Tips for Clearing a Lens

Once I took pictures on a windy beach with my Minolta SLR. The havoc it did to the lens is shown above. See? The lens is smeared with greasy stains which cannot be removed. It was retired permanently long ago for that reason but is perfectly well otherwise.

Now, my GX200 is exposed to a higher risk of the same as I take pictures with it on the street daily. So, I clear it regularly after use.

Do you?

Lens Blower and Scotch Tape

Usually, I use a lens blower to blow away the dust clustering the rims around the lens and a microfiber cloth to wipe the camera body. For stubborn dusts, I use a tiny piece of the Scotch Removable Tape to stick them out.

Lens Cleaning Paper and Fluid

Sometimes, fluid like raindrops get on the lens and leave stains which cannot be removed by wiping. You may succeed in wiping the stains away if you apply force which you can't for the lens.

This is when you may need the lens cleaning paper and cleaning fluid.

There are several different brands but I think Kodak offers the best value for money. There is the Rolls-Royce treatment package if you have the money to burn.

There's no harm in cleaning your lenses occasionally. If you decide to go with lens cleaning paper and lens cleaning fluid, put the fluid on the paper first (not on the lens).

Hold the lens upside down when you first apply it.

This is to prevent the fluid from seeping into the lens itself.

Otherwise, the paper takes a minute or so to dry a bit. You may apply the damp paper after a minute.

If you really do have oil on your lens, it might require several applications.

After application, use another piece of lens cleaning paper to wipe the lens completely dry. You may use a lens blower to do the job (but make sure that you don't leave any droplet on the lens surface).

If you do not wipe the lens clean, the cleaning fluid would leave stains on it as raindrops do.

I use the cleaning fluid like once every

four months. Don't worry too much about the stains on the lens though. They don't usually affect the image quality. But after cleaning, the lens looks like new. You would be glad to see the result.

Comments

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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