Camera and camera lens cleaning is a necessary part of being a photographer, it makes sense to understand what works and what might damage your equipment before you invest mega money into gear and then try to clean it with something insane, like bleach
Fortunately, the vast majority of cleaning is pretty simple, its only the interior and glass where you can really screw up. Having the right tools in your bag is essential, finding dirt spots after shooting is a nightmare and can turn a simple editing session into hours of work.
Top tip
If you’ve bought a camera or lens second hand, get it cleaned professionally. The new darling of your camera bag could have been used anywhere. You don’t want to find out in the editing suite that the camera was in fact filthy and you simply couldn’t see it.
I once photographed a wedding in Spain and had to remove all of my equipment from my bag and put it through the x-ray machine more than once. Maybe I look suspicious, but either way, they didn’t understand why I had so much gear in my hand luggage. Anyway, the cameras were assembled and I had to put the items through individually.
Without having any body or rear lens caps in my bag, this meant the glass was exposed. Fast forward and I was in my hotel room until the small hours trying to clean all my camera gear without the proper kit.
I shot the wedding…every image had multiple dirt spots…it took me a week to clean them all up in Lightroom.
Simple precautions such as carrying body caps and rear lens caps just in case and always using front lens caps will reduce the need to clean often, normally a simple wipe with a lens cloth is enough. Maybe twice a year your equipment will need a thorough cleaning, or of course if you intend to sell it you’ll need it to be pristine.
The advice here is based on my own experience of cleaning cameras for hobby, professional and selling purposes. Thankfully I’ve never trashed anything, but there are certainly things I wish I knew from the offset.
Camera cleaning and camera lens cleaning equipment
Soft cloth/lens cloth – The perfect companion and something you will need at all times. Sweat, dirt and dust all accumulate on the camera, lens and in the viewfinder. Buy one. No need to break the bank, these ones will do just fine.
Air puffer: if you can avoid touching the glass then you should, you could spend £20-40 on the Giottos Rocket Air Blaster, or you can buy this one for £8, it does the same thing, either way, it’s is needed for blasting debris and lint without leaving a residue behind
Soft toothbrush: no need to go fancy, find the cheapest soft brush you can, no rubber bristles please. Something like this from Oral B is fine. The fact that it’s a children’s toothbrush means the grip is a bit chunkier and easier to handle.
LensPen: a really neat tool, one that is invaluable for reasons ill explain. Essential for lifting dirt and grease from lenses.
Lens cleaning solution: this should be a last option as I’m always reluctant to use liquids, but if its needed, Zeiss make a handy spray bottle that will do the trick.
Cheapskate options
If you’re shooting for fun and not professionally, then all this may seem a bit much. The vast majority of dirt, even scratches, don’t show up on photographs as they are rendered out of focus. Dirt on your sensor? As I explained above, that’s a nightmare and will often require professional cleaning. There’s no excuse for poor care of your equipment, but if you are in a bind you can use simpler household items to get the job done.
Cotton t-shirt: if its 100% cotton, it will be fine, just be gentle.
Cotton buds: sometimes you need something that will get into the corners, use them dry to remove hard to reach dirt.
Use a UV filter: the best way to keep dirt off the front of your lens is to put a UV filter on it. Also protects from dings in the glass. Click on this link to go to amazon and buy one right now, just make sure you pick the right size as each lens is different. I can’t begin to tell you how annoyed I am at myself for not buying one for my 85mm lens, there’s now a massive chip in the end of it.
How long does it take to clean a camera?
I’d set aside half an hour easy. Once you get into it you’ll start noticing all sorts of hidden dirt you’d not spotted before, then you’ll want to inspect ever nook.
How to clean the camera body
If you own an SLR, take off the lens, put on the body cap and use the blower to remove any obvious bits of dirt. Do this first as you don’t want the dirt anywhere near you when you open the camera up later on. Its annoying how easy it is for lint, fluff or mud to stick to your clothes and appear later on, blow them away. Then use your soft cloth to wipe down the body of the camera. If you find grease on the body don’t be scared to use a tiny amount of soap and water. Just don’t use so much that droplets run from the cloth and potentially into the camera.
Cameras typically have textured patterns on the handle grip…well…for grip, but these indentations and grooves are havens for dirt from your hands. Get the toothbrush out if you need it.
How to clean the viewfinder
If you have an SLR that’s not mirrorless, I’d simply use a cotton bud to get in there and clear out any debris. If it’s mirrorless, you need to be more delicate. Start with a soft cloth and if needed use a few tiny drops of cleaning solution.
If you use the cleaning solution don’t then go back in with a cotton bud as the static will draw threads off of the bud back onto the viewfinder.
How to clean the camera lens barrel
Similar to the camera body, use the soft cloth and maybe a tiny bit of moisture to rub off any obvious dirt and mud.
The focus ring and the zoom ring on a lens often has close knitted ribs for grip. This may need the toothbrush as it can be hard to dig out the grime with a cloth.
How to clean the camera lens glass
The most delicate part of the lens and the part that takes the most care. Whilst it is difficult to completely ruin a lens, there’s no need to be gun-ho in your cleaning efforts. Patience will pay off.
Use the rocket air blaster to get rid of any obvious dust particles. Don’t use canned air because it leaves a residue. The lens pen comes next. Use the brush end to brush away any loose particles, then turn it over and use the felt tip end.
Don’t worry, its not an actual pen.
The tip is carbon charged, which is really cool as it absorbs oil and grease and wont damage the lens. Remember to always put the cap back on as the cap has a material inside it that recharges the felt tip, so if you lose it it wont work anymore.
Put the tip of the lens pen in the middle of the glass and work outwards in a circular motion. If that does the trick, give it one last blow and then lens cap back on, you’re good to go.
If that wont do it then use the soft cloth with your optic cleaning solution. If its truly filthy, put a few drops on the edge of a cotton bud to get in the crevices where the glass meets the plastic and repeat the above steps.
The only time the rear lens glass is exposed to the elements is when you change lens, so it should only have minor bits of dust on it.
Again, use the above steps if there’s a finger print on it for some reason. You may find the rear element moves when it focusses so just spin the focus ring around until it comes closer to you to make cleaning easier.
Careful
If you are using the same cloth over and over again be careful you aren’t using a dirty cloth that will smear or worse yet scratch a lens. Put it in the washing machine after each use.
How to clean lens caps
This one is super easy as you don’t need to worry about getting detergent on to your precious electronic equipment. Easiest way is to use a toothbrush to scrub them in a bowl of hot soapy water.
Give them a good scrubbing, rinse with clean water and leave to dry somewhere warm. Be mindful of where you leave them to dry, they are plastic after all and will melt.
Annnnd, done. Good work.