LensPen?

[mark_freburg]

<p> https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71XNik67NKL._SL1299_.jpg <BR>I am out of the loop in many ways, and was not aware of the "LensPen" until recently. It looks like a handy tool, beter than carrying a lens cloth and liquid lens cleaner.</p>

<ul>

<li>Do you recommend the LensPen?</li>

<li>How long do they last?</li>

<li>Why are there different kinds, and why do I need them? (See photo of kit, below...er, <em>above</em>...apparently.)</li>

</ul>

<p>Thank-you!<br /> --Mark</p>

[SCL]

<p>If you Google their website, they will tell you they are for a lens, a filter and a viewfinder. Nice marketing ploy, but you definitely do not "Need" them. In fact carrying anything other than a sable brush seems a waste of time, money and effort. If you're routinely cleaning your lenses with fluid, there's something wrong with your technique or you're in a really harsh environment. A light puff of air or light swipe of the sable brush is usually all that is needed to keep your gear in top notch condition, assuming you usually keep a lens cap on for protection.</p>

[mark_freburg]

<p>Thanks Stephen. I <em>don't</em> routinely clean my lenses. I don't touch them unless I see something on them, and I can't get it off with the brush. Basically last option. But I like being prepared. The old Boy Scout tendency I guess. I also keep clear filters on my lenses, a carryover from the old days. I've been told this is completely unnecessary, too. Again, avoidance through pre-planning? Thoughts?</p>

[SCL]

<p>Yep -avoidance is the best policy</p>

[JosvanEekelen]

<p>I use LensPen since a long time (10 yrs?) to clean my lenses. They work great. One side is a brush, I assume it functions like a sable brush. The other side contains a pad to clean the glass surface of a lens. <br /> So yes, I can recommend the LensPen. Don't know about the other products. I once got a Cell-clear as a gift together with a LensPen order. I believe it is for cleaning a smartphone lens but it does a good job for cleaning a DSLR viewfinder. Results from SensorKlear are not so well but perhaps I'll have to change the way I use it. IMO it doesn't clean the sensor so well.</p>

[JosvanEekelen]

<p>I just watched the SensorKlear instruction video and I can recommend it, at least to have a good laugh. A pretty girl is lying on her belly while inspecting and cleaning a sensor. Not the best working pose but judge for yourself. </p>

[yockenwaithe]

<p>I use one, it works pretty nicely as long as you use the brush first [duh]</p>

[mark_freburg]

<p>Jos, Spencer, thank-you. The LensPen is cheap enough it seems worth having for that inevitable occasion when something does get on the lens inadvertently.</p>

<p>Jos--that video explained the SensorKlear product well enough but was still terrible. The narrator was not very professional, was she?</p>

[JosvanEekelen]

<p>She might be a pro - but not at sensor cleaning.</p>

[mark_freburg]

<p>Ha ha ha!</p>

[euangray]

<p>I tried the Lens Pen once and won't do it a second time. Theoretically convenient, they don't take up much space and have a handy brush built in.</p>

<p>What they also do is deposit fine carbon dust everywhere which is impossible to remove. The best cleaning kit to take around with you is a chopped off UNUSED half-inch or quarter-inch synthetic fibre paint brush (will fit in an empty plastic film container) and a microfiber cloth (a big enough one will fit in another empty plastic film container). If you're in the habit of putting UV filters on the end of all your lenses, a cotton t-shirt is good enough to clean them in the field - blow the dust off, breathe on them, wipe clean. Don't do that on the mirror or on the rear element of the lens - they're delicate. The front elements have protective coatings and are much more resistant to abuse. That said, never use harsh cleaning chemicals on them, they can strip the coatings off. Isopropanol (also known as IPA, isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol) is generally pretty safe.</p>

<p>Obviously it makes sense to look after your equipment, much of which can be seriously expensive. But do try to be sceptical about those selling you wonder products that solve all of your cleaning problems for one low (or not so low) price. A clean fine cloth and GENTLE with it will work almost all of the time.</p>