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Nobody 
wants a fingerprint or smudge in the middle of their prize photos. Keeping your camera lens is important, but should be done only when needed. With proper storage, in a camera case with a lens cover on, the number of cleanings required will be minimal. Much cheaper than a professional cleaning, these simple, effective cleaning steps can clean your camera right at home.
You Will Need:
- Camel hair lens brush
- Blower brush
- Lens cleaning cloth or lens cleaning tissue
- Lens cleaner
Steps to Clean the Lens:
- Start by using the blower brush to remove as much dust and loose dirt as possible.
- Next, use a camel hair lens brush to gently remove any remaining dirt. If you don’t have one of these, a soft, clean paintbrush can be used instead.
- Use your breath or a drop of lens cleaner to moisten the lens surface.
- Wipe it clean with a lens cleaning cloth or lens cleaning tissue. If you don’t have one of these you can use a soft old t-shirt or microfiber cloth. Wipe in a circular motion starting from the center and working outward.
- If your lens is removable, clean the back of it using the same process.
Additional Tips and Advice
- If you don’t have a blower brush, a clean, unused ear syringe can be used instead.
- Do not use rubbing alcohol, eye glass cleaner or eye glass tissues to clean a lens. The chemicals included in these products can be damaging to the lens surface.
- Try to clean your lens with as little contact as needed. The more contact and wiping, the higher risk of scratches or damage to the lens surface.
- Only clean your lens when needed to avoid any damage.
- Never clean wipe your lens while it is dry as a single grain of sand or dirt could scratch it.
- Professional cleanings can be costly, but will give your camera a thorough cleaning. When your camera needs more than this level of cleaning, contact a professional to have all parts properly cleaned.
Sources:
- Cleaning Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin
- Clean It Fast, Clean It Right by Jeff Bredenberg
Same here, my camera lens got submerged; how can I make sure (even though I think it’s already dry) that it’s not gonna destroy the lens because maybe there is still residues and stuff. Please let me know if I have to go to Olympus to get my lens cleaned.
I have three camera lenses that were submerged in water during the recent flood in GA. My Pentax lens has water in-between the two lenses that I can not get dry. Any suggestions by anyone would be appreciated. The flood has already cost me $40,000 so any suggestions would help. Or if you know of a cheap place to get it fixed?
Carol,
You can try putting the lens in a small sealed container with a dehumidifier like DampRid. A cheap dehumidifier option is to use a bowl of baking soda. It may take only a few hours or it may take several days to absorb all the moisture.
It is absolutely critical to have a skylight filter on all of one’s lenses at all times! This way, one will just scratch/damage $15 worth of equipment instead of a couple of hundred (or more).
An eyeglass cleaning kit is not the same as a camera lens cleaning kit. Quality camera lenses are much more delicate and easier to damage than the tough glass or plastic your reading glasses are made from.
Use a lens cap any time you’re not using the camera, and use a filter over your lens if your camera is the type that will take one (it will have little screw-posts to hold the filter). Touch your lens as little as possible. And never wash and re-use a lens cleaning cloth, if the cloth gets dirty or starts to smear or streak the lens, throw it away and buy a new cloth.
You can get dirt and other dry particles off a lens or out of a camera by using a can of compressed air, the kind you use to clean computers and keyboards with.
If you have a really good camera and you want to take care of it, get a lens cleaning kit. They don’t cost very much. The kit will have a soft little brush for brushing away dirt or sand, a no-scratch no-fuzz lens cleaning cloth, and special lens cleaning fluid. Be sure you follow the directions that come with your camera, or at least the ones that come with the kit.