Lens Cleaning

[Ultra Magnus]

How do you guys clean your lenses in the field, and how do you keep your cleaning cloths clean, and accessible?

Thanks.
BM

[jorgemonkey]

I'll keep my cleaning cloth either in my back pocket, or in one of the front pockets of my camera bag. I'll also notice (Like shooting baseball on a windy day) when big clouds of dust are coming, and I'll cover my gear.

[xystren]

I have a small waterproof container that I keep my cleaning stuff in (cleaning fluid, tissues, brush/blower, etc) It's a little bigger than a cigarette case, so it fits nicely within my camera case.

I try to avoid cleaning in the field if I can, but if I must, I try to control the environment that I'm cleaning in as best I can. (or move inside out of the wind/rain, have someone block the wind, etc. if at all possible.)

If your talking just a cloths (microfiber or the likes) themselves, I'd keep them in a ziplock bag to keep contamination to a absolute minimum while you have them in your bag/pocket/etc.

I'm sure some of the others will chime in with ideas/suggestions.

[readingr]

I clean the camera before going out and after coming back in from any shoots.

In the field if its raining I put on a very expensive UV and use a micro fibre towel to dry the lens if I get spots on it, well the filter as the water doesn't get to the lens. UV not normally used unless I expect problems with water or lots of dust.

When I get home the filter gets sprayed with spectacle cleaner and my camera (spectacle, bought from opticians) micro fibre cloth s used to clean it. The cloths are cleaned when required.

A small puffer is used to blow dust away, while the rocket is kept in a clean environment at home for sensor cleaning.

Roger

[mjs1973]

I use my T shirt when in the field if I need to clean my lens. As Photo John often says, your gear is tougher than you think. If it's something that I can't get off with my shirt, I will use a bit of lens cleaning fluid on a lens cleaning tissue. My cleaning supplies are stored in a ziplock bag inside my camera case.

Another idea that I hear works great is Zig Zag's. The guy behind the photography podcast Tips From The Top Floor uses Zig Zags to clean his gear instead of a micro fiber cloth. If you don't know what Zig Zags are, they are small pieces of paper used to roll your own cigarettes. They are kind of like AA batteries, you can find them just about anywhere. No need to try to track down a photo store when your out and about.

[retroactiv]

Lenspen, I just bought my second one this is the greatest cleaning tool that I have bought. I have cleaning clothes and solutions but nothing seems to work as well as the lenspen (this last one cost me 8 bucks).

[Frog]

I use the lenspen, also. Usually wipe with a microfibre after using it but basically not necessary. Just stick it in your pocet like an inkpen and its always handy to get to.

[freygr]

Most of the time I just don't clean in the field. It takes more than a few dust specs on a lens to degrade the photo. If you can't see it in the view finder most likely it's to small to make any difference. I do check and clean if need before I leave for the field and at the end of the day. I also check before putting the camera in it's case, to make sure I catch anything that would affect the image quality and at that point it gets cleaned in a protected space.