# How to Clean Oily Residue (cooking splatter) off lens?



## cayenne (Sep 28, 2016)

Hello all!!

I use my 5D3 to film my YouTube cooking show, CWI: Cooking While Intoxicated.

I often like to do somewhat close ups of my sautéing on the stove. I"m not talking right over looking into the splattering pan, but close enough to where there may be some residue from smoke and oil (it carries a long way in the air) get on the lens.

What the the best and safest way to clean the lens? I often have a filter on the lens (UV), or in the case of what I'm experimenting with this time around, is one of the Anamorphot Anamorphic lens adapters on front of my Canon 40mm pancake....and on close ups, I'll have the diopter on the end of it so I can focus closer.

I know lenses have coatings, etc...and I don't wanna scrub that off, so guessing pure alcohol or window cleaner is NOT the thing to do.

Anyway, much appreciated if you could give me some pointers for cleaning what may be a bit of cooking grime on a nice lens used for filming a cooking segment.

Thank you in advance!!

cayenne


----------



## Don Haines (Sep 29, 2016)

Is it on the lens or is it on the filter?


----------



## cayenne (Sep 29, 2016)

Don Haines said:


> Is it on the lens or is it on the filter?



Well, I'll be changing lenses, some have filters, some do not....and also mentioned is using a diopter lens on an anamorphic lens adapter. 

The one I'm using for that is: http://www.slrmagic.co.uk/slr-magic-anamorphot-133x-50-anamorphic-adapter.html

This will be a problem for me going forward, and wondering in general how to get the lens or filter or adapter or...etc...cleaned properly and safely for the glass, especially those that may be coated.

I'm kind of assuming everything has some sort of coat, just to be safe....

Thanks in advance!!

C


----------



## Don Haines (Sep 29, 2016)

cayenne said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > Is it on the lens or is it on the filter?
> ...


I have a spray bottle of lens cleaner that I got with my glasses.... it seems to work fine and no problems (yet). You should be able to find something like that at any optometry place. My local camera store has nothing of the sort...they can order it, but hey, the optometrist is in the same strip mall so.........


----------



## Alex_M (Sep 29, 2016)

I used Isopropyl Alcholol to clean my lenses quite a few times and found that it works really well, not leaving any streaks behind and does not cause any harm to the lens. it could be used on computer screens as well.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/diggers-125ml-isopropyl-cleaning-alcohol_p1564443


----------



## old-pr-pix (Sep 29, 2016)

When I managed to get sun screen lotion on my lens the local camera shop recommended a product called ROR - Residual Oil Remover. About $8 as I recall. Worked great.


----------



## rfdesigner (Sep 29, 2016)

I'd approach this as with my telescopes... washing up liquid and warm water.

so.

1. use a filter on all lenses.

2. use lots of warm water and washing up liquid on the filters after use. When I've done this I've applied the washing up liquid directly to the filter which cuts through all grease but doesn't touch the AR coatings. With scopes the general advice is to use fresh cotton wool to wipe the surfaces, but only one stroke per side of the cotton wool, lens filters are a touch tougher.

3. rinse in dehumidifier water if you have some, otherwise lots more warm tap water.

dry thoroughly by leaving vertical use the corner of a paper towel to pull off droplets, and leave for the air to remove the last traces of water from joint between holder and glass before re-attaching to lens (a day or so), you may be lucky and can get the glass out of the holder.. which will mean a guarentee on dryness.


Alternatively use really cheap filters and throw them away afterwards.


----------



## lion rock (Sep 29, 2016)

cayenne,
One thing you may try is to use a (very clean) mirror to reflect your image of the cooking pot so any splatter is caught by the mirror which can be cleaned much more vigorously than you lens. It does require a bit more setup.
Like your cooking show.
-r


----------



## cayenne (Sep 29, 2016)

lion rock said:


> cayenne,
> One thing you may try is to use a (very clean) mirror to reflect your image of the cooking pot so any splatter is caught by the mirror which can be cleaned much more vigorously than you lens. It does require a bit more setup.
> Like your cooking show.
> -r



Thank you for the compliment on the show...and that you and EVERYONE else too for all the great comments here.

I was afraid isopropyl alcohol would damage a lens coating...I'll need to research that a bit more.

I'd not thought about using dish washing detergent, that for sure breaks up oils...and should be gentle enough...but was worried about how much water it would take to rinse it all off.

On most of my regular lenses, I do keep a UV filter on them and that will make them easy. But as I'd mentioned, for this shoot, I'm using a specialized anamorphic lens adapter and I don't have a filter for that.

