentially the
same as Photo-Flo. About 5-10 drops per 1/2 gallon made usable solution
for tank developing. In the 30 years since, it has never failed me, left any marks,
residue, or any type of ill-effects on my film (B&W;). You can imagine how long
a quart bottle of dishwashing liquid lasts, diluted 10 drops per half gallon.....
as well as how much $ I saved......
Thanks,
Bob Mazzullo
Staten Island, New York
From nikon mailing list
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002
From: Henry Posner/B&H; Photo-Video henryp@bhphotovideo.com>
Subject: Re: Cleaning Focusing Screens.
you wrote:
>I could
>clean off excess lens cleaning fluid by using a dry lens cleaning
>tissue and using a slight bit of pressure.
The problem with excess fluid is that the screen's a sandwich and if
moisture gets in between the slices, it's not only a mighty pain to
eliminate, but it's also a breeding ground for mold.
--
regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Sales and Training
B&H; Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio Inc.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
From minolta mailing list:
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001
From: BillB800si@aol.com
Subject: Lens Cleaning
I suppose the debate will go on between lens cleaners and non lens cleaner
users but I thought you may want to know what a couple of pros think about
it.
"LENS CLEANING TIPS
>From Bryan Geyerat Really Right Stuff: Stop buying lens cleaning tissue.
Buy rolled absorbent cotton instead. It cleans the front element of your
lens like a charm and leaves no residue. I've gone a step further: I save
and use the cotton from my supplement bottles. From Moose Peterson: Use
Lens Clens # 1 Coated Optics (Industrial Optical Cleaner) for cleaning all
your equipment, including the front elements of all your lenses
(telephone: 714-535-2271). I bought the pint bottle which will most
likely last a lifetime as I clean my stuff less in a year than Moose does
in an evening..... I keep the 1 3/4 oz. refillable bottle in my vest with
a few chunks of absorbent cotton. Be sure to use a blower brush to remove
any sand, dirt, or grit before using the Lens Clens
and the cotton. Use one wet chunk of cotton to clean the lens and then a
dry
one to polish the front element. (Moose cleans the surfaces of all his
lenses and camera bodies and accessories as well as the front elements of
his lenses with an old,soft, cotton t-shirt each night.)
Best and great picture making,
Arthur Morris
http://www.birdsasart.com/b1.html
Also picked this tidbit up about using Canon's IS lenses..
"Canon IS Lenses:Bulletin subscriber and long time top NYC photo-journalist
Ralph Ginzburg wrote advising that Canon's big new IS lens would not be as
attractive as I thought to pro-sports shooters as they require action
stopping shutter speeds to freeze their fast-moving subjects, and would not
benefit from IS which is effective at slower shutter speeds. Thanks
Ralph.";
Later,
Bill B. (USA)
from leica topica mailing list:
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: Jim Brick jim@brick.org
Subject: Re: Nocti Vignetting
Ted Grant wrote:
>And we wont tell them about the little zit in the glass of my 15mm R lens I
>discovered the other day. Oh well life is just awful some days. ;-)
>
>I have no idea how long it's been there, but probably happened when I stuck
>it in my pocket during a quick lens change and there happened to be
>something else in the pocket with it.
>
>Hey I'm not loosing any sleep over it as it's not effecting the images at
>all. Why it might even be improving them. ;-)
>ted
Ted,
You and I both know that a zit or two, scratch, small hole, whatever, won't
in any way effect your images.
If the giant bubbles in my early Zeiss lenses didn't effect anything, a zit
or two sure as hell won't.
To all LUGgers:
But dirt and grime will since it is evenly distributed over the whole
lens. It effects 100% of the light rays. Not just .00000001% of the rays
as a zit or bubble will. It makes fine detail disappear. Turns your film
camera resolution into digital camera resolution. Keep your lenses clean.
Go to LUGger Joe Codispoti's site and partake.
http://www.clearsightusa.com/
Great great stuff!!!
Photographed any welders lately Ted?
