How do u clean dust from your camera lens and is it ok to have some dust on the lens?


Soulblade88

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Apr 6, 2014
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Do you use a dry tissue, wet cloth or some solution to clean the lens.


Also i checked my lens under my room light and could not see any dust but when i shined a torch directly on the lens i could see some dust on it i think. I mean you know dust is always around us all the time whether we are indoors or outdoors and when you aim a camera at something there is bound to be dust on it. Do you think these small specks of dust will affect the quality of the picture?
 

hey... dust in the lens glass is pretty common. it shd not be affecting the image.

if it does, it is time to send in for cleaning.

for lens cleaning, i usually clean them after i use them before i place them back in the dry cabinet.

i use a solution meant for glass and a micro fiber cloth.
 

oh yes, dry tissue will leaves fibres on the glass and may make it tough to remove them it gets onto the rubber area (ie zoom rubber or focus rubber)
 

oh yes, dry tissue will leaves fibres on the glass and may make it tough to remove them it gets onto the rubber area (ie zoom rubber or focus rubber)

does the tissue scratch the glass?

Does the solution have to be a special one?

I have this brand called fellowes that can be used to clean laptop screens, lcd screens can they clean camera lens?
 

does the tissue scratch the glass?

Does the solution have to be a special one?

I have this brand called fellowes that can be used to clean laptop screens, lcd screens can they clean camera lens?

i not too sure if it will scratch cos i din try that before.

if the brand can be used to clean laptop screena or lcd, i dont see it why not it cant be used for yr lens.

but i noticed those solutions used to clean camera lens drys faster, probably leaving no chance for dust to stick to it.
 

does the tissue scratch the glass? Does the solution have to be a special one? I have this brand called fellowes that can be used to clean laptop screens, lcd screens can they clean camera lens?
I used the Pec Pad lint free non abrasive wipes and Eclipse solution which is for sensor cleaning.
 

dust found on lens is common, a few speck of dust won't show up on photos, unless you leave your lens outside for some time and have a very thick coat of dust on it.
 

Yes common have dust. Dust may get into the lens too, especially if it zoom lens.

Normally just use blower to blow 1st. If can't will use either soft brush (other end of lenspen), microfibre cloth (eg those for cleaning spectacle glass) or carbon side of Lenspen
 

Dust is everywhere. It will be impossible to keep a lens free from any dust. Zero dust not possible.

Once in a while just use a blower to blow away the dust will do.
 

Dust within the inner lens element can't be cleaned ourselves and normally won't affect the IQ. For dust on the front lens element, just use a blower. I normally won't need to use cleaning solution unless there's finger prints or oil stains.
 

For dust, if you think it's too much, just use a blower.

For stain/smudge, use isopropyl alcohol which you can get from Guardian, and a good microfibre cloth, which you can get from any decent photography shop.

Whether the dust affects the photo, probably not. If you wear spectacles, there is also dust on it all the time, you can't keep it 100% clean. Same goes for camera lenses. If not itchy.. Don't scratch.
 

I've the same problem ,can see the dirt on some photos especially if I use the zoom lens .
i've clean it with micro fibre cloth , lenspen & soft brush & use a blower but still visible when i take photo later.
My sensor cleaning no problem..no visible dust particle inside.

Not sure wat to do now !
 

I've the same problem ,can see the dirt on some photos especially if I use the zoom lens .
i've clean it with micro fibre cloth , lenspen & soft brush & use a blower but still visible when i take photo later.
My sensor cleaning no problem..no visible dust particle inside.

Not sure wat to do now !

How did you check that the sensor is free of dust? Inspection by looking at the sensor with mirror up, it's not likely that you can see the dust.
 

I've the same problem ,can see the dirt on some photos especially if I use the zoom lens .
i've clean it with micro fibre cloth , lenspen & soft brush & use a blower but still visible when i take photo later.
My sensor cleaning no problem..no visible dust particle inside.

Not sure wat to do now !

To be sure that it is not on the sensor, you need to change the lens and do the same dust test. If the dust is still at the same spot, it is on the sensor..
 

I've the same problem ,can see the dirt on some photos especially if I use the zoom lens .
i've clean it with micro fibre cloth , lenspen & soft brush & use a blower but still visible when i take photo later.
My sensor cleaning no problem..no visible dust particle inside.

Not sure wat to do now !

You need to have a very very big dust to actually affect your image quality or even see that dust speck in your photograph. As to visually able to see speck of dust on your mirror is no easy feat too.

I remember a while ago when I was shooting some birds from my window, I noticed dark dots on my photo. I checked my sensor... saw nothing there... but decided to clean it anyway. And after the cleaning, I took some test shots... and yeah... the dark spots 'vanishes'.
 

I've the same problem ,can see the dirt on some photos especially if I use the zoom lens .
i've clean it with micro fibre cloth , lenspen & soft brush & use a blower but still visible when i take photo later.
My sensor cleaning no problem..no visible dust particle inside.

Not sure wat to do now !

dust on lens usually not visible on final images unless is a very BIG piece.

and you want to spot dust on camera sensor, you need to use a sensor scope, or at less a magnifying glass.


to confirm dust on sensor, just set lens aperture on f22 or the minimum aperture your lens has, open a blank screen on your computer monitor and shoot it.
if you are using zoom lens, shoot it with different focal length lens setting.

than download the images into your computer and fire up favourite image viewer to examine the photos, you will find the spots will appear on the location even using the zoom lens, just that the size and visibility of spots change.
 

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Just my own experience. I use a clear filter in front of lens hoping to keep the dust out but I still find fine dust in there. Now I don't bother with the filter. It just adds another layer of glass to the lens.

For zoom lens, it may helps to receive first impact if you are not careful. That is about the best the clear filter could do. That is just my opinion.
 

Just something that has always been often shared regularly in a thread like this. Photos as taken by a lens with a cracked front element.

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LensRentals.com, Front Element Scratches
By Roger Cicala On 2008-10-30
 

You mean the lens crack until like that but image still ok? First time seeing this. Amazed!
Exactly, the images were taken with the front element cracks. Now you might understand how strange it is seeing people arguing about dust on front element and the "dust protector filters" sold everywhere..