Camera Cleaning Tools
I have an ongoing problem with getting dust and dirt on my camera lenses, possibly because I tend to shlep my camera around in a totally inappropriate environment riddled with filth and biohazardous materials, ie my purse. That results in a lot of crap showing up in my photos, especially in non-busy areas like stretches of blue sky.
While the Healing Brush tool in Photoshop is indeed a wondrous and magical thing, it’s easier to just clean the freaking lens already, and these are the tools I use to do so: the Visible Dust Hurricane Blower, and the Nikon Lens Pen.
The hurricane thingie lets you blast off dust remnants without getting your germy little spitballs all over the place, and the lens pen—which has a soft retractable brush at one end—is useful for doing fine cleanup and getting at the stuff on your camera’s body.
I highly recommend them both, if you’ve ever had the problem of an unwelcome dirt blob showing up in what might have otherwise been a hell of a great photo.
Link: Visible Dust Hurricane Blower, Nikon Lens Pen Cleaning System (both on Amazon)
Ballpark price: $9.50 for the pen, $10 for the blower
Posted: September 11th, 2007 under Photography, Personally recommended by Linda.
Comments: 11
Comments
Comment from hello insomnia
Time: September 11, 2007, 3:04 pm
That healing brush has been a godsend, but this is also practical, too. I’m interested in what you think of the Crumpler photo bags, because I would like to take my camera out more often, but the bags I’ve seen are way too ugly.
Comment from Linda
Time: September 11, 2007, 3:10 pm
Comment from Divrchk
Time: September 11, 2007, 3:32 pm
Thanks for the tip! My problem is that when I look through the lens, I see dust but it does NOT show up on the photos. Is it in my view finder? How do I clear that away?
Comment from Linda
Time: September 11, 2007, 3:42 pm
Comment from jen
Time: September 12, 2007, 5:29 am
we’ve been wondering what we should use to clean our camera. thanks for the help! lol.
Comment from Pickles & Dimes
Time: September 12, 2007, 9:40 am
Oh God - thank you!!!
We’ve been needing to have our camera professionally cleaned forever, but can’t find anywhere to take it. The cheap camera brush we have is worthless.
These are right in our price range.
Comment from Kate
Time: September 12, 2007, 5:42 pm
What type of camera do you use, I’m in the market…
Comment from angela
Time: September 18, 2007, 3:26 pm
I just came back from my first real vacation ever and I wish I would have known about this before. I’ve got something weird on my lens that I can only see when I’m looking through the viewfinder, not when I look at the lens. I’ll have to pick these little gadgets up for myself. Any recommendations for cleaning dog nose prints from the lens?
Comment from Maria
Time: September 19, 2007, 3:31 am
Oh, thank you for the lead to the lens pen.
Comment from raychel
Time: June 2, 2008, 6:59 am
Am I really the only one to notice that dust on the lens does NOT result in *the problem of an unwelcome dirt blob showing up in what might have otherwise been a hell of a great photo*?
Just like dirty glasses resulting in blurry vision, a dirty lens affects the sharpness in a picture. But it most certainly does NOT translate to the crap showing up in your blue skies.
Now, a *dirt blob* on the camera sensor is a different story, and DOES translate to the crap showing up in your blue skies. but they claim we shouldn’t clean those ourselves.
Comment from Steph
Time: July 5, 2008, 12:06 pm
You’re right, raychel. Those cleaning kits are great if you’re using a camera without interchangeable lenses. I have a Nikon D70 and tried to clean the sensor myself. I thought I had the steady hands of a surgeon. After popping the lense back on, I discovered that the the shutter was way off sync. The damage: $356 for a new board. Next time, spend the $65 dollars to have a profesh give it a thorough cleaning. Lesson learned!
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