Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Neatness and cleanliness is not a function of how rich or poor you are but that of mentality and principle.” ―
As some readers may know, I’m an automotive enthusiast and if you also like cars please visit my car photography website/blog. This brings me to a story about my friend Bob. He is a Porsche-owner friend from Maryland and he always claimed that a clean car—he was specifically talking about Porsches—ran better and faster than a dirty one. He felt that the car received better care and maintenance because when a mechanic worked on a clean car with a spotless engine compartment they would be inspired to do a better job. While on the face of it that doesn’t seem likely, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. All of which brings me to…
Keeping Your Lens Clean
I feel the same way about having a clean camera as Bob did about his Porsche, which is one reason why I use LensPen products to clean my camera lenses, LCD screens and viewfinders (including EVF’s) to remove dust and smudges that seemingly appear out of nowhere. That’s why l keep a LensPen in each of my camera bags.
A few years ago when attending a PhotoWalk at California’s Mission San Antonio de Padua (above photo) one of the attendees saw me using a LensPen to clean my lens and asked to borrow it. Before long almost everyone attending the PhotoWalk borrowed it from me to clean their lenses. Good thing a LensPen can be used for more than 500 cleanings.
Which LensPen to Use?
You can use the LensPen on all optical lenses, LCD, plasma and glass surfaces. It’s perfect for cleaning camera lenses, binocular lenses, small aperture spotting scopes and telescope eyepieces.
A LensPen has a retractable natural hair brush that’s useful for knocking off chunks of dust from your photo gear and has a soft chamois-like tip on the other end to remove any lens smudges. The tip uses a carbon based cleaning compound to reduces electrostatic charges that attract dust to a lens surface and replenishes itself after each use. Since a LensPen doesn’t require cleaning fluid or lens tissue, it creates no trash, so its ecologically friendly, something that especially important when shooting at ;pcations like this historic Mission.
The original LensPen measures 4.33-inches (11cm) long with a round cleaning tip measuring slightly less than on-half-inch (12mm) in diameter and has a non-liquid cleaning element that’s designed never to dry out. The LensPen slips into a pocket and is easy to use. Here’s how:
- Use the retractable brush to lightly remove any dust from your lens
- Twist off the cap and move the cleaning tip in circular motions to clean the lens. If any smudges remain, gently breath on the lens and repeat.
- LensPens are designed to be used with dry, optical glass surfaces; Do not use on wet or plastic lenses.
Best of all an original LensPen only costs $12.95, so you too can afford to put one in each of your camera bags. And with Valentine’s Day coming up. a brand-new LensPen makes a perfect gift for your favorite photographer!
LensPen is a long-time sponsor of my sites and blogs but I was using their products long before I even had a blog. My wife bought me my first LensPen in 1994 just after I acquired a Nikon N90s film-based SLR! I would like to thank LensPen for their continued support.