Care for & Clean Your Camera Lens

Video Transcript

"It's very important that you maintain all of your equipment, especially your lenses. You have to realize that your lens is the first thing that the light and the filter will pass through, before they get to your camera; so if your lens is dirty, your pictures are going to be dirty. It's very important to keep your lenses clean. There's a right way, and there's a wrong way to clean your lens. I only use lens cloths. This one was purchased art a camera store. It's made specifically for cleaning lenses. You don't want to use a tee shirt, because it may be dirty. You don't want to use a paper towel, because it's maybe going to be a little too gritty. Some tissues actually have moisturizers and things put into them that you don't want to get on your lens. So again, a nice lens cloth allows you to simply wipe down your lens. I like to go in a circular motion, and then go across the middle; make sure you have everything, and then one last final swipe around the edges, and voila`, your lens is clean. This is a lens with a UV filter on it. A UV filter, unlike most filters; is only really there for protection. It's not going to create any effects on your images, but by screwing a UV filter on your lens, you're ensuring that you don't get as much grit, dirt or anything on the actual lens of your camera. A UV filter is rather cheap and easy to replace, but your lens is not. Your lenses are only as good as you take care of them. Just remember, anything that's on your lens is going to appear in your image. If it's a spot of dirt, you're going to have a black spot. If it's a finger smudge, you're going to have an area that's out of focus. Just remember, you want clean images, you need a clean lens."