I have a few lenses for my DSLR and after 3 years of moderate use, they are starting to look a little grungy. I’ve been using cleaning fluid (can’t remember the brand) and microfiber cloths, but the results are less than perfect, with lots of swirl marks and haze. Maybe I’m not being aggressive enough, but I’m scared of screwing up the coatings or scratching something. So, camera people, what’s the best way (or your way) of cleaning camera lenses and filters? What about the mirror and sensor? It seems like it would be a bad idea to touch anything inside the camera body, but surely there is some accumulation of dirt there.
First of all not once every three years.
I clean mine weekly and after any outing that involved a lot of wind and dirt. Cleaning with liquid and either microfiber or disposable lense cleaning cloths is the best but it takes practice. Typically I use one to get rid of dirt and one slightly damp one to get rid or the swirl marks.
Also, you should have a filter on you lenses, a simple UV filter will protect your expensive glass from wear and tear.
I tend to do this as well, as does my photojournalist buddy and his co-workers. But to be fair there are conflicting opinions on its value. For instance, Thom Hogan isn’t a fan of the practice. And while I can’t find it at the moment ( it was on the dpreview forums ), I know I’ve recently seen a discussion on the Nikon 70-300 mm lens that seemed to demonstrate clear degradation at the long end of the lens ( where it is softer anyway if not stopped down some ) with a UV filter in place.
I wouldn’t bother cleaning the sensor unless you can actually see spots on your photos from sensor dirt, because you can damage the sensor if you aren’t very careful. If you need to, use a specialized sensor cleaning kit. There are a couple of brands available, but since I’ve never had to do it, I can’t recommend a specific one.
Sometimes it’s enough to use a rubber bulb air blower to clear the dust. DO NOT use canned air to clean a sensor. If any of the propellant gets inside your camera, you’re in trouble.
Thanks guys. I should have be clearer, I put a UV filter on the front of every lens I own as a matter of course. Also, this is not the first time I’ve cleaned the lenses and filters, it’s that I’m becoming concerned that my attempts to clean them without doing any harm are not sufficient, resulting in a slow accumulation of crud.
What kind of fluid is good? How about brands of cloths? Do the different types of coatings need to be treated differently? Is it safe to clean the rear element in the same way as the front? How about polarizers? Is it necessary to use distilled water for anything? Should the fluid go on the cloth or the item to be cleaned? Is it better to use a circular or linear motion? How much pressure?
I suppose I’m being a bit paranoid, but it would be a very expensive screw up fmor my budget to absorb.