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How to Clean Camera Lenses & Filters - by Clive Bryson

Scratches & dirt in the form of dust, fingerprints or other foreign matter can greatly degrade the image quality that your equipment is capable of. Any foreign material on any external surface of lenses & filters will serve to scatter & diffuse light causing images that are not sharp and lack proper contrast. There is little point in buying the best lenses & filters if you don’t keep them clean & free from scratches. The following is a list of stuff you should have to perform proper cleaning;

Soft lens brush

Rubber type lens blower

Lens cleaning fluid (Kodak) or (ROR) the best!

Lens tissue (Kodak)

Canned air (Dust Off)

“SpeckGrabber” cleaning tool

Microfiber lens cleaning cloth (Pentax)

Q tips (from your pharmacy)

This is the procedure that I use for lenses:

Remove filter from the lens & remove the lens from the camera which should be capped to prevent dust from entering inside & contaminating either the sensor or mirror.

Under a good light, visually inspect both the front & back of the lens to determine the degree of contamination.

If possible work in a clean area & start by blowing the lens surfaces with your rubber blower. Re-examine the surfaces & if dust remains, carefully try to remove it with the lens brush with a gentle circular motion. I do not recommend using canned air directly on your lenses as they can sometimes deposit liquid directly onto the lens or even can abrade the glass coating on the lens by the sheer velocity of the air if held too close.

If any non dust type contamination still remains, take a lens tissue & apply a small amount (1 drop) of lens cleaner to it & wipe (with a circular motion) the lens very gently with the moistened tissue. Never drip lens cleaner onto your lens. It can go inside & require the lens to be professionally disassembled for cleaning.

Stubborn marks can sometimes be removed by wrapping a lens tissue around the end of a Q-tip. Moisten the tissue again with a very small drop of lens cleaning fluid. Locally try to remove the offending thumb print or salt spray.

A micro fiber lens cloth can be finally used to gently polish the lens.

Have a separate set of cleaning material to clean your camera viewfinder & LCD screen. The reason for this is you don’t want to transfer grease from your viewfinder or LCD screen to your lenses. Both these components are subject to picking up oils from your nose, eyelashes & fingers.

Filters can be cleaned in a similar manner to lenses except using the canned air is not so much of a concern as filters don’t have internal surfaces. Treat polar filters like lenses (no canned air).

The “SpeckGrabber”can be used to remove very stubborn marks that can’t be removed by other means.

Remember to always keep your lenses capped when not in use. The caps should also be cleaned out as they too can be responsible for depositing contamination on your newly cleaned lens.

Another important reason to keep the rear of your lens clean is to prevent cross contamination of your sensor or mirror.
5th Avenue Seniors Activity Centre
​170 5 Ave SE, Salmon Arm, BC 
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Quote of the Month:

​"Great photography is about
depth of feeling, not depth of field."
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- Peter Adams -
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  • HOME PAGE
  • FIELD TRIPS AND WORKSHOPS
    • Off Camera Flash 102_March
    • Off Camera Flash 101_March
    • Off Camera Flash 102_January
    • Off Camera Flash 101_January
    • Snowy Evening-Salmon Arm
    • Painting with Light Workshop
    • Three Valley Gap
    • Three of a Kind
    • Kamloops - Salmon Arm Photo-Shoot
    • Low Light Photography
  • CLUB INFORMATION
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Members Only - password required >
      • Membership List
      • Themes >
        • Altered Reality
        • B&W Photography
        • Judging Photographs
        • Landscape
        • Motion
        • Nature & Wildlife
        • Reflections
        • Portraiture
        • Vertical Panoramas
        • Weather
        • Work Place Photography
  • MEMBERS GALLERIES
    • A - K >
      • Beverly Bleasdale
      • Bob Boxall
      • Jo-Anne Gardner
      • Bruce Gunion
      • Sheri Hamilton
      • Richard Kyllo
    • L - Z >
      • Len Lazzarotto
      • Stuart Matthews
      • Brian Mohr
      • Lorie Moore
      • Carolyn Morgan
      • Martin & Myrtle Kyllo
      • Noreen Sadiwnyk
      • Henry Schnell
      • Sue Stillings
      • Florence Thompson
      • Jim Wright
    • UNDER CONSTRUCTION >
      • Shirley Barg
      • Pat Hutchins
      • Dave Woods
  • CUSTOM GALLERIES
    • Judging Gallery 2025
    • 2025 Competition Entries >
      • CAPA Curves & Lines 2025
      • North Shore Challenge - 2025
      • Colour Inspiration - 2025
    • 2024 Competition Entries >
      • CAPA Black & White 2024
      • CAPA Nature/Wildlife - 2024
      • CAPA Honorable Mentions
      • CAPA Open Competition 2024
      • Canada, My Country 2024
      • CAPA - 2024 - Colour Competition
    • RCMP Musical Ride - 2023
    • 2023 COMPETITION ENTRIES >
      • Canada: My Country 2023
      • Black & White Challenge 2023
      • CAPA B&W Club Entries-2023
      • CAPA Nature Competition Fall - 2023
      • Photo Journalism - 2023
      • North Shore Challenge-2023
    • 2021-22 Competition Entries >
      • October - 2022 - Nature Competition
      • November - 2022 - Monochrome
      • September Images Gallery
      • October Nature Images
      • November Open Iages
      • April - Canada, My Country
      • Monochrome Images
    • Shuswap Community Foundation
    • Mary Thomas - R. J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum
  • EDUCATIONAL - ARTICLES
    • Bird Photography
    • Camera and Lens Care
    • Salmon arm fair
    • How to prepare a mat for your display photos
    • How To Take Sharp Pictures