February 4, 2009

Clean That Lens

Yeah, I know, this doesn't really seem like an overly exciting topic today, but I think it's well worth a mention! It seems like every time someone hands me his or her camera to take a photo, the lens looks like it's been dipped into a shop vac.

First off, ordering cialis a clean lens is an essential ingredient to great photos. A lens that's full of smudges, dirt or fingerprints cannot give you good results. Not only will you lose sharpness, but you'll also find that your color and contrast suffer. You'll end up with soft, muddy-looking photos instead of sharp, rich images full of snap. Besides, cameras aren't cheap, so why settle for less image quality than it's capable of due to grimy optics?!

Cleaning the lens is fairly simple. First, head to your local camera store and get a good lens cleaning kit. It should include both lens tissues (or a good microfiber cloth) and lens cleaning solution. When you purchase your cleaning kit, keep in mind that some "low end" kits aren't that much better for your lens than Windex and a paper towel. Don't go cheap on this! I urge you to spring for the best kit available or at least put one together yourself. No matter what you do, it's probably going to cost less than lunch at McDonalds.

Once you have your kit in hand, just put a few drops of the lens cleaning solution on a dry piece of lens tissue. Rub the lens gently in a clockwise motion (work from the center to the edges). Dry off any excess solution with a second piece of lens tissue.

Once the lens is dry, "fog" the lens with your breath. Then gently take the dry piece of lens tissue and wipe it off, again from the center outward. This step seems to get rid of any residual "soap" that may be left over from the cleaning solution.

That's really about it! Again, I want to stress how important it is for you to use good quality lens tissue on your optics and not your T-shirt or some other substitute. Anything beyond a lens tissue can put tiny scratches on your lens' coating. Over time, those tiny scratches will have the same effect as dirt or fingerprints on your lens. Treat your camera's lens with tender loving care!

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