Lens cleaner

[markok765]

Does lens cleaner strip awaty the coating on lenses? I mean the one

MADE for lenses like the henreys lens cleaner?

Hoys says not to use the lens cleaner with their hmc filters.

So?

MARKO

[arnabdas]

A good lens cleaner should not harm the coating. However, much depends on how you clean the lens -- what material you use, how hard and how often.

 

Never heard of herneys but I must have tried about a dozen other lens cleaners. IMX the best cleaner is Formula MC, followed by ClearSight, Eclipse, Zeiss and Kodak lens cleaners. The much-touted ROR (Residual Oil Remover) clears oily gunk well (something you should never have) but is prone to streaking. Most other brands I tried are prone to streaking including those normally stocked by electronics supermarkets.

 

Hoya HMC/SHMC filters seem to have a coating that encourages streaking. B+W MRC filters are remarkable performers in terms of streak/smudge resistance.

 

There must be as many suggested cleaning methods as there are cleaners. For me what works best is blowing away loose dust using a hand blower followed by light wiping with a pec-pad and one of the good lens cleaners above. Then I buff up lightly with a Microfiber cloth. The Zeiss and Schneider microfiber cloths are amongh the best you can get, but most are pretty good. The ClearSight cloth gives of lint for some reason.

[markok765]

its not the lens i clean, but the filter i have on my 5 lenses a tifften clear, a hoya uv0 and a hoya 1b filter. i use cokin, olympus and kodak tissues

[arnabdas]

Marko, all I said applies to cleaning filters as well. You probably can afford to be a little less careful when cleaning filters because most of them aren't as costly as lenses.

[alan_chan4]

Modern coatings are pretty tough unless you rub them too hard. To me, I just soap the folded toilet paper with acetone then wipe any coated glass I want and they will be as clean as new. Never had any damage this way.

[steve_levine]

Using any lens cleaner on "multi coated" filters is asking for trouble. It creates those "rainbow swirls", which are impossible to remove. The average person will then rub off the lens' coating atempting to remove them. So it is the tissue, not the liquid cleaner that removes coatings.

[alan_chan4]

>It creates those "rainbow swirls"

 

Only because most people don't know how.

[arnabdas]

My B+W and Nikon multicoated filters, when cleaned properly with Formula MC, look as good as new -- so it's do'able if done right.