lily70•20d ago

That moment I realized everyone's been cleaning lenses wrong

I was at a camera swap meet in Portland last month and watched three people in a row pull out their t-shirts to wipe a lens... one even had a greasy spot from lunch. My mentor back in the 90s drilled into me to use a rocket blower first, then a microfiber cloth only if you have to. Just saying, you're probably pushing dirt into the coating with that shirt move. Has anyone else caught themselves cringing at a repair shop when they see this?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona98520d ago

I swapped stories with a repair tech in Seattle and he said t-shirt fibers are actually worse than dust for scratching the coating. I always do the blower thing first too, but I keep a lenspen in my bag for the stubborn smudges. People don't realize how much grit gets trapped in fabric.

ninas6720d ago

Oh man, isn't that just the worst? I literally did that last week with my glasses (cheap reading ones, thank goodness) and now there's this tiny micro-scratch right in the center that catches the light funny. I feel your pain about the t-shirt thing too - I always thought I was being careful but now I'm paranoid about every little thread. That lenspen idea is genius though, I might have to steal that one.

rubysingh20d ago

Wait, are we really blaming t-shirt fibers over just not cleaning your glasses at all? I've been wiping mine on my shirt for years and never had a scratch that wasn't my own fault for dropping them.