:)
Jim
From nikon mf mailing list:
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001
From: "shepherdlen" Shepherdlen@btinternet.com
Subject: Re: How to clean the mirror in FM2
> I've noticed some dust particles which have got
> stuck to the mirror. Does anyone especially those in
> the camera repair field help me with a simple way to clean the mirror/
> focussing screen.
I have watched Nikon technicians do it to mirrors with rain spots on..
With a steady hand you can do it yourself.
First remove any dust with a clean, dry, lens brush or, better still, a
print spotting brush.
If this is not enough you need lens cleaning tissues (the technician was
using soft toilet roll!), cotton sticks (more flexible than cocktail
sticks), raw alcohol (flamable -do not smoke!) and spray can anti static
cleaner.
First roll a tissue at least 10 times round the cotton stick to make a
soft, flexible tissue wipe. Damp it with raw alcohol. Do not over damp as
raw alcohol can attack plastic. Then carefully wipe over the mirror but
not the screen if it is plastic. Use another cleaning tissue wrapped
around the cotton stick to quickly dry off the mirror.This gets the mirror
clean but can leave smears.
Then spray some anti static cleaner on a saucer - not in the mirror box!
Damp a third tissue with the fluid, and clean the mirror again with the
aid of the cotton stick. If the screen is interchangeable and badly soiled
you can do that too, but screens are more easily scratched than mirrors.
Dry off with a fourth tissue. This removes any smear and any static.
The same technique works on lens surfaces but again do not over wet
anything as you are damping the lens surface, not pouring liquid on it.
Len Shepherd.
From minolta mailing list:
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001
From: "Alan Kerr" southernlightsphotography@xtra.co.nz
Subject: Re: Lens Cleaning
>(Moose cleans the surfaces of all his
lenses and camera bodies and accessories as well as the front elements of
his lenses with an old,soft, cotton t-shirt each night.)
And I thought I was the only one that used old T-shirts for this. You have to
use the right T-shirt though, the ones that have gone all soft after many washes.
Alan Kerr
----- Original Message -----
From: BillB800si@aol.com
To: minolta@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2001
Subject: [Minolta] Lens Cleaning
I suppose the debate will go on between lens cleaners and non lens cleaner
users but I thought you may want to know what a couple of pros think about it.
"LENS CLEANING TIPS
From Bryan Geyerat Really Right Stuff: Stop buying lens cleaning
tissue.
Buy rolled absorbent cotton instead. It cleans the front element of your
lens like a charm and leaves no residue.
I've gone a step further: I save and use the cotton from my supplement
bottles. From Moose Peterson: Use Lens Clens # 1 Coated Optics (Industrial
Optical Cleaner) for cleaning all your equipment, including the front
elements of all your lenses (telephone: 714-535-2271). I bought the
pint bottle which will most likely last a lifetime as I clean my stuff
less in a year than Moose does in an evening..... I keep the 1 3/4 oz. refillable
bottle in my vest with a few chunks of absorbent cotton. Be sure to use a
blower brush to remove any sand, dirt, or grit before using the Lens Clens
and the cotton. Use one wet chunk of cotton to clean the lens and then a dry
one to polish the front element. (Moose cleans the surfaces of all his
lenses and camera bodies and accessories as well as the front elements of
his lenses with an old,soft, cotton t-shirt each night.)
Best and great picture making,
Arthur Morris
http://www.birdsasart.com/b1.html
Also picked this tidbit up about using Canon's IS lenses..
"Canon IS Lenses:Bulletin subscriber and long time top NYC photo-journalist
Ralph Ginzburg wrote advising that Canon's big new IS lens would not be as
attractive as I thought to pro-sports shooters as they require action
stopping shutter speeds to freeze their fast-moving subjects, and would not
benefit from IS which is effective at slower shutter speeds. Thanks
Ralph.";
Later,
Bill B. (USA)
From nikon mailing list
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002
From: Henry Posner/B&H; Photo-Video henryp@bhphotovideo.com
Subject: Re: Cleaning Focusing Screens.
you wrote:
>I could
>clean off excess lens cleaning fluid by using a dry lens cleaning
>tissue and using a slight bit of pressure.
