Dirty lenses—fingerprints, dust, dirt, lint, fibers, food or beverage bits, even rainwater droplets—
can diminish image quality. And, depending upon the offending abrasiveness or chemical
composition of the particulate, it can even permanently damage your expensive lens. Periodic
lens cleaning should become part of your photographic routine. It needn’t be an elaborate nor
time-consuming process if you follow a few basic principles:
■ Before applying any cloth or solvent, use a small camel’s hair brush or rubber bulb to remove
dirt or dust. That will keep you from inadvertently rubbing abrasive particles into the lens.
■ Use only soft, lint-free tissues or cloth to touch the lens. Never apply pressure when
cleaning.
■ Use a rubber bulb to blow dust off the lens. Canned pressurized air projects a stream of liquid,
which is so ultra-cold that it can actually crack the glass. However, you can use canned
air to clean the lens barrel.
■ If you wish to apply a liquid lens cleaner, use only a solvent specifically designed for a camera
lens. Eyeglass solvents can be caustic and eventually damage the thin color-coated
layer on the front elements of your lens. We actually prefer gently blowing our moist breath
onto the lens rather than using a commercial cleaning lens solvent.
■ Never apply any liquid solvent directly onto the lens. Instead, trickle a few drops onto a lintfree
tissue or cloth.
■ Clean in a circular motion, outward from the center of the lens to the edges.
■ When not in use, store your lens in a camera bag or lens case with both the front and rear
caps on.
Lastly, don’t be obsessive/compulsive about cleaning your lenses. Overcleaning can negatively
affect your lens’s color coating.
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