Cleaning a sony digital Lens

In article ,
wrote:
I just bought a store model sony dsc hx20v,
and the lens is very dirty, with what appears to be smudges

is there a best way to clean the lens?

I have some cleaning packets, made for monitors & len's,
although they seem to be a little dried out.

Or maybe a Qtip, with some kind of fluid?
What kind of fluid would I use, or not use?

Most camera stores (if you are lucky enough to have one) can sell you
a microfiber cloth and some fluid suitable for cleaning lenses.

Or you can buy kits on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

The second one contains the first one as a subset in addition to some other
handy items for the same total price, but does not have the possibility of
free shipping.


--
Please reply to: |"We establish no religion in this country, we command
pciszek at panix dot com | no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever.
Autoreply is disabled | Church and state are, and must remain, separate."
| --Ronald Reagan, October 26, 1984

On 2013-06-18 13:09:52 -0700, (Paul Ciszek) said:


In article ,
wrote:
I just bought a store model sony dsc hx20v,
and the lens is very dirty, with what appears to be smudges

is there a best way to clean the lens?

I have some cleaning packets, made for monitors & len's,
although they seem to be a little dried out.

Or maybe a Qtip, with some kind of fluid?
What kind of fluid would I use, or not use?

Most camera stores (if you are lucky enough to have one) can sell you
a microfiber cloth and some fluid suitable for cleaning lenses.

Or you can buy kits on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

The

second one contains the first one as a subset in addition to some other
handy items for the same total price, but does not have the possibility of
free shipping.

Good advise.

I would add that a Qtip or cotton bud is a poor choice due the
abrasive quality of cotton and which has the potential of damaging lens
coatings.

A blower such as a Giotto's Rocket is useful to blow moveable dust and
contaminants from the lens surface before wipe cleaning. Do not use
"canned air"! A brush also works for this task.

Then as recommended above a microfiber cloth or Pec Pads are the way to
go. Also for persistent spots a non-water fluid should be used. I
recommend Eclipse Optical Cleaner.

http://photosol.com/

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 6/18/2013 4:44 PM, Savageduck wrote:
On 2013-06-18 13:09:52 -0700, (Paul Ciszek) said:


In article ,
wrote:
I just bought a store model sony dsc hx20v,
and the lens is very dirty, with what appears to be smudges

is there a best way to clean the lens?

I have some cleaning packets, made for monitors & len's,
although they seem to be a little dried out.

Or maybe a Qtip, with some kind of fluid?
What kind of fluid would I use, or not use?

Most camera stores (if you are lucky enough to have one) can sell you
a microfiber cloth and some fluid suitable for cleaning lenses.

Or you can buy kits on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid


http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid


The

second one contains the first one as a subset in addition to some other
handy items for the same total price, but does not have the
possibility of
free shipping.

Good advise.

I would add that a Qtip or cotton bud is a poor choice due the abrasive
quality of cotton and which has the potential of damaging lens coatings.

A blower such as a Giotto's Rocket is useful to blow moveable dust and
contaminants from the lens surface before wipe cleaning. Do not use
"canned air"! A brush also works for this task.

Then as recommended above a microfiber cloth or Pec Pads are the way to
go. Also for persistent spots a non-water fluid should be used. I
recommend Eclipse Optical Cleaner.

http://photosol.com/


Unflavored vodka or denatured alcohol will work.Just dapen part of the
cloth, and use the other part for drying. The trick is not to rub, just pat.

--
PeterN

On 19/06/2013 04:01, peternew wrote:
On 6/18/2013 4:44 PM, Savageduck wrote:

Then as recommended above a microfiber cloth or Pec Pads are the way to
go. Also for persistent spots a non-water fluid should be used. I
recommend Eclipse Optical Cleaner.

http://photosol.com/


Unflavored vodka or denatured alcohol will work.Just dapen part of the
cloth, and use the other part for drying. The trick is not to rub, just
pat.

I'd be surprised if either were pure enough although it depends exactly
what they were flavoured or denatured with. Isopropanol that has been
stored in a glass bottle is one of the better lens cleaners.

I am old school and prefer a strip of lens tissue for cleaning lenses.

You can buy lens cleaner from any photodealer, but you should be *very*
gentle when cleaning and leave as little residual solvent on the surface
as possible. Under no circumstances scour the surface or rub hard as
every tiny scratch diminishes the contrast of the image.

Paradoxically a "dirty" lens still works pretty well unless you are
facing into the sun with the front surface illuminated! You can easily
make things permanently worse by too frequent or aggressive cleaning.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 6/19/2013 2:31 AM, Martin Brown wrote:
On 19/06/2013 04:01, peternew wrote:
On 6/18/2013 4:44 PM, Savageduck wrote:

Then as recommended above a microfiber cloth or Pec Pads are the way to
go. Also for persistent spots a non-water fluid should be used. I
recommend Eclipse Optical Cleaner.

http://photosol.com/


Unflavored vodka or denatured alcohol will work.Just dapen part of the
cloth, and use the other part for drying. The trick is not to rub, just
pat.

I'd be surprised if either were pure enough although it depends exactly
what they were flavoured or denatured with. Isopropanol that has been
stored in a glass bottle is one of the better lens cleaners.

I am old school and prefer a strip of lens tissue for cleaning lenses.

You can buy lens cleaner from any photodealer, but you should be *very*
gentle when cleaning and leave as little residual solvent on the surface
as possible. Under no circumstances scour the surface or rub hard as
every tiny scratch diminishes the contrast of the image.

Paradoxically a "dirty" lens still works pretty well unless you are
facing into the sun with the front surface illuminated! You can easily
make things permanently worse by too frequent or aggressive cleaning.


Yes isopropyol alcohol will work too. You can't overstate the importance
of not rubbing, or using excess fluid.

--
PeterN

In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:

Paradoxically a "dirty" lens still works pretty well unless you are
facing into the sun with the front surface illuminated! You can easily
make things permanently worse by too frequent or aggressive cleaning.

That is why I put a clear lens protector on the lens first thing, when
it is clean and pristene and new, and obsessively clean the protector
instead.

--
Please reply to: |"We establish no religion in this country, we command
pciszek at panix dot com | no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever.
Autoreply is disabled | Church and state are, and must remain, separate."
| --Ronald Reagan, October 26, 1984

In article , says...

In article ,
wrote:
I just bought a store model sony dsc hx20v,
and the lens is very dirty, with what appears to be smudges

is there a best way to clean the lens?

I have some cleaning packets, made for monitors & len's,
although they seem to be a little dried out.

Or maybe a Qtip, with some kind of fluid?
What kind of fluid would I use, or not use?

Most camera stores (if you are lucky enough to have one) can sell you
a microfiber cloth and some fluid suitable for cleaning lenses.

Or you can buy kits on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Optical-...cleaning+fluid

The second one contains the first one as a subset in addition to some other
handy items for the same total price, but does not have the possibility of
free shipping.

If there's a Harbor Freight near you they'll sell you a bag of big
microfiber cloths for 6 bucks that work fine. For lens cleaning one bag
should last several generations of photographers. For cleaning fluid
isopropyl alcohol, possibly diluted with distilled water, works fine.

Another option is a dust blower and a LensPen.
http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-AA1900-Rocket-Blaster-
Large/dp/B00017LSPI/ref=pd_sim_p_1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...en_NLP_1_NLP_1
_Lenspen.html

Note--be careful about the LensPen--there are some fakes out there that
fall apart after a couple of uses--make sure you buy from a reliable
online source or a local dealer where you can return it easily. Before
you buy on Amazon read the reviews--they're apparently getting some
fakes from whoever supplied them.