Should I replace my lens? Hear me out pls

[jordysak]

Weird story but I am very curious, yet a tad worried.
I have a 56mm f1.6 Sigma lens, amazing lens btw.
I left it attached to my Panasonic G85/G80 overnight and for whatever reason this morning I woke up to find a lot of dust on the glass part of the lens. I tried to wipe it off, but couldn't remove all the dust particles. Hence, I decided to do something clever, only to find out how STUPID of an idea this was. I took some sello tape (transparent adhesive tape, aka 'scotch' in some countries) and decided to use it to pick the dust particles that I could not simply wipe off. BUT what happened instead was that the sello tape stuck to the glass lens and it was very hard to remove. After a bit of force I managed to pull the tape off the lens, but it left a very bad sticky adhesive on the glass.
I tried to wipe it off real hard with tissue paper, with microfibre cloth and anything I possibly could use but nothing much happened. SO I decided to resort to the last option, I used a wet wipe (I have plenty of antibacterial wipes around me these months) to rub of the adhesive from the camera lens and okay, I think I managed to remove the it finally.


However, I have a few worries, as I have no idea how lenses are constructed, I only know how to use them;

1) how strongly fitted is the glass in the lens? I mean, I have been pulling it (when removing the sello tape, it was stuck very strongly) and then I have been pushing it (when I was rubbing it pretty hard using the cloth to remove the excess adhesive) quite a lot. Any chance I could have damaged or weakened something by manhandling the lens glass like so?

2) the wet wipe I used: my understanding is that liquid and cameras are a no no.. but I had no other way to remove the adhesive.. The wipe was pretty wet and the liquid has all sorts of chemicals to make it antibacterial, what are the chances that the liquid entered the lens through the sides of the glass?

I might be being a bit OCD about this all situation, but it's only so because it's my first 'expensive' lens for my budget and I really love it. Having it bought it from amazon, I yet have 30 days to return it and get a new one if anything has gone wrong during this process. I appreciate every comment or suggestions you guys have to make, anything helps.

 

[mollyc]

If it's the DN version of the lens, google tells me it's weather sealed, so I think you are okay. ?

No more tape on your lenses though!

 

[jordysak]

If it's the DN version of the lens, google tells me it's weather sealed, so I think you are okay. ?

No more tape on your lenses though!

Thank you for replying, this is the full name: Sigma 351963 56mm f1.4 Dc Dn - C for Mft

Sigma 351963 56Mm F1.4 Dc Dn - C For Mft, Black​

are you sure its weather sealed?

 

[mollyc]

Thank you for replying, this is the full name: Sigma 351963 56mm f1.4 Dc Dn - C for Mft

Sigma 351963 56Mm F1.4 Dc Dn - C For Mft, Black​

are you sure its weather sealed?

well you can google just as much as i can......i was trying to be helpful.

 

[jordysak]

well you can google just as much as i can......i was trying to be helpful.

absolutely, thank you so much! I just checked, it is indeed weather proof, I wasn't aware of it.. what do you think about the pulling/pushing thing?

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Wipes tend to be alcohol based, so it is likely the alcohol evaporated before doing any damage.

I would not make a habit of this as alcohol could damage the seals or the lens coating. I think the latter would be visible.

 

[Ray2]

Have you taken a picture and looked at it?

 

[bsamcash]

Wipes tend to be alcohol based, so it is likely the alcohol evaporated before doing any damage.

I would not make a habit of this as alcohol could damage the seals or the lens coating. I think the latter would be visible.

This. In a pinch, alcohol is safe to use on a lens that not weather sealed. It does, however, have the potential to ruin the lens coating. So I would go out and take some pictures to test contrast and flare resistance.

 

[jordysak]

Wipes tend to be alcohol based, so it is likely the alcohol evaporated before doing any damage.

I would not make a habit of this as alcohol could damage the seals or the lens coating. I think the latter would be visible.

