Kimtech tissues and Zeiss lens cleaner work great to get your glass elements sparkling. Just a quick note: never spray the solution directly onto your lens because the excess moisture can seep into small crevices causing mold and fungous to grow internally that can’t be repaired without completely disassembling your lens.
Though your lenses may arrive on location clean and ready to go, they don’t always stay that way for long. When shooting outdoors in Hawaii, gusts of wind often introduce dust, moisture and grit to your camera resulting in the need to clean them on the spot. Having the right cleaning tools at your finger tips can mean the difference between a beautiful image and an unusable one.
Here are some of the tools we always have in our kit and the steps in which we use them:
1. Air Blower
Sometimes, this is all you need to get the dust off. Just a couple of pumps of air can detach and remove much of the small particles that end up on your glass. Yes in a pinch we sometimes blow things off with a quick huff and puff, but a glob of saliva can be worse than that small spec so be careful if/when you blow.
2. Lens Pen
I love this little tool because it’s really tiny, but a huge help. It has a retractable soft brush to remove any particles too large or stubborn for the air blower to dislodge. The flip side of the Lenspen is a sturdy non-liquid cleaning pad to buff away any smears or smudges.
3. Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes
These are individually packaged, pre-moistened wipes that are made by one of the most revered lens manufacturers in the world so you know that they’re safe for your lenses. These wipes have been extremely handy in so many situations where a dry cloth just wasn’t enough. Whether you have to remove ocean atmosphere, spray paint mist or random moisture, these wipes are a great solution.
4. Soft microfiber cloth
Once your glass is nice a clean, it’s good to give it a little buff just for good measure. If there’s a little moisture left over from the cleaning wipes this is a great, safe way to remove any excess liquid. (Two microfiber cloths come with the Zeiss lens solution mentioned above)
Since we’re often shooting outdoors and on the go, we need compact solutions that work in every environment and fit in pockets, bags or belt clips and these are some of the tools that have worked really well for us.
