Posted by Andy Shepherd on November 8, 2006 at 10:18 AM
Hi to all,
Having just picked up my Canon 500mm from Dale Photographic in Leeds
yesterday , it dawned on me how much more careful I need to be when cleaning the front element as this is a £4000+ piece of kit , with all my other lenes this wasn't so much of a worry as a protective filter had been fitted on the day of purchase , this however isn't possible with the 500mm and I can't afford to bugger it up as this lense is a one time purchase and a replecment front element is crazy money.
Any tips on the safest and best way to clean the front element would be much appreciated , at the minute I'm using a Giotto Hurricane Blower , lense cloth and a lense pen , this may seem to some a very amateurish question , but then again , I am an amateur.
I think you will find that that front element is probably a thin piece fo high grade glass and isn't that expensive to replace compared to the price of the lense. That said it is a lense where the lense hood alone is ~ £350 so I understand your caution.
I use the same as you have just said, except, at home, I use a low powered CO2 jet.
PS unless you camera bag has a hard base, I would carry it around with the leather lens cover on or you will get rubbing marks on the center of the front glass..
Posted by Andrew Forsyth on November 8, 2006 at 11:35 AM
Just never ever ever ever get it dirty
Keep the lens hood on all the time. Keep the lens cover on and in the protective case (kept clean at all times) when not in use. Keep the inside of any bags in which it may be carried clean. Don't point it into the wind during a sand storm...
Keep a lens cloth dedicated to this lens alone, the idea being that it should never be used and kept mint for an emergency. You don't want to be scraping dirt from a two or three year old cloth over that piece of glass.
Enjoy the new toy. Hope you've been down the gym to prepare...
A
Posted by John MacTavish on November 8, 2006 at 12:58 PM
I normally use my t-shirt (cotton affair) to clean oil and rubber bits that find their way through the lens hood (tunnel???).
A crack in the front element isn't the end of the world for the lens, I know of several togs who have 4, 5 and 600mm lenses with cracks on the front glass and it doesn't make one bit of difference to the image quality.
Yo Geoff.....twice in a week now
John
Posted by Paul Williams on November 8, 2006 at 2:21 PM
Over the years I've found that the front elements on quality lenses are suprisingly resilient to many forms of abuse. At one time I used to be completely paranoid about the front elements of my shorter lenses, nowadays I never use any protective ND filters on any lens. I take the view that there's no point in paying out loads of dosh for 'state of the art' optical performance if you are going to slap a filter over the end of it. Simply take the usual care when handling and cleaning of the lens.
Discussion
4 repliesHaving just picked up my Canon 500mm from Dale Photographic in Leeds
yesterday , it dawned on me how much more careful I need to be when cleaning the front element as this is a £4000+ piece of kit , with all my other lenes this wasn't so much of a worry as a protective filter had been fitted on the day of purchase , this however isn't possible with the 500mm and I can't afford to bugger it up as this lense is a one time purchase and a replecment front element is crazy money.
Any tips on the safest and best way to clean the front element would be much appreciated , at the minute I'm using a Giotto Hurricane Blower , lense cloth and a lense pen , this may seem to some a very amateurish question , but then again , I am an amateur.
Regards to all
Andy...
I use the same as you have just said, except, at home, I use a low powered CO2 jet.
PS unless you camera bag has a hard base, I would carry it around with the leather lens cover on or you will get rubbing marks on the center of the front glass..
Keep the lens hood on all the time. Keep the lens cover on and in the protective case (kept clean at all times) when not in use. Keep the inside of any bags in which it may be carried clean. Don't point it into the wind during a sand storm...
Keep a lens cloth dedicated to this lens alone, the idea being that it should never be used and kept mint for an emergency. You don't want to be scraping dirt from a two or three year old cloth over that piece of glass.
Enjoy the new toy. Hope you've been down the gym to prepare...
A
A crack in the front element isn't the end of the world for the lens, I know of several togs who have 4, 5 and 600mm lenses with cracks on the front glass and it doesn't make one bit of difference to the image quality.
Yo Geoff.....twice in a week now
John