The problem with excess fluid is that the screen's a sandwich and if
moisture gets in between the slices, it's not only a mighty pain to
eliminate, but it's also a breeding ground for mold.
--
regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Sales and Training
B&H; Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio Inc.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
From: laren@qwest.net (Laren Miracle)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Using bleach on lenses
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002
At our camera repair shop we use denatured alcohol to kill fungus.
It is also great for oily smears.
Vinegar is great for water spots and other things not affected by
alcohol.
It is acidic, but it is safe.
We make out own lens cleaner to use afterwards but windex will work
fine as well.
I don't think I'd use bleach or acid, especialy if you risk loosing
the coatings.
Larr
"Roland" roland.rashleigh-berry@virgin.net wrote:
>I've recommended using bleach on lenses before, where they have been
>affected by fungus. It works a treat (but you might lose your lens coating
>in the process). I use window cleaner containing some acid for cleaning the
>lens first. And if that does not do the trick then I use bleach on it and
>leave it overnight. I thought I had a couple of lenses that had been etched
>by fungus but I used thick bleach on one of the lenses last night to see if
>that would shift it and it did. I highly recommend it for those fungus
>affected lenses in your old cameras.
>
Date: Sun, 03 Feb 2002
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: RE: [Rollei] OT Easy service lens (was felt and plush : a possible source)
you wrote:
>That sounds like a cool design. I wonder why the newer
>lenses aren't as easy to service as your older one? Not
>that you need to do it often, but dust and other particles
>eventually creep in between the elements eventually.
>
>> I just got a Zeca 9 x 12 camera with Unofokal lens. This lens is
>> great and
>> really easy to clean. It's possible to screw lose all lens elements and
>> clean them. No cemented lenses, never a risk for separation. :-)
The problem comes with small sealed cells. While larger lenses very often
have back caps which unscrew many smaller lenses have front retaining
rings. These unscrew too, but it may not be obvous. Many lenses have the
threads painted over so it looks like there is no way of getting them
apart. Retaining rings of this sort are removed by using a tubular friction
tool. A few have slots in them (Schneider does this) but the friction tool
is safer even when there are slots.
What I've observered is that older lenses often get hazy inside. I don't
know the source of the haze definitely but I think it may be something
evaporated from the anti-reflection paint in the cell. In any case it comes
off very easily once you can get access to the lens surface.
This haze completely destroys the contrast of the lens. I suspect many
old lenses which are thought to be low contrast due to lack of coating are
actually just dirty.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
From Minolta Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 17:45:49 -0800 (PST)
From: venkat reddy
Subject: Re: Cleaning lenses
Here is some info from photo.net
Basic lens cleaning tools are a blower, a microfiber cloth, and lens cleaning
fluid. Try to blast dust off the lens with the blower or canned air. Finger
prints can be removed with a circular wipe of the new miracle micro fiber cloth
(my favorite brand is Pentax because it is nice and thick; about $6).
Persistent dirt should be removed with lens cleaning fluid, of which the safest
is probably Kodak. Always drip the fluid onto the cloth and then wipe the lens;
never put fluid directly onto a lens. My personal favorite is Residual Oil
Remover, available in many camera shops for about $4.
Even if your lenses don't look dirty, every few months you should give exposed
surfaces a cleaning with Residual Oil Remover (ROR). Even if you were able to
protect your optics from all environmental sources of filth, there would still
be crud condensing on your optics as camera bag plastics outgas. ROR has a
bunch of advertising hype about how you can get a full 1/2 stop of extra
brightness from your lenses after a treatment. I haven't experimentally
verified this nor do I believe it, but the optics do look visibly clearer after
an ROR treatment.
I don't like to obsess over my equipment, so I keep a B+W UV filter on almost
all of my lenses. I count on replacing the filters every few years rather than
being paranoid all the time.
Hope that helps.
From Nikon MF Mailing List:
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002
From: Josef Brugger jbrugger@pcez.com
Subject: Re: Cleaning Focusing Screens.
