Need help with a cleaning kit.

[Jason Beck]

Can you guys direct me to a decent cleaning kit for under 15$? There are oodles on ebay and amazon and I don't know what to choose. Seems like they all do the same thing though. Are those pen brushes safe for the dslr lens? I was going to get one of those pen brushes and then a blower kit with wipes and fluid for the lens and the camera body. Any suggestions would be most appreciated, thanks!

 

[Ruahrc]

Like most things, don't cheap out on cleaning gear. You probably spent several hundred dollars (or more) on your camera + lenses and you are going to fuss over $20 for a cleaning kit?

Get a lenspen- the genuine ones. It costs like $10 at a retail store so it might be even cheaper online. (http://www.lenspen.com)

Giottos rocket blower is a great blower. Costs like $10 too.

Not sure about the wipes, I think there's one called eclipse wipes which are popular but I have never used wipes of any kind.

 

[Jason Beck]

Like most things, don't cheap out on cleaning gear. You probably spent several hundred dollars (or more) on your camera + lenses and you are going to fuss over $20 for a cleaning kit?

Get a lenspen- the genuine ones. It costs like $10 at a retail store so it might be even cheaper online. (www.lenspen.com)

Giottos rocket blower is a great blower. Costs like $10 too.

Not sure about the wipes, I think there's one called eclipse wipes which are popular but I have never used wipes of any kind.

Cool thats what I figured. I knew there was some brands that you guys knew were premium . Exactly what I was looking for. Yep Yep, I didn't want to buy something crappy and regret what it did to my lenses. Going to order the genuine Lenspen tonight. Thanks for your help. I bought a hood for my lens too, just a generic flower tip hood for outdoor use. It was only like 5 bucks, but I knew that something directly going to be related to my lens I should research thouroughly.

 

[telecomm]

You'll need a blower, brush (like a lens pen), and cleaning cloth + cleaning fluid. (A lens cleaning cloth is reusable and you can clean them, so they're probably more desirable than disposable lens cleaning wipes.) They should be used in that order, to minimize physical contact with the lens (you probably won't need to use fluid + the cloth very often - only for fingerprints, etc.). Really, any kit will do. More expensive blowers are meant to be used on the camera body, so if you've got more than one lens it might be sensible to just get something like a rocket blower.

Lens cleaning cloths are easy to come by, just go in and ask when you're passing by an optician, they'll probably just give you a cloth for free. (This worked for me the last couple of times I needed a cloth while I was out.) Oh, and if you do use the cloth + fluid, remember to apply the fluid to the cloth, not the lens surface - the fluid evaporates really quickly, but it's still pretty unpleasant to see fluid leak in behind the front element!

If you've got more than one lens you might want to clean the sensor yourself at some point, in which case it's blower then fluid + wipes/wand, again in that order (if necessary). I'm using swabs and fluid from VisibleDust, but Eclipse is really popular too.

 

[gnd]

I second the suggestion for the LensPen, it works great. You do need to replace it after a while though, like once a year (depending on the amount of usage). Also remember to always use the brush first to get any hard particles away from the surface.
As far as cleaning the sensor goes, the first step is the blower. Make sure you get one with a one-way valve so you don't suck the dust that you just blew off the sensor into the blower and then blow it back onto the sensor.
If that doesn't work I use the brush next. A simple nylon (starch free) brush that I clean and vacuum repeatedly. This works in 99% of the cases where the blower doesn't work.
If there is anything still left after the brush, spots that don't seem to move no matter what you do with the brush, then it's time for the wet cleaning. I try to avoid wet cleaning and only use it as a last resort. I use Eclipse cleaning solutions.

 

[HBOC]

I bought a Nikon Lens Pen on ebay for $8 shipped, a Giottos blower (10 years ago, still works perfecto) and some ROR and many lens cloths.

 

[Jason Beck]

You guys are awesome. I have really come to depend on my friends on here! My new studio lighting setup came yesterday and I signed the lease with my wife to start my own Graphic arts/Design business here.

 

[toxic]

lenspen, eclipse cleaning solution, pec pads, rocket blower, sensorklear.

90% of the time, all you'll need is a rocketblower or lenspen brush to keep your lenses and sensir clean.

 

[Jason Beck]

lenspen, eclipse cleaning solution, pec pads, rocket blower, sensorklear.

90% of the time, all you'll need is a rocketblower or lenspen brush to keep your lenses and sensir clean.

Yah the lenspen and blower are going in my bag. Seems like they will come in handy. Living in Utah, well there is a lot of dust here.