A60 Lens Cleaning

I'll get strait to the point, my camera, a Canon A60, seems to have liquid droplets inside the lens. i was trying to clean the outer lens with nail polish remover and some Q-tips, i put too much remover on the Q tip and some, im guessing, dripped into the lens. at first, all the pictures i took were wayyy to blurry, so i zoomed in and out multiple times to try and get air inside the lens and evaporate the alcohol or acetone. It seemed to have worked. Now, a day later, pictures are again crystal clear, but i can see tiny droplets of liquid or stains still there on the lens itself, not the picuttres. First, i thought it was on the outside, but my dry Q tip had no effect when i wiped the lens with it, aparently, the drops are on the inside of the lens. .......Now what do i do? is there a way to remove the lens? thx for anyhelp....the pictures are still great, i just dont like the idea of this.

Bad idea. Nail polish remover has all kinds of nasty stuff in it that's gonna be pretty tough on optical glass (especially the coatings)! You could find out what Canon would charge to fix it but it will probably cost as much as the camera. If the shots are fine, you may want to just live with it though. With "stuff" on the lens, you'll probably have more problems with lens flare but see how it goes.

I've gotten by for a long time with only a microfiber cloth, breathing a little on the lens and then buffing it out. If there's some dust on the lens, you want to blow that off first so it doesn't act as an abrasive. Recently I got the Eclipse optic cleaning system (about $10) and used it per their directions - a couple of drops on the cleaning pad is all you need. Works very well but I'll use it as little as possible.

sry, i didnt use nailpolish remover, i used rubbing alcohol. I remember doing this at a friends house. Does that make things better? Can i recoat the lens? how can i test if ther is flaring? just take pictures of direct light? wouldnt that flare anyway? will this get worse?

Rubbing alcohol might be slightly better than nail polish remover, but there are special cleaners made for lenses. Don't worry about getting it recoated - it basically can't be done (well, it can in the case of collector items for people who pay those kind of prices). Option #1 would be to leave it. By lens flare, I mean that if the sun is in front of you, you might have more of a problem more than before. It's worth a try to see if it bothers you. Most people don't shoot backlit images like that although the results can be dramatic. Option #2 is to have Canon replace the outermost lens element.

The best way to clean is to use cleaning products specifically designed for camera lenses - check at a camera store. One or two drops is usually all you need, and apply it only to the tissue or pad, never directly to the glass because it will seep inside the lens behind the glass (as - unfortunately - you are aware of...:rolleyes: ). Try option #1, it doesn't cost you anything.

[QUOTE=another view]never directly to the glass because it will seep inside the lens behind the glass (as - unfortunately - you are aware of...:rolleyes: ).QUOTE]



WHY WASNT I AWARE OF THIS! NO ONE TOLD ME THIS!!! Well i guess i have no one but myself to blame for my unawareness. ive heard stories of people getting canon to replace lenses for free. i wonder if i can get lucky, Ive taken around 100 pictures today...they all look fine.

i also notice a wierd noise...its not the zoom motor, i think its the shutter. when its turning off, it does it twice, and while its auto focusing. its gotten louder during my two days of prolonged use. is this normal?