questions about the lens of EX1

G

Gogu

Well-known member
Hello,

I know this might sound as an idiot question but is the lens of the EX1 made of glass or plastic :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG). I have some nasty dust specks on it that won't go away and my lens cleaner bottle reads: " not recommended for plastic lenses " .

I'm imagining it's 100% glass but i don't wanna risk it.

thanks!
 
Its Glass. Go get yourself some Panchro Lens Cleaner or Ultra Clarity Lens Cleaner from Filmtools and don't use anything else. use the kodak/tiffen loose lens wipes with 1 spray of the cleaner on the wipe (never spray your lens), wiping from center of lens to edges in a circular motion, repeating if needed. use a 2nd lens wipe to get the rest of the cleaner off if needed and to polish it off. Not all lens cleaners and wipes are equal, and some will strip away at the coating on the front element. The above mentioned lens cleaners are about the only ones allowed on big-budget productions, and no working 1st A.C. is without them.
 
thanks for the tip.

I'm using Rosco lens cleaner with Rosco lens tissues (probably the equivalent fo the Kodak/Tiffen wipes) which i heard it's pretty good. They also say on the bottle to spray a bit directly in the lens surface.

Why is this practice not okay ?
 
While i worked as an assistant to many TOP dp's, before i went on to it myself, i was a non-union 1st A.C. one of the things i looked for in the learning process was consistency. many of them had different approaches to the creative process, and handling crew. however, they all had the exact same practices when it came to gear. how to "build" a camera, how to stack the cases, how to mount an accessory, etc. the meticulous nature of handling million dollar gear was practiced on even the "cheapest" item, as all were considered equally important to the process. since the lens is the "eye" it is one of the top priorities. if you spray lens cleaner directly on the lens you subject it to many different things. some are instant, others are long-term. the first thing to consider is the "speed" of the spray. the average spray bottle an spray liquid out at a whopping 60mph. even though they are "harmless" liquid atoms, sometimes lens cleaners, sitting in a plastic bottle for a long time, can crystallize due to both the chemicals of the cleaner, and the low quality of the plastic bottle it is contained in. these microscopic crystals are small enough to get through the spray nozzle without clogging it because of the high compression used on a pump sprayer. do you really want ANYthing hitting your lens at 60mph? even the liquid itself..... these crystals are, however, absorbed into the fibers of the lens tissue, and bury below the contact surface before you even touch the tissue to the lens. when you spray directly towards a lens, you expose the surrounding elements to the chemical as well. i.e. monitors, follow focus units, matteboxes, the 2nd a.c.'s eyes as he changes the mag, etc. as well as any flammable elements you may have not considered. the long-term damage done to the lens is even worse. MOLD. even the best cooke s4 primes are not immune to this effect. you can introduce moisture behind the front element when you spray it and eventually mold will start to grow behind your lens. this usually has very little effect on the image for awhile, but is still a major problem that is fixed only by taking apart the whole lens.

sorry for the long winded answer......im editing today instead of shooting and had a long render.....lol
 
Thanks Armstong. But you only told us what NOT to do. What do you recommend?

What do you all think of the Ultra Clarity Pre-Moistened lens cleaning towelettes?
 
Armstrongfilms said:
Its Glass. Go get yourself some Panchro Lens Cleaner or Ultra Clarity Lens Cleaner from Filmtools and don't use anything else. use the kodak/tiffen loose lens wipes with 1 spray of the cleaner on the wipe (never spray your lens), wiping from center of lens to edges in a circular motion, repeating if needed. use a 2nd lens wipe to get the rest of the cleaner off if needed and to polish it off. Not all lens cleaners and wipes are equal, and some will strip away at the coating on the front element. The above mentioned lens cleaners are about the only ones allowed on big-budget productions, and no working 1st A.C. is without them.
Click to expand...

I still have my original Kodak lens cleaning fluid and wipe from the 70's.
 
MitchLewis said:
Thanks Armstong. But you only told us what NOT to do. What do you recommend?

What do you all think of the Ultra Clarity Pre-Moistened lens cleaning towelettes?
Click to expand...

The absolute-proper way to clean a lens:
1-use a manual bulb blower in short bursts on the front of the lens while the glass is pointed towards the ground (if anything is to fall off, you want it to fall down)
2-get out 2 lens wipes
3-take one wipe and make a "bulb" with it on the end, i.e. fold the corners of it together and squeeze, making a lil flower on the end.
4-spray 1 shot of lens cleaner on the end of the bulb and wipe the lens in a circular motion only, from the center of the lens, making your way towards the edges(you can repeat this several times as long as the wipe remains wet.)
5-take the 2nd lens wipe and repeat the center-out technique to remove any excess cleaner from the lens if neccessary.
6-use the bulb-blower if needed to remove any "lint"
7-if the glass is perfectly clean, but has some pesky specks that wont blow off, use an orangewood stick (available at the beauty store) and use the FLAT part of the stick to "grab" the speck off the lens....dont use the corners of the orangewood stick, use the flat part.

i should also have mentioned that canned air is a HUGE no-no for lenses, and should be kept far away from them, so some moron dosent grab the can and blast the front glass with jet-propulsion speed, chemical laced, dirty air. imagine if just a tiny speck of dirt intruduced itself between the canned air and your lens as you pulled the trigger.
as far as pre-moistened? save that nonsense for after eating wings at hooters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top