I've tried a similar product on precision optical surfaces, IMO while it might work for camera lenses it would be far too fiddly for most people. It is a way to absolutely avoid scratches but the scratch risk is low using most of the techniques people have already described in this thread.has anyone tried the polymer cleaner OPTI-CLEAN? I've read you brush it on like nail polish & after it cures you pull the film off leaving an ultra clean lens.
There is a certain amount of nonsense in the link (particularly: "The haze is oil and grease that has been hydrolized (made water soluable). ") but some sense as well in the actual recommended technique. Another point made in the comments is that older cameras may have coatings on the lenses that are much softer and more prone to damge than modern coatings, in the case of an old(probably pre-1970s) camera you would want to proceed very carefully indeed and ideally stay with just brushing or blowing off dust to avoid removing the coating.Most of what I've already said is pulled from here - Dead Link Removed
...Anyhow, naphtha does that to fingerprints (hydrolyses them). That's what he's talking about. I don't know if you thought he meant something else, but I've been assured by multiple sources that this is what it does.
That's why I used the term near-neutral. I would be very cautious using it on older (pre-1970s say) coated lenses, I have had the unpleasant experience of watching simple magnesium fluoride type coatings wipe off a surface as as I tried to "clean" them at work.Windex has ammonia in it doesn't it? At least the blue variety does, I think.
Saying naptha causes hydrolysis is therefore nonsense since naptha isn't water.
First, the water spots you describe may well have next to no effect on image quality (unless the filter is on a very short focal length lens the spots will totally out of focus, worst ase they would contribute a small amount of additional flare) so one option is to leave them especially everytime you try and clean there is the risk of a scratch. If they are something that was dissolved in water and precipitated out then Windex may be effective at removing them, it is unlikely to be harmful to the coatings if it is a modern coated filter.I don't see how water itself would cause hydrolysis. Regardless of what it (naphtha) does, it still leaves spots and streaks. I've been trying really hard to rid my filter of water spots. I've tried three different cleaners and naphtha. It's really ticking me off. Will a lens pen get rid of that or does it just work on oils?
What I've tried is Dynax brand, Carrot brand, and Leland Power Clean. I've also tried lens tissues and Q-tips. Then as a last resort, breath and a microfibre cloth. It always ends up with streaks. I'm not over-saturating my tissues or Q-tips either. I've tried them from damp to hardly wetter than dust. I'm thinking of just getting another one and never touching it. I mean, I didn't TRY to touch this one, but apparently I did.
I've tried a similar product on precision optical surfaces, IMO while it might work for camera lenses it would be far too fiddly for most people. It is a way to absolutely avoid scratches but the scratch risk is low using most of the techniques people have already described in this thread.
Yes, it is a bit spendy; I actualy do have a lot of lens to celan at work and even so I don't ike it!I seem to recall Roger Hicks using it with some scepticism but being converted once he had done. The problem with Opti-clean as I now recall is its price due to the quantitiy it is sold in. You'd need an awful lot of lenses to clean before it would be worthwhile buying.
pentaxuser
Which I believe consists of ammonium carbonate in water, so a mildly alkaline solution which should all evaporate or decompose leaving no soldi residue.I use to use the Kodak stuff which was made by Tiffen. Kodak stopped offering it an Tiffen now sells it under the Tiffen name so I use that. Great stuff.
Does anyone use those lenspens?
I try to clean my lens only when necessary. While blowing my lens with a bulb and brusing away debris with a camel's-hair brush most often gets the lens reasonably clean, sometimes lens cleaing fluid is in order. I have been using Kodak lens cleaning fluid, with the Kodak lens cleaning tissues. I find that, at least with my technique, the Kodak fluid tends to leave a thin smeary residue, and I wipe the lens surface more than I want to to try to get the lens clear. I would appreciate your recommendations on a safe lens cleaning fluid that does a good job, and of course your techniques for cleaning lenses. Thanks. John
I have always had the same problem with Kodak lens cleaner. I have some other brands that don't have that problem but what I most often use to clean lenses now is .. vodka. Works well with no residue.I know this is an old thread, but I was digging through to see if I was the only one with the problem. I have a bottle of kodak lens cleaner that is about 20 years old now, and every time I try to use it it deposits the ugliest white film. Does it go bad? I tried to use it with pec pads, but the pads don't seem to work nearly as well as the cheap zeiss individual packets.
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