I'll be heading back to Namibia this year and after encountering lots of dust, especially on scopes, cameras, and binocs last time had a question for everyone. Is it safe to use the "canned air" on good optic lenses? The ones I have used don't specify use on glass lenses. Also can this type of product be carried on the airlines in your checked bags? Thoughts and personal experiences appreciated.

Larry Sellers

Larry, can't comment on the compressed air, however when I hunted RSA it was dry and lots of dust...Like you say on all optics... coated...I took Zeiss pump spray lens cleaner and saturated to make dirt run off lens and used toilet papaer to pick up debri on scope tube then lens cloth to wipe lens...


Mike

Camel hair camera brush?

lary ,
its quite safe, i use it all the time on high end special coated camera lenses ...if you are going to wipe , use a god lint free soft cloth otherwise the dust particles will scratch the coating ...what also works even better is a lens pen, they are very soft and work extremely well ..

Larry,
you can do this test, take some toilet paper, put it near the distributing hole and blow for some second. If the paper remains white without any kind of spot or sign of dirty, well it can be cautiously use.

When I did this kind of test with one bottle of canned air good for clean keyboards and computers from dust, I found a spot of humidity and I don't know what (maybe oily or greasy) on the paper. And I did not used it on the lenses.

Canned air works but I dont know if they will allow it on airlines.

Lenspen is the way to go.

Larry, good to see you are making it back to Namibia. Have a good hunt.

Another vote for the lenspen. I carry that plus a cleaning cloth and some pump cleaning fluid (not aerosol). Use the brush from the lenspen to brush the dust off the lenses before cleaning.

Don't know if this is true, but have been told that the canned air can in fact freeze the coating, causing later difficulties

Dust is a particular African problem. I have found the following to be really a good way to beat dust:

1. Use those pop up lens covers made by several of the companies. They really work well, and reduce cleaning scopes to a every day or two chore rather than a couple of time a day.

2. For binoc and cameras, brush to lose stuff off with a lens pen. I try to keep my binocs under a layer of clothing on the truck to reduce exposure and keep the lens caps on my cameras.

3. For "deep" cleaning after brushing, I take the Zeiss lens cleaners you can get at Wal Mart optics and put a strip of three in my pocket ever day. I wear glasses, so I burn at least one a day on them (they will clean about three to four items, and can be folded and stowed back in the foil pouch if still wet.)

Kudude

I would go with the Lenspen -- of which there are several versions (cost) -- these also make a great little gift for PH's. Every time I take one seems they are continually getting borrowed. Also I have been told that any type of paper unless it is made specifically for cleaning glass has a bit too much grit in it for cleaning a good lens. I used to buy lense papers for my cameras but have since gone to a lensepen.

Yes, you can take those items in your carry on.

I don't like the lense pen.

I brush carefully with a soft brush, then exhale on lense to fog it up and finally wipe lightly with a lense cloth...the "real" lense cloth that is found in a camera shop. It has the consistancy of a chamois cloath.