For cleaning the focusing screens, I use a very soft brush from the art
store and a good magnifier. No liquids
at all; if you use the tweezers and the case they are packed in, there's no
reason for anything greasy to be on there. Sometimes it takes a while to
get all the bits of fluff and grit off of it.
Joe
From: beejaramis@yahoo.com (Aramis)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: lens cleaning how to?
Date: 5 May 2002
DO NOT USE FACIAL TISSUE! i.e. unless you WANT ro ruin your lens
coating. Lens tissue is not all that expensive. Lens tissue is not
"only paper". Its special paper that does not scratch or otherwise
damage the lens coating. Besides if youre ok to buy the fluid, then
you oughta be ok to buy the tissue coz they go together and youll use
the liquid with the tissue not with your fingers. Buying cleaning kits
is the best option.
In the meantime, go here: -
http://www.popphoto.com/HowTo/ArticleDisplay.asp?ArticleID=111
Aramis
"Eos-Elan7 Owner" akn8c@virginia.edu wrote
> Most humble greetings to all,
>
> I was wondering if there is some cheap way of cleaning our lenses, I mean
> without having to buy expensive special "lens cleaning" tissue.
> Is normal facial tissue not good? Also what about the fluid? which is the
> cheapest I can get away with?
> Any ideas about common substitutes for these two things that you guys might
> have discovered? I mean I am ok to buy the fluid, but I feel bad buying some
> kind of tissue for this, I mean its only paper!!
> Thanks for your help!:-)
>
> Amit
from camera fix mailing list:
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: Lenspens
pixelsaurus at pixelsaurus@yahoo.com wrote:
> Does anyone have an opinion on these ie to use or not?
Yes I have an opinion. Don't use them.
Bob
from camera fix mailing list:
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002
From: Bob Shell bob@bobshell.com
Subject: Re: Lenspens
gabriel bovino at gbovino@attbi.com wrote:
> Anyways... that's my story on it. I think they do a pretty good job!
I think it is far too easy to get grit under the tip and scratch a lens,
which is why I don't recommend them.
Bob
Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2002
From: Peter Caplow pcaplow@prodigy.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: How to clean reflect mirror
Philip Greenspun says not to do it yourself. See:
http://www.photo.net/learn/cleaning-cameras
I have on occasion cleaned a mirror as follows: For removing dust I use a
blower or canned air (but only a gentle breeze) in conjunction with a lens
cleaning brush just barely swishing across the surface of the mirror. The
stream of air from the blower swirls the bristles of the brush across the
mirror with almost zero pressure. Often, this is not sufficient to get the
mirror really clean. In that case I float a corner of a lens tissue on a drop
of lens cleaning fluid and swirl the fluid with NO pressure around the mirror
until the fluid evaporates. Naturally, this leaves some residue on the
mirror. To remove it, I fog the mirror with my breath and VERY gently clean
the mirror with a Q-Tip wrapped in a microfiber lens cleaning cloth. The
shaft of the Q-Tip is flexible and the tip is a soft cotton ball, so it's
relatively easy to avoid applying too much pressure at the tip. This method
works fairly well but you will probably end up with a few light scratches. I
wish I knew where to buy the "special viscous fluid" that Philip says
technicians use.
Peter Caplow
chinhmtran wrote:
> Hi All,
> I have just bought an used Bronica SQ-AM. The mirror is very dusty, What
> would be the safest way to clean it without scratching.
>
> Thank
From: rmonagha@smu.edu (Robert Monaghan)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: How to clean reflect mirror
Date: 8 Jun 2002
a) light air puffs from a lens cleaning bulb (kind of rubber bulb palm
size with camel's hair at base). avoid touching most mirrors as they
easily scratch. A rubber ear bulb or syringe used to clean ear wax is
used by some repairers. Others use a fine camel brush to remove stubborn
or stuck on dust, but this can cause scratching on some front surface
mirrors so beware...
b) can of air, used very gently, angled so as not to spray fluid on mirror
c) there are some collodion solutions (pun intended) that lift off
fingerprints and the like, but these are costly for single cleaning
shot, but useful if you have problems...
hth bobm
From: Randy Randy@holga@holgamods.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: How to clean reflect mirror
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002
R-12 is the freon that is being phased out.
