# What is your experience or practice regarding professional lense cleaning?



## fotoray (Apr 29, 2011)

Do you periodically have your lenses professionally cleaned? How often? By Canon, or ? What was approximate cost per lens? Do zooms cost more than primes?


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## awinphoto (Apr 29, 2011)

Currently I use Canon through my CPS membership. Depending on your membership level you can get a few free cleanings every year. Before I was using CPS, i used a local small camera shop. The bigger shops offered the cleanings but had a week turnaround, however the smaller shops who are starving for business had quicker, more detailed, and more in depth cleanings than perhaps even canon's cleanings in my opinion. 

I think I paid around $30 for a cleaning with the smaller shops where the bigger shops charged a tad more and longer turnarounds. If you have some small mom and pop shops, that's where I would start. You dont have to mail the lenses, they take pride in their work, and probably are quicker than the bigger camera stores.


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## motorhead (Apr 29, 2011)

I must admit that having someone else clean a lens of mine is not something I'll ever consider. Its hardly difficult or even time consuming.


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## awinphoto (Apr 29, 2011)

I have no problems cleaning my front element and rear element, however lenses inside the lens, the casing, the interior electronics where dust and grime could seep into... Especially when you get into the more expensive L lenses or higher priced regular lenses, it's always better to have someone else take care of the deep cleaning who carries the liability of the lens, if anything happens god forbid and you're cleaning it, your out the cost for the repair. If you send it to canon or a store or whatever and something happens, they are on the hook for it. Especially when cleaning a sensor or such.


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## epsiloneri (Apr 29, 2011)

motorhead said:


> I must admit that having someone else clean a lens of mine is not something I'll ever consider. Its hardly difficult or even time consuming.



Surely you mean cleaning the exterior of a lens? I'd be very interested to learn some things from you if you actually disassemble the lenses and clean the interior yourself.


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## Admin US West (Apr 30, 2011)

I have a complete set of tools, and will dissamble the consumer grade lenses to clean them. usually, its just a 10 minute job. However, I've never seen any need to clean my "L" lenses, not even my 3 year old 17-55mm EF-s. Most of the dust I find is behind the front element which is normally quick and easy to remove and clean. I've also cleaned oil off the aperture of a older manual aperture type lens (only one). That worked out well.

Microtools.com sells a lot of good quality camera repair tools, just a couple of cleanings pays for them. I've always been one to take things apart and repair them, its kinda fun. I first bought a canon repair manual and then experimented with old Canon EF basket case lenses that had been totaled from being dropped. I found them at garage sales.

If it turned out to be a difficult cleaning job, I'd just send it to Canon if under warranty, or take it to a local repair company, there is one here in Spokane that I deal with. I do not do this for others, just myself.


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## bvukich (Apr 30, 2011)

microtools.com is a link farm. Is http://www.micro-tools.com/ what you meant?


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## epsiloneri (Apr 30, 2011)

scalesusa said:


> I have a complete set of tools, and will dissamble the consumer grade lenses to clean them. usually, its just a 10 minute job.



Cool! I looked at the website, there are lots of different tools available. What are the tools you find most useful (even essential?) for disassembling a lens?

When you put the lens together, are there calibration screws or similar you need to tweak in order to align the lens elements?


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## motorhead (Apr 30, 2011)

If a lens has to be dismantled for any reason, thats a repair, not a clean in my book.


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## Admin US West (Apr 30, 2011)

bvukich said:


> microtools.com is a link farm. Is http://www.micro-tools.com/ what you meant?



Yes, I missed the dash.

http://www.micro-tools.com/store/


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