How to Properly Clean a Camera Lens

Having your camera lens professionally cleaned can cost quite a bit of money, and most of the time it's more than what's really necessary anyways. The truth is, it's actually rather easy to clean a lens and there's no reason you can't do it yourself to save some money. You only need a few items to clean a camera lens and they cost less than paying to have it cleaned. This article will teach you, step by step, how to clean a camera lens properly.

Before you get started you're going to need a blower brush, camel hair lens brush, lens cloth and lens cleaner.

Step 1. Blow dust and dirt off

Use your blower brush to blow dirt and dust off the surface of the lens. Be sure to cover the entire surface including around the edge of the rim.

Step 2. Brush

Next, use your camel hair lens brush to brush the surface of the lens. Brush softly along the brim of the lens in a circular motion to breakup and remove dust and dirt that's built up around the edge.

Step 3. Wipe the lens

Put a small drop of lens cleaner on the surface of the lens. Then gently wipe the lens clean with your lens cleaning cloth. You should wipe slowly in a circular motion until the lens is visibly clean. Do not press too hard because you might accidentally scratch the glass.

Step 4. Clean the rest of the lens

Once the glass has been cleaned, continue to clean the rest of the lens. Use your blower brush and camel hair brush to get dust and dirt of the other parts of the lens. This will help protect the other parts of the lens, as well as prevent dust from transferring back onto the glass.

Step 5. Clean accessories

It's also a good idea to clean any lens accessories like, filters and caps. Just clean them the same way you cleaned your lens. This will prevent dust from transferring to the lens.

Voila, your lens is cleaned and it hardly cost you anything. Now any time your lens is dirty you can clean it yourself without going through the hassle of taking it to a professional cleaner. Now, the other important thing you need to do is keep it clean. You should only clean your lens when absolutely necessary, because each time you clean your lens you run the risk of damaging it. So don't do this too frequently.