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Post by sinedyar on Jan 14, 2006 10:03:04 GMT -5
In my Yahoo camera forum, I've at times been asked about using compressed air for cleaning. I always advise not using it for cameras and lenses. It's power can drive dirt into the lens or camera, and can also put moisture into sensitive electronic areas.
I also advise not using cotton swabs, as cotton fibers will usually be left where one cleans.
Denis
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jan 14, 2006 12:19:47 GMT -5
I agree about using compressed air and cotton swabs, Denis ... except that I have sometimes been guilty of using a cotton swab (Q Tip) and window cleaner on the underside of a dirty focusing screen.
With a really dusty camera I have in the past used the empty casing from a cheap throwaway ball point pen attached by a plastic tube and another pen body plus a cork with a hole in it to the end of a domestic vacuum cleaner hose (make sure the cleaner sucks and doesn't blow!).
The small area of the pen 'nozzle' gives quite a concentrated suck, and I have used it for pulling out swarf when I have had to drill and retap a hole.
It's also useful for drying off the mechanism of a Compur or other leaf shutter after flood cleaning as it pulls the dirty solvent out instead of leaving the old oil behind, as often happens if the solvent dries naturally.
HOWEVER, IF ANYONE TRIES THIS DON'T PUT THE NOZZLE NEAR SHUTTER BLADES OR APERTURE BLADES, NOR NEAR THE SHUTTER BLINDS OF A FOCAL PLANE SHUTTER. THE SUCTION IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DAMAGE THEM.
Peter
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Post by sinedyar on Jan 14, 2006 13:59:06 GMT -5
Peter:
God tip and warning. Hope I never need to use it, :-) but will remember it just in case!
Denis
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Post by kamera on Jan 17, 2006 8:33:59 GMT -5
I never use compressed air cans; besides the scattering of dirt, if that can is not held perfectly straight you most certainly get moisture squirted out and makes more of a mess.
Always check out my equipment before leaving the house, as well as before putting it away, and, if needed, I use the contents from a 'Clens-Kit' purchased from General Production Services in Anaheim, CA.
It consists of:
1. Optical grade cleaning cloths. 2. Optical grade cotton cleaning tips. 3. Solutions for cleaning coated optics, uncoated optics and plastic.
Supposedly...I never do quite trust advertising/marketing themes...this kit is for "professional grade" optics in professional and scientific applications, including photographic equipment.
I do keep my gear in good condition, so very seldom have to resort to any wet applications to it.
For the field I carry the above mentioned wipes and a baby's nose suctioning bulb. It is small yet produces a sufficient force of plain air when the bulb is squeezed. It rather compares to the large rubber air blowers you can get in photographic stores and can be a pain to carry due to their size.
Ron Head Kalamazoo, MI
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Post by sinedyar on Jan 17, 2006 15:07:04 GMT -5
Ron:
I, too, keep good care of my equipment and it's not often I need do any cleaning, but I also use blower balls and optical quality, micro fiber cleaning clothes, as well as optical quality cleaning solution and lens pens.
Denis
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Post by kiev4a on Jan 17, 2006 16:11:51 GMT -5
The micro fiber cloth is one of the best things to happen in the camera field. a MF cloth will get the grime out of the almost invisible pores in a camera's finish and make the "chrome" look like new. If the cloth hasn'r been used for any other cleaning purposes where it would pick up abrasive particles, it's also good for cleaning lenses--less likely to scratch, I think, than lens tissue
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Jan 17, 2006 16:49:13 GMT -5
I too find the microfiber cloth excellent for cleaning lenses. I do have a ritual for cleaning my lenses that I adhere to strictly. First, I try to blow off the dust or other foreign body. If that does not work I use a soft brush, that is used only for this purpose and is kept enclosed (I have two. One in what looks like a lipstick tube and the other in what appears to be a small fountain pen) when not in use, to very gently brush the glass, being careful to get right to the edges of the glass. (I have another brush for dusting the rest of the lens and camera body). Should there still remain anything unwanted on the lens I then breath on it and use the microfiber cloth or a Q Tip. I find Q Tips very useful for all kinds of camera cleaning chores and don't mind picking off the occasional fiber. I never use lens cleaning fluid as I find it too uncontrollably wet. Nor do I use lens cleaning papers or the "Lenspen", both of which seem to me to be ideal instruments for grinding grit into the glass. For the rest of the camera the second mentioned brush is good as is a length of butchers' cotton twine to get into those tiny crevices between the various controls. I don't usually clean my equipment before I put the cameras away as I know they will gather dust in storage so I wait until I take them out to use them.
Mickey
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Post by sinedyar on Jan 18, 2006 3:32:21 GMT -5
Mickey:
I only use a lenspen as a last resort, when cleaning with a dampened lens cloth doesn’t quite do the job on a stubborn stain. So I do have them, even though they are very rarely used.
I also would never pour or spray a lens solution on the lens, but always wet a lenscloth with the solution for cleaning.
Denis
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Post by kamera on Jan 18, 2006 18:49:42 GMT -5
And it really does not take much cleaning solution on the cloth...a rather small amount is best and use a circular motion from the center of the lens outward.
I also do carry the microfiber cloths...in fact a couple with the container marked as to the particular use...glass, metal.
The MF cloths are all I use on my eyeglasses also!
Ron Head Kalamazoo, MI
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Post by sinedyar on Jan 18, 2006 18:59:17 GMT -5
Ron:
Quite true. A bottle of cleaning solution can last me for many years.
Denis
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