How to clean your lens with a candle, a spoon and a lens cleaning cloth
Jan 16, 2019
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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If you use a lens pen, you’ve noticed that its felt tip is covered in black powder. It’s great against fingertips and other greasy residue, but it wears off. In this video, Mathieu Stern will show you how to clean your lenses equally efficient without using a lens pen. You will need a candle, a spoon, and a microfiber lens cleaning cloth instead. Confused? Let’s dive in.
The tip of the lens pen is covered in “carbon cleaning compound.” But this is basically soot, which sticks to oils and thus makes the lens pen so efficient against fingerprints. So, Mathieu made his own “carbon cleaning compound” using a few items all of us have at home.
If you want to try this yourself, light the candle and run the spoon over the flame. You’ll end up with black soot on the spoon, and you should use a lens cloth to wipe off that soot. Now, brush off any dust from the lens, and then use the cloth with the soot to wipe the fingerprints off your lens. In Mathieu’s test, it seems to do the job just fine.
Personally, I wouldn’t do this to my lenses. I even don’t use the lens pen very often. The thing is, while soot is a gentle abrasive, it’s still an abrasive. It means that our lenses should be fine if you use it occasionally, but using it too often could damage your lenses in the long run.
What do you say? Would you use this DIY trick to clean your lenses from fingerprints (or perhaps you already have used it)? And what about the lens pen, do you use it often or you avoid using it too much?
[How to Clean a Really Dirty Camera Lens (Fast & Easy) | Mathieu Stern]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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14 responses to “How to clean your lens with a candle, a spoon and a lens cleaning cloth”
Instructions unclear, now addicted to heroine.
Ahaha I didn’t see this coming :D
Michalł, you have just won yourself 1.25 Internets. Use them wisely!
lol Hello Warthunder player
I would definitely use this trick on the clear filters I put on my lenses
Now, please repeat on Sony 400 f 2.8 as the real test.
Cigar/cigarette ash would maybe be less abrasive ? Just a thought…
A BIG NO(!!!) to this one. Ash contains calcium carbonate (as well as a lot of other compunds), which is a _LOT_ more abrasive!
Ash is very nice for cleaning a wood stove window. I wouldn’t let it anywhere near my lenses.
(and I would use soot only in the “last resort” department,– perhaps to clean fungus?)
What is happening is that the spoon cools the flame and the wax does not burn properly. Basically the H burns off, the C chain brakes and the pure carbon condensates on the metal spoon. What you get is a very fine coal powder. It has huge specific surface (about 10000 m2 per gram). The grime on your lens will bind to the surface with weak chemical bond while the cloth removes the carbon dust with the grease. I don’t think that the abrasive damage is significant compared to the clean cloth. It is more vital to keep your cleaning cloth in a dust free place while not in use.
does the carbon leave a residue that needs to be cleaned off? Is the pen better then alcohol wipes?
Seems totally ridiculous and somewhat irresponsible to post a DIY article, then state “Personally, I wouldn’t do this to my lenses.”
Why? Is it more responsible to not say that she wouldn’t do it and suggest people just blindly follow a video on YouTube?
Wouldn’t you also be collecting the wax that went up with the carbon? Maybe the wax fills the grooves that the carbon leaved.
Lens multi coatings are generally flourite. The MOH’s hardness factor for Flourite is 4. Graphite/Carbon (non-diamond based) is .5 (point 5). This means that the Flourite MC on the lens should not become damaged, and can handle it with gentle application and care. Off course you need to ensure there are absolutely no contaminates in the application tools, such as harder substances. I would use the lens pen.