How do you clean your lens?

[stillviking]

Hello guys,

I would like to know how do you clean your lens. I normally use a liquid from Hama and a microfiber cloth but it's very hard to do a perfect clean. At first glance it looks fine, but if you put it in the light and start rotating the front element it always seems to have stains or dust stuck on it.

What's your experience?

Thanks!

 

[Maximilian]

Optics/glass:
I try to avoid touching them.
I blow away dust with a bellows or a soft dust brush.
If there are spots/finger prints I take these Zeiss lens wipes. Not cheap, but they work for me.

Barrel/non optic surfaces:
If there is dirt, I first try to remove it with a brush or only slightly damp cleaning cloth


Edit: So much about dirt and scratches on the front element:

Front Element Scratches

We had a chance to make a pretty fun demonstration today, and here it is. As most of you know, we’re very finicky about our gear. We don’t like even tiny scratches on front elements or dust in a lens (although a bit of that is inevitable). We’re like you. We want the lens to [...]

www.lensrentals.com

How Front Element Scratches Affect Your Images

We have a lot of gear in our inventory, which means we also have a lot of broken gear in the middle of repairs. When it comes to lenses, one thing we see a lot in the repair department is front element scratches. And that makes sense, when a lens is mounted, it's the single [...]

www.lensrentals.com

 

[neuroanatomist]

I have a front filter (B+W clear, typically, but B+W UV on some lenses), and I clean that with a Rocket Blower then, if needed, a LensPen FilterKlear. For a lens without a front filter, I use the blower and a regular LensPen. If more is needed, I have Zeiss cleaning fluid that I use with a PecPad.

A little dust on the front of your lens will typically make no difference in your images.