After I finished wiping it off with the wet cloth, I saw some remains of I don’t know what. After a quick google search these pics (not mine) popped up, and the thing I saw on my lens was very similar to what these pics are showing.. let me attach them.
Looks like the coating did indeed come off; however these smudges came off after rubbing them a but harder with a microfibre cloth.

 

[jordysak]

This. In a pinch, alcohol is safe to use on a lens that not weather sealed. It does, however, have the potential to ruin the lens coating. So I would go out and take some pictures to test contrast and flare resistance.

Thing is I don’t have anything to compare it to, as of now pics look absolutely fine as they did

 

[OldMacs4Me]

The test is pretty simple. Backlit shots with the sun out of frame but hitting lens. Any new issues should be rather obvious in comparison to older images from the same lens.

That said most experienced photographers use hat, hand or whatever is available to shade the lens for those types of shots.

 

[deep diver]

1) You said you left it on the camera overnight. That was the right thing. Because you are not likely to service the camera yourself, there's no reason to remove a lens except to swap it out for another.
Question: Did you have a lens cap on the lens while it sat overnight?

2). You would have to use a lot of force to damage the structure of the lens. I know people that have dropped lenses and not damaged them. I believe some folks here have done that.

3). While it is possible that you damaged the coating, it is also possible that you are seeing some smudges on the surface, or reflections (either from outside of the lens or from some of the lens elements.)

4). You said, "Thing is I don’t have anything to compare it to, as of now pics look absolutely fine as they did.". If the images look right then it is probably okay.

As someone said, it would help us help you if you could show us some pictures, but we still won't be able to handle it. The best option would be to take it to a camera shop and have them look at it.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Weird story but I am very curious, yet a tad worried.
I have a 56mm f1.6 Sigma lens, amazing lens btw.
I left it attached to my Panasonic G85/G80 overnight and for whatever reason this morning I woke up to find a lot of dust on the glass part of the lens. I tried to wipe it off, but couldn't remove all the dust particles. Hence, I decided to do something clever, only to find out how STUPID of an idea this was. I took some sello tape (transparent adhesive tape, aka 'scotch' in some countries) and decided to use it to pick the dust particles that I could not simply wipe off. BUT what happened instead was that the sello tape stuck to the glass lens and it was very hard to remove. After a bit of force I managed to pull the tape off the lens, but it left a very bad sticky adhesive on the glass.
I tried to wipe it off real hard with tissue paper, with microfibre cloth and anything I possibly could use but nothing much happened. SO I decided to resort to the last option, I used a wet wipe (I have plenty of antibacterial wipes around me these months) to rub of the adhesive from the camera lens and okay, I think I managed to remove the it finally.


However, I have a few worries, as I have no idea how lenses are constructed, I only know how to use them;

1) how strongly fitted is the glass in the lens? I mean, I have been pulling it (when removing the sello tape, it was stuck very strongly) and then I have been pushing it (when I was rubbing it pretty hard using the cloth to remove the excess adhesive) quite a lot. Any chance I could have damaged or weakened something by manhandling the lens glass like so?

2) the wet wipe I used: my understanding is that liquid and cameras are a no no.. but I had no other way to remove the adhesive.. The wipe was pretty wet and the liquid has all sorts of chemicals to make it antibacterial, what are the chances that the liquid entered the lens through the sides of the glass?

I might be being a bit OCD about this all situation, but it's only so because it's my first 'expensive' lens for my budget and I really love it. Having it bought it from amazon, I yet have 30 days to return it and get a new one if anything has gone wrong during this process. I appreciate every comment or suggestions you guys have to make, anything helps.

Next time might I advise putting the lens cap on when not in use. When it comes to cleaning neither of these are going to break the bank. They are always in my camera bag.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Lens manufacturers usually have instructions for solution-cleaning of their lenses. The OP can check with Sigma.