It's not banned yet, just very very VERY expensive.
Commonly refered to as Liquid Gold.
It's R-410A that you're thinking about being Ozone friendly.
Also known as brand names Puron� or Suva�
And as far as Freon no longer being available?????
There are quite af ew types of Freon being produced.
(fre�on) [trade name], any one of a special class of chemical
compounds that are used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and
solvents. These compounds are haloalkanes, i.e., halogen derivatives
of saturated hydrocarbons (see alkane ). Every Freon contains at least
some fluorine in its molecule, and most contain chlorine or bromine as
well. Freons are generally colorless, odorless, nontoxic,
noncorrosive, nonflammable, and chemically unreactive. The most
commonly used is Freon-12, or dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl 2 F 2 ),
which boils at 29.8 and is thus a gas at ordinary temperatures and
pressures. It is prepared by the reaction of carbon tetrachloride with
hydrogen fluoride in the presence of a catalyst. There are a number of
other Freons. Some of those containing bromine in their molecules are
used in fire extinguishers.
Regards
Randy
www.holgamods.com
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2002
From: Richard Knoppow dickburk@ix.netcom.com
To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Coating Flaws in E Series
you wrote:
> Peter I've been told that alkaline cleaners may be injurious to coatings.
> I tested the highly regarded lens cleaner ROR, and found it to be
> I have never had a problem with
> It works. For other than camera lenses, I use a 40% solution of ethyl
>alcohol
> (Trader Joe's Vodka works
>perfectly, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the proprietary cat-piss
>that dealers charge for lens cleaner solutions). Jerry Lehrer
>Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter) wrote: Windex will work too but you may
>have to use it a few times to get rid of the fungus if its heavy. Peter K
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Douglas Anthony Cooper [mailto:douglas@dysmedia.com]
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002
>> To: rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>> Subject: RE: [Rollei] Coating Flaws in E Series
>>
>>
>> Assuming this stuff is or was fungus, what should I use to
>> make sure it's
> I'm
>> nervous to try vinegar on an old coating.
>>
>>
>> Douglas Cooper
>> http://www.dysmedia.com
Very pure Isopropyl alcohol works fine and doesn't leave a residue.
Regular (blue) Windex, and similar glass cleaners are a solution of
Ammonium Hydroxide. Kodak lens cleaner is (according to its MSDS) Ammonium
carbonate. The carbonate is safer than hydroxide due to its lower pH.
Alkaline solutions can dissolve some types of optical glass, however, I've
never heard of any real problem from using Windex. In fact, an old friend
who worked for Bausch & Lomb in the binocular department, told me they used
Windex regularly.
I've found the more recent "streak-free" type glass cleaners to be
superior to windex. These contain 2-butoxyethanol. Most seem to be purple
in color. Hewlett-Packard (my alma motter) recommends this stuff for
cleaning scanner windows.
All in all I find Isopropyl alcohol works as well as anything and is
readily available cheap at the drug store at 99% purity. It even works on
plastic glasses.
A good tissue for optical purposes is Kimwipes. This is a grit and lint
free tissue made by Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex) and available at paper supply
and art supply places. Its available in several sizes. I prefer this to
Kodak lens tissue because it doesn't disintegrate when wet.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002
From: Paul Shinkawa pshinkaw@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [Russiancamera] Cleaning a lens
To: russiancamera-user@beststuff.com
Peter:
Some lenses are so dirty that attempting to clean them
with Kodak lens cleaner and paper will scratch the
coating. On those, I use "Windex", a common ammonia
and detergent window cleaner together with a soft,
clean cotton cloth such as an old diaper. Finish up
with a gentle wipe using a micofiber cloth to remove
the last trace of oil. Do this just once, just to get
the grit off the lens. After that use a soft brush and
the lens cleaner with lens paper.
