Am I the only one who used to clean lenses with my t-shirt and now cringes thinking about it?

For like 10 years I would just breathe on a lens and wipe it with whatever shirt I had on. I thought that was normal, everyone I knew did it. Then about 6 months ago I got a job at a repair shop in Portland, and the owner caught me doing it on a 50mm f1.4. He just stared at me and said 'you're gonna ruin that coating in a year.' Now I keep a pack of microfiber cloths and sensor swabs in every bag I own. I even bought a rocket blower for my home desk. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from back when you didn't know any better?

2 comments

2 Comments

linda_murphy1d ago

You're gonna ruin that coating in a year' - did you actually see any damage on your own old lenses from doing that, or is it more of a preventative thing? I'm curious how fast that wear really shows up.

umac711d ago

My friend Jenna used lens wipes on her Ray-Bans for about 8 months. Around month 9, she noticed tiny spots where the coating was flaking off near the edges. It wasn't super obvious at first but by the year mark she had a few cloudy patches that wouldn't wipe clean. She ended up having to get new lenses put in.