The OP created a big problem by not following these simple guidelines, and using Scotch tape to remove the dust:

a. Remove dust from the glass using a lens brush, or a bulb dust blower as shown by another poster above. If the glass looks clean and free of smudges, etc., stop here (don't proceed to step "b.").

b. Once the glass is free of dust, and only if smudges, fingerprints and things like that are present on the glass, proceed with wet-cleaning with the proper solution or one recommended by the lens maker, plus a dust-free lens cloth: place a drop or two of the solution on a small section of the lens cloth, and gently wipe the glass with the moistened area of the lens cloth...in a circular motion. Then wipe the glass in a circular motion using a dry section of the lens cloth-to remove any traces of lens cleaning solution.

These are some non-lens specific cleaners:

The best camera lens cleaners in 2024: keep your lenses bright and clear

Dirty, smeared lenses just won’t do. Keep them spotless with these specialist camera lens cleaners

www.digitalcameraworld.com

 

[kallisti]

Great advice in the above posts.

I wouldn’t be concerned about having screwed something up with the mechanics of the lens.

I might be concerned about having damaged some of the lens coatings. But I honestly don’t know if this theoretical concern applies to your lens.

In the future I would strongly consider buying a decent clear filter to place on the front of your lens (Heliopan clear, not UV, are some of the best with very, very minimal hits to light transmission or image quality; B+W is another very good filter brand). Worst case scenario is that you have to replace the filter but the lens remains pristine.

But hopefully you will never be using tape to clean a lens element in the future....

I would feel guilty about returning a product that I knew I had potentially damaged through my own actions and not because of a defect in the product I received. But that’s just me.

 

[jordysak]

Wipes tend to be alcohol based, so it is likely the alcohol evaporated before doing any damage.

I would not make a habit of this as alcohol could damage the seals or the lens coating. I think the latter would be visible.

when you say visible, what do you mean? I would like to know if I have caused any damage but I dont seem to find a way to find it out

 

[jordysak]

The test is pretty simple. Backlit shots with the sun out of frame but hitting lens. Any new issues should be rather obvious in comparison to older images from the same lens.

That said most experienced photographers use hat, hand or whatever is available to shade the lens for those types of shots.

I didn't try it with the sun yet, but I tried it with indoors roof light and nothing seems out of place. Is there no other test I can do to be certain everything is good?

 

[jordysak]

1) You said you left it on the camera overnight. That was the right thing. Because you are not likely to service the camera yourself, there's no reason to remove a lens except to swap it out for another.
Question: Did you have a lens cap on the lens while it sat overnight?

2). You would have to use a lot of force to damage the structure of the lens. I know people that have dropped lenses and not damaged them. I believe some folks here have done that.

3). While it is possible that you damaged the coating, it is also possible that you are seeing some smudges on the surface, or reflections (either from outside of the lens or from some of the lens elements.)

4). You said, "Thing is I don’t have anything to compare it to, as of now pics look absolutely fine as they did.". If the images look right then it is probably okay.

As someone said, it would help us help you if you could show us some pictures, but we still won't be able to handle it. The best option would be to take it to a camera shop and have them look at it.

1) I did not, foolish of me I know..
2) After watching many youtube videos I believe so too, I dont think the rubbing and pulling of the glass piece of the lens caused any 'mechanical' damage, just worried about the coating now
3) I also considered that it could be the soapy formula of the wipes I used, but please note I also tried cleaning using a bit of salive (only to find that it was a bad idea)
4) They do look fine but its just the thought of having caused some sort of damage, hence why if I could find a way to verify everything is as it was it'll give me peace of mind

I will try to attach photos and videos, perhaps it can be helpful.

 

[jordysak]

al

Next time might I advise putting the lens cap on when not in use. When it comes to cleaning neither of these are going to break the bank. They are always in my camera bag.

View attachment 1743235

Already looking at some, thank you for your suggestion! I should have bought these early on

 

[jordysak]

Lens manufacturers usually have instructions for solution-cleaning of their lenses. The OP can check with Sigma.

