PSA: That $60 lens cleaning pen scratched my front element

I bought one of those retractable lens cleaning pens from a camera shop in Chicago last month, figured it was a safer bet than my old t-shirt method. First time I used it on a Nikon 50mm f/1.8, I saw a fine scratch right across the coating. Turns out the tip had picked up some grit from the storage cap and I didn't notice. Has anyone else had this happen with those pens, or did I just get a bad batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

henrycooper17d ago

Bet someone told @morgan.logan to just blow on it too right?

gavinlopez26d ago

Yeah, I feel your pain (and your wallet's pain too). I tried one of those pens on a kit lens I didn't even care about, and it still left a little swirl mark that made me feel like a goblin who breaks all his toys. Guess my t-shirt method wasn't so bad after all, or at least it had the decency to mess up the whole lens evenly instead of just one spot.

morgan.logan26d ago

You know what, this is part of a bigger problem I see everywhere. People buy a fancy specialized product thinking it's the premium solution, but it ends up being worse than the simple old way. Like when everyone started buying those expensive phone screen cleaning kits with the little microfiber cloths that cost $15, but a damp cotton t-shirt or a cheap glasses cloth works just as good for free. The lens cleaning pen companies are selling a gimmick that works great in a clean lab but falls apart as soon as you use it in the real world where dust and grit exist. Sometimes the dumb, simple method is smarter.