-Paul
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002
From: "James P. Hamilton" hamiltonj@dantronix.com
To: rmonagha@post.smu.edu
Subject: opti-clean
Hi,
I enjoyed your page on lens cleaning at
http://people.smu.edu/rmonagha/broncleaning.html. I noticed
I am president of Dantronix, am a research scientist and one of the
three developers of Opticlean Polymer.
We worked long and hard developing it and are constantly doing research
on improving it.
We sold some to a guy in england when we were starting out, but it's
american through and through and has been reformulated to be better and
safer on lenses.
Our web site is www.opticlean.com or www.dantronix.com. The kits are
available there in much larger quantity than the few places we used to
provide it to. Just FYI
Jim
*************************************************
James P. Hamilton, Ph.D.
Dantronix Research and Technology, LLC
180 Bayley Avenue, Platteville, WI 53818
Tel: 608-348-7353 Fax: 775-255-2872
hamiltonj@dantronix.com www.dantronix.com
From: rpn1@cornell.edu (Neuman - Ruether)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning Hoya MC UV filters.
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002
This does work well, if followed with a distilled-water
rinse... I then blow off water droplets with a good
hand air-syringe and finish with breath and a good
lens tissue (WITHOUT SILICONE IN IT!!!!).
"Alan Chan" wlachan@telus.net wrote:
>Wash it with warm tap water and dish detergent.
>>Lots of posts about UV filters recently. Made the jump and bought five
>>multi-coated filters and am discovering that they aren't easy to clean.
>>Anybody have a really good way to these clean? Thanks!
David Ruether
rpn1@cornell.edu
http://www.ferrario.com/ruether
From: Rudy Garcia rudyg@jps.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning Hoya MC UV filters.
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002
atsf3460@aol.com (ATSF3460) wrote:
> Lots of posts about UV filters recently. Made the jump and bought five
> multi-coated filters and am discovering that they aren't easy to clean.
> Anybody have a really good way to these clean? Thanks!
>
> Mike Martin / Peoria Heights, IL
Here it goes once again.
Rudy's Lens & Filter Cleaning Guide
___________________________________
Step 1.
Use a blower bulb (not a compressed gas can) to gently blow off any
particulate matter from surfaces.
Step 2.
Follow up with a lens cleaning brush (I'm partial to the "lipstick" type
of brush). Never touch the hairs on the brush, as you'll transfer your
body grease to the hairs and from there to the glass. Use the brush to
dislodge any particles that weren't blown away by step 1.
1 & 2 above are usually sufficient for most cleaning if you are careful
handling your equipment and keep you fingers off the optics, but if you
have to, then continue on to step 3.
Step 3.
Use lens cleaning tissue with a drop of lens cleaning fluid on tissue (I
use Kodak, or ROR if necessary). Wipe glass surface gently with a
circular motion, from center to edge. If a residue film resembling an
"oil slick" (ie. multicolored rainbow like film) remains after the glass
is dry, then switch to ROR (Residual Oil Remover) and repeat this step.
If the �oil slick� remains, you are most likely using too much fluid.
Thats it!
Microfiber cloth is great stuff, but I hardly ever use it. I rather use
a pristine tissue of lens cleaning paper rather than risking using a
microfiber cloth that may be harboring a small particle of grit (like a
sand grain) left over from previous use. One swipe with it and whoila!
instant "lens cleaning mark". I don�t like lens pens much for similar
reasons (using the same cleaning surface over and over), plus the carbon
dust like residue it leaves behind.
I also don't like to recommend alcohol because of its flammability.
Some of my lenses are more than 15 years old and the glass is like the
day Nikkon manufactured it.
Hope this helped.
--
Rudy Garcia
From: "Eric Miller" ericmilleratericmillerdotdynipdotcom
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning Hoya MC UV filters.
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002
In the case of tenacious oily residue on filter:
1. Remove retaining ring.
2. Remove lens
3. Dip lens into bowl of water with about a tablespoon of Dawn
dishwashing liquid.
4. Rub lens between soapy fingers.
5. Rinse
6. Dry with clean tissue
7. Blow off tissue fragments with blower brush
8. Replace lens
Eric Miller
"ATSF3460" atsf3460@aol.com wrote...