The OP created a big problem by not following these simple guidelines, and using Scotch tape to remove the dust:

a. Remove dust from the glass using a lens brush, or a bulb dust blower as shown by another poster above. If the glass looks clean and free of smudges, etc., stop here (don't proceed to step "b.").

b. Once the glass is free of dust, and only if smudges, fingerprints and things like that are present on the glass, proceed with wet-cleaning with the proper solution or one recommended by the lens maker, plus a dust-free lens cloth: place a drop or two of the solution on a small section of the lens cloth, and gently wipe the glass with the moistened area of the lens cloth...in a circular motion. Then wipe the glass in a circular motion using a dry section of the lens cloth-to remove any traces of lens cleaning solution.

These are some non-lens specific cleaners:

The best camera lens cleaners in 2024: keep your lenses bright and clear

Dirty, smeared lenses just won’t do. Keep them spotless with these specialist camera lens cleaners

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Thanks for the detailed reply, I will make sure to follow these instructions if I ever need to clean these lenses again. I am just sad because of the mistake I made, I barely afforded the lens and now I have messed it up

 

[jordysak]

Great advice in the above posts.

I wouldn’t be concerned about having screwed something up with the mechanics of the lens.

I might be concerned about having damaged some of the lens coatings. But I honestly don’t know if this theoretical concern applies to your lens.

In the future I would strongly consider buying a decent clear filter to place on the front of your lens (Heliopan clear, not UV, are some of the best with very, very minimal hits to light transmission or image quality; B+W is another very good filter brand). Worst case scenario is that you have to replace the filter but the lens remains pristine.

But hopefully you will never be using tape to clean a lens element in the future....

I would feel guilty about returning a product that I knew I had potentially damaged through my own actions and not because of a defect in the product I received. But that’s just me.

I think I should have specified that at the time of purchase I bought an insurance too, which is something that can be added via amazon so when I said 'return' I meant use the insurance policy on it..
If only I could verify that everything is working fine or not before considering any additional steps..

 

[deep diver]

You are not going to get the level of confidence you need by conversing with us. Take it to a camera store. That's the only way you're going to be satisfied.
Most of the insurance policies exclude mishandling or misuse by the consumer. The ones that don't should. This would definitely qualify as mishandling.

 

[deep diver]

Is this the same lens you kicked about a week or two ago?

I looked at some of your other threads. I think you are worrying too much about too many things. If it works then it works. You've gotten a lot of good advice here. You now need to decide what you want to do with it.

 

[kallisti]

You are not going to get the level of confidence you need by conversing with us. Take it to a camera store. That's the only way you're going to be satisfied.
Most of the insurance policies exclude mishandling or misuse by the consumer. The ones that don't should. This would definitely qualify as mishandling.

I completely agree.

The lens pen and rocket blower are very good investments. I use my rocket blower all the time. Extremely useful.

Don’t use saliva on a lens element. There are enzymes in saliva that help with carbohydrate breakdown. No idea if they might interact with lens coatings (way outside of my area of expertise). But I would avoid using saliva as a solvent in the future as it isn’t just “water”. Lots of other things in saliva.

Regardless of what you end up doing with the lens, I would even more strongly encourage you to get a clear or UV filter for all of your lenses in the future. Use a rocket blower to clear the front element of the lens and the rear element of the filter before you screw it on. Don’t screw it on too tightly and be careful when applying it so you don’t strip any threads (NEVER force a filter—remove it and start from scratch if you meet any resistance). Then leave it in place unless you need to use a different filter (like a circular polarizer). But you may not need to use other filters for your photography.

There are debates about the need for a “protective” filter on a lens. They tend to revolve around theoretical losses to light transmission and image quality. Or the degree of protection they actually offer (i.e. in the event of a camera drop or in the less extreme case of something sharp coming into contact with the front of the camera).

Good filters will have no or negligible impact on light transmission or image quality. Theoretically they might introduce flare, though that has never been an issue for me. But they WILL certainly prevent you from ever finding yourself in your current predicament. Filters (even expensive ones) are considerably cheaper to replace than a lens.

 

[Clix Pix]

At the time I am buying a lens I always check to see what size filter it takes and if I don't already have a spare one in that size I include a clear filter in the purchase. I'd much rather wipe off a filter than the actual lens any day, and filters have saved lenses by being the only thing to break or get dented edges when a lens meets the ground unexpectedly.