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Cleaning Cameras
Smudges and dirt get removed from the outside of the filter with my t-shirt or whatever
else seems handy at the moment.
Shine a flashlight through your lens. Anything that is illuminated is effectively scattering
light. Think about that. On an ideal lens, you wouldn't even be able to see the glass.
A high powered flashlight will allow you to discover just how much dust actually resides
on elements that are inaccessable. Zoom lenses seem to get the most dust internally,
probably due to fluctuating air volumes within the lens tube. The amount of internal dust
may convince you that cleaning the two exterior surfaces is rather trivial.
With a high powered flashlight, you may also discover the effects of over cleaning a lens.
The light will illuminate all those microscopic scratches in the glass left by cleaning
procedures.
I have also seen some lenses with oil residues on inner elements. These oil residues will
take the form of fogging, spotting or streaking. I suspect that factory-applied lubricants are
to blame here.
In one extreme case, using a flashlight I saw a smudge with a small fingerprint on an
internal element. This same lens happens to be the sharpest one in my collection (a 50 mm
prime). Since this realization, I have devoted much less attention to the cleanliness of my
lenses.
A little scattered light seems to be ok.
-- Alan Wallace Jr, March 7, 2001
General advice.
1. Use a bulb blower to dust off your lenses periodically. This is one of the safest ways to
clean the glass.
2. Use alcohol and lens tissues or cotton balls to clean persistent grime off the glass. I use
ordinary alcohol rather than special lens cleaning solutions, because it evaporates quickly,
wipes clean easily, and leaves no streaks.
3. Use a lens hood on every lens, and consider an eyecup for your camera's viewfinder.
These accessories help protect the glass from fingers, dust, facial oils, air pollution, impact,
etc. They also deliver more contrast to your eye and to the film, by blocking extraneous
light.
4. Use your lens caps when you finish taking pictures, and when you change lenses. This
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