Lens Cleaning
Camera lens cleaning can become one of the most complicated tasks for a beginner photographer. The common method of wiping it off from a cloth not only damages the lens but it leaves more prints on the lens than wiping them off. Therefore lens cleaning should be carried out with care knowing that there are different tactics to use on different cameras.
For example, if you own an ordinary digital camera, cleaning the lens all by yourself could become a task next to impossible. If in case you’ve got a professional camera, the task can be even more complicated although doable. When it comes to cleaning lenses there are special products and ways of using them. Therefore, a thorough read through your camera’s manual would be a good place to start off with.
First of all, it is important to get to know the surface coats that have been used on your lens. If you are wondering why such technical details are important, well the simple answer is that you ought to take every precaution to avoid damage to your lens while lens cleaning. These surface coats are in fact, responsible for the lighting arrangements inside the camera such as distributing light, ghosting and aberrations therefore; a slight scratch on the coating while lens cleaning can put you in trouble.
Blower brushes are ideal for lens cleaning as they can easily remove dirt and grid from the lenses without causing much harm. As opposed to the popular way of wiping off finger prints using the first piece of cloth that you could find, it is important to switch to a soft, delicate material such as cotton balls. One issue in using cotton balls for lens cleaning is that some of it tends to leave behind cotton particles on the lens. Therefore, a professionally designed soft cloth is the ideal for lens cleaning, if you can get hold of it.
A common issue in lens cleaning is on how to remove greasy stains. Sometimes, such marks and stains require assistance of a liquid to come out clean. The regularly used eau de colognes can be the worst to start off with as it can damage the coating. Therefore, it is advisable that you settle for professional lens cleaning liquids at any given time, no matter how big or small the stain is! Finally, do not get in to lens cleaning unless it is absolutely necessary because it is a delicate job that carries a lot of risks. Therefore, it needs to be handled with care!