> Lots of posts about UV filters recently. Made the jump and bought five
> multi-coated filters and am discovering that they aren't easy to clean.
> Anybody have a really good way to these clean? Thanks!
>
> Mike Martin / Peoria Heights, IL
From: "Mike" nedsnake@earthlink.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning an SLR mirror
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002
For 30 years I have cleaned mirrors using 3 chemicals. First I do not use a
Q-Tip I use long fiber cotton, the kind sold rolled up under the Johnson &
Johnson label. I roll the kimwipe or cotton on a tweezers, saturate the
wipe or cotton and very lightly wipe the mirror. In the beginning I used
re-agent grade either mixed 50/50 with alcohol, nasty stuff you didn't smoke
around it. When I went to work for a shop on 14th street in NYC I used to
use a chemical product called ethyl acetate. This was used at Berkey
Marketing in both the Rapid-Omega and Konica shops. It evaporated very fast
and left no residue. The down side to this stuff was that it would mar
counter windows and other kinds of plastic but for glass and mirrors it was
the best. Next I used freon 113, it was almost as good as ethyl acetate.
Now I use a product called Techspray on mirrors and glass. It is as good as
freon 113.
Some mirror surfaces are softer than others but over all the mirror system
in an SLR is not fragile if it were it would be damaged every time you used
the camera.
...
from hasselblad mailing list:
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002
From: Craig Roberts crgrbrts@netzero.net
Subject: Re: [HUG] Mirror cleaning - a pro answers
Hurrah! My mirror is now clean and bright. Many thanks to those who replied
to my query.
Karl Wolz recommended the judicious use of breath fog and Q-Tips. Though a
little scary, the method worked perfectly. Karl, thanks for the tip (so to
speak).
I had also consulted John Hermanson, the legendary Olympus repair guru. He
has serviced several OM bodies for me and has always returned them with
spotless and undamaged mirrors and viewfinder screens (even those that were
absolutely filthy with sticky decayed foam residue). Here's his method:
"wrap lens tissue around the end of a wooden chopstick, moisten the tissue
with lens cleaning fluid and pass it over the mirror -- several times if
necessary."
To some this will sound brutal -- but John's never hurt any of my mirrors.
The pros seem to favor this sort of no-nonsense approach, like the Leica
factory service chief who, much to my horror, forcefully scrubbed my
much-prized Summicron with a well-used microfiber cloth -- with no ill
effects and sparkling results.
By the way, Jim, it wasn't the transient dust that bothered me :-). It was
the fog and the fear that moisture-trapped contaminants (tiny particles I
could see clearly)might corrode the silver.
Anyway, thanks again.
Craig
Washington, DC
From russian camera mailing list:
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002
From: "Jay Y Javier" nikitakat@edsamail.com.ph
Subject: Re: [Russiancamera] How to clean the camera body and case?
A child's toothbrush can be used to scrub off surface gunk. Used dry, it would
take out dry set dust and could make an otherwise dirty looking camera look
clean.
This toothbrush is quite small, which would allow it to scrub through tight
places, and being designed for children, would have supple bristles.
Jay
russiancamera-user@beststuff.com wrote:
>Can anyone suggest me how to clean the camera body without scratching it? I
>receives a Zorki 4 from ebay and the chrome body needs cleaning but I don't
>know if I should use light soap water or polishing wax etc?
>
>Also, can I use shoe polish to polish the leather case or any other
>substances?
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 21:00:30 -0700
From: Karl Wolz
Reply to: hasselblad@kelvin.net
To: hasselblad@kelvin.net
Subject: RE: [HUG] Mirror cleaning (somebody's got to do it)..
Craig,
I've fogged mine with my breath and used a cotton (important) Q-tip.
Technique is important here. You must not put any pressure on the
mirror surface, and you must roll the q-tip in the direction opposite to
that which you are moving it. You must also toss out the Q-tip before
you have completed a full revolution - otherwise, you'll be transferring
any dirt or grit back onto the mirror's surface. I've found that two or
three passes in perpendicular directions will usually clean up a goodly
deposit of haze.
