Wasted $150 on a 'trick' lens cleaning kit that ruined my glass

I bought this ultrasonic cleaning kit from a guy at a camera swap meet in Portland for $150. Used it on a vintage 50mm f/1.4 and the solution etched the coating off the front element. Stick to lens tissue and fluid for cleaning, save your cash. Anyone else get burned by one of these gadgets?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.abby19d ago

...and nobody's talking about what that "solution" actually was. Those swap meet guys sometimes mix up their own batches using ammonia based cleaners or even Windex. That stuff will eat through vintage coatings in seconds, ultrasonic or not. I bet if you tested that solution on a piece of plain glass it would have clouded it up too. The real scam might not be the ultrasonic part, it's the mystery liquid they sell with it.

adam_patel19d ago

Did you check if your vintage lens had a coating that reacts badly with ultrasound?

phoenixb3419d ago

Yeah I read somewhere that some of those old coatings are actually radioactive, so the ultrasound might be the least of their worries.