*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com
Keeping your lenses clean is one of the top priorities for every professional photographer. To explore different techniques and methods we would like to tune in to David Bergman’s 2 minute tips on AdoramaTV.
David shares: “One of the most important parts of your camera lenses, is those big pieces of glass. If they have fingerprints, or dirt on them you’re going to have a really tough time since that affects the quality of your images. The glass is covered in special coatings, which can easily be scratched, so yo want to use a blower to get rid of any actual particles on your lens first.”
“Then to get rid of fingerprints, or anything else, that might be on that glass, what you should do is use a proper lens cleaning solution. Spray it onto a microfiber cloth, and gently wipe the lens.”
“Listen don’t say you heard this from me, but if you’re on location and you don’t have the solution with you, I’ve been known to breathe on my lens to moisten it a bit. This has always worked for me, but I’m clearly telling you not to do that.. Ok!”
“Either way you still want to use a microfiber cloth to wipe from the middle, continuing out in concentric circles, this pushes any remaining residue to the outside of the lens. Then repeat that process with the glass on the other side. In addition if you’re having any kinds of issues where your lens isn’t communicating properly with the camera, you might have dirty electrical contacts.”
“The best way to solve this, is to use a solution that’s made specifically for cleaning contacts, like detoxic gold, or just plain old isopropyl alcohol with a clean soft cloth.”
“In a pinch and this is really only a last resort… you can try to use a pencil eraser. The camera companies do not recommend this because the eraser is abrasive and can easily damage the thin gold plating on the contacts, I would only try that in an emergency, like if you’re in the middle of a shoot, and you don’t have any backup equipment!”
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