If you use a cheap non-cotton swab, you'll get a bunch of streaking,
since the material is not absorbent.
Karl Wolz
...
From: "Jeremy 1952" jeremy@hotmail.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Has Kodak discontinued its lens-cleaning tissues??
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002
> I've been told that Kodak has stopped making the little disposable
> lens-cleaning tissues that come in yellow envelopes. Can anyone confirm or
> deny this? It sounds hard to believe, but I've had absolutely no luck
> finding these tissues anywhere in recent months.
Kodak has, indeed discontinued their in-house production of lens cleaning
tissue. However, the product is now made by Tiffen, in Rochester, NY (might
they have bought the factory from Kodak?)
I bought a couple of packages a few months ago, and they look the same as
before, even to the point of prominently displaying the red "Kodak" logo on
the bright yellow envelope.
The fine print says, "Kodak licensed product. Made in USA by Tiffen, LLC,
Rochester NY 14624. For more info: (716) 328-7800."
You might want to give them a call. They might have a mail-order
arrangement available. After all, with so many camera shops having closed
their doors, or merged, it is probable that there are wide areas of the US
that don't have a good camera supply vendor anymore.
It seems that all you can buy these days are lower-end SLRs from Ritz, all
of which come with a Quanteray cheap zoom lens . . . but that's another
story.
Cheers!
From: ihate_ms@hotmail.com (DM)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Cleaning a Hoya Super-HMC filter.
Date: 12 Sep 2002
I didn't realize this when I bought some Hoya super-HMC filters,
but the new ones advise you not to use any liquid/chemicals to
clean them. They advise you to use a soft cloth (microfiber)
instead.
Just noticed that there were a few spots of gunk on my new filter
after a day out in the rain/dirt, which refuse to go. How would
you go about cleaning this?
Thanks!
From: T.P. t.p@noemailthanks.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning a Hoya Super-HMC filter.
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002
ihate_ms@hotmail.com (DM) wrote:
>I didn't realize this when I bought some Hoya super-HMC filters,
>but the new ones advise you not to use any liquid/chemicals to
>clean them. They advise you to use a soft cloth (microfiber)
>instead.
>
>Just noticed that there were a few spots of gunk on my new filter
>after a day out in the rain/dirt, which refuse to go. How would
>you go about cleaning this?
Most of us who have used Hoya HMC filters have experienced exactly the
same problem. The only solution is never to buy a Hoya HMC filter. I
use a mixture of B+W, Heliopan, Hama and Nikon filters, all of which
are multi-coated and none of which suffer from the Hoya HMC problem.
I strongly suggest that you try cleaning your filters with running
water and a tiny amount of mild soap. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a
clean no-lint cloth. You can use lens tissue if you can be bothered
with the stuff. I can't be bothered with anything that takes time.
Beware: You must never clean a Hoya polariser with any liquid, not
even clean water, because the liquid will get into the polariser
"sandwich" and ruin it.
After years of cursing the many other brands of polariser that suffer
from this same problem, I discovered the 'Kaesemann' polarisers sold
by B+W and Heliopan. They have the edges of the sandwich sealed with
epoxy and they are waterproof. I buy mine in Germany (wholesale) and
the price is little more than the retail cost of a Hoya HMC.
Of course, if you knew the wholesale price of most filters (not just
Hoya) you would never, ever buy another! The same applies to Sigma
lenses, which have some of the highest mark-ups I have seen.
From: NickC n-chen@attbi.com
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: Re: Cleaning a Hoya Super-HMC filter.
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002
Hoya coated filters spot easily and are difficult to clean and
attempts to clean them sometimes damage the coating. I would advise
either fogging and 'gently' cleaning it with a microfiber cloth and if
that doesn't work, try wiping it 'gently' with just a small drop of
distilled water on lens tissue immediately followed by the use of a
microfiber cloth. I hope one these recommendations work for you.
If that doesn't work, give the filter to someone who recommends the
use of Hoya filters. {g}
Nick