The mirror idea is interesting, I'll look into that maybe for next shoot, but in the middle of things now and not able to do that...lots would come into that with angles to make sure it doesn't show cameras, etc....and where to mount it, etc....

Anyway, all good idea and I'll start looking into them!!

Please keep the suggestions coming as you think of them!!


Cayenne


----------



## soldrinero (Sep 29, 2016)

cayenne said:


> ...I was afraid isopropyl alcohol would damage a lens coating...I'll need to research that a bit more....
> 
> Please keep the suggestions coming as you think of them!!
> 
> ...



I'm an optical physicist, so cleaning coated optics is a daily part of my job. Generally we use (high-purity) methanol, or for stubborn things, acetone. Isopropyl alcohol works, too, but usually not as well as methanol and it tends to be more streaky. None of them hurt optical coatings, although you have to be really careful with acetone around plastic or glue, as it can dissolve those and spread them on your optic, which is a bear to clean. With regard to streaks, they're usually caused by water that's dissolved into the alcohol, even just what comes from the air. For the cleanest glass, try to use water-free alcohols and keep them tightly sealed. Naturally, be sure that you're not grinding any dust particles into the surface, as those can leave scratches if they're mineral dust.


----------



## mackguyver (Sep 29, 2016)

Don Haines said:


> I have a spray bottle of lens cleaner that I got with my glasses.... it seems to work fine and no problems (yet). You should be able to find something like that at any optometry place. My local camera store has nothing of the sort...they can order it, but hey, the optometrist is in the same strip mall so.........


+1 on the eyeglass cleaner. Being in hot old Florida, I often get sunscreen, bug spray and other nasty stuff on my UV filters and eyeglass cleaner never fails. The other trick I use for stubborn stuff is to put it the filter in the freezer for a couple of minutes and then pull it out. The condensation that forms is really heavy and then you just use a microfiber cloth to clean it. Water is the 'universal solvent' after all.

Of course using a mirror as lion rock suggests or longer focal lengths and avoiding the issue altogether is best.


----------



## mnclayshooter (Sep 29, 2016)

cayenne said:


> window cleaner is NOT the thing to do.



Correct - don't use window cleaner. Lens cleaner spray/drops, eyeglass cleaner, or methanol are best and work for 99% of what I've ever gotten on my lens/filters including tree sap, sunscreen lotion, motor oil, and volcanic geyser spray. 

I usually try to use a microfiber/lint free cloth and put a drop or two of the cleaner on it, then apply to the lens, rather than spraying directly on the lens - just to avoid the pooling that occurs into the edges of the lens/filter housing - especially on the lens front/rear elements - no need to have seepage into the lens body! 

Good luck, I'm sure you'll come out fine with gentle pressure and normal cleaners that have been mentioned here.


----------



## d (Sep 29, 2016)

Here's another solution:


----------



## Click (Sep 29, 2016)

d said:


> Here's another solution:



;D


----------



## rfdesigner (Sep 30, 2016)

cayenne said:


> lion rock said:
> 
> 
> > cayenne,
> ...



Yes it takes a lot of water. I use a couple sinks full of tap water when I'm washing my 12" scope, one to wet then add the washing up liquid, then rinse then the second sinkful to rinse again before washing off with the dehumidifier water (our tap water is fantastically hard, off the scale), I use a couple of litres of dehumidifier water. I'm profigate because it's free.

For a lens filter I could reduce the amounts of water by an order of magnitude.


----------



## rwmson (Oct 6, 2016)

I will second the recommendation for ROR - Residual Oil Remover.


----------



## mnclayshooter (Oct 6, 2016)

rfdesigner said:


> cayenne said:
> 
> 
> > lion rock said:
> ...




Out of curiosity, do you boil the dehumidifier water to knock down any spores/fungal/algae development? IT's a great source of de-mineralized water, to be sure... Just looking at mine - It spits out a lot of water via a hose directly to our floor drain in the basement during the summer - it also has a pretty good algal load to it in the hose. I can see a small amount built up in the outlet of the dehu as well... I'm not sure what ratio of alcohol or boiling would help neutralize anything growing in the water... but I would guess it wouldn't take much.


----------



## rfdesigner (Oct 9, 2016)

mnclayshooter said:


> rfdesigner said:
> 
> 
> > cayenne said:
> ...



no.. there are spores everywhere all the time, what matters is keeping things dry and below about 50% RH to keep fungus from growing the rest of the time.

If you think you've got significant algae etc in the water, by all means filter it. Boiling won't do any harm, so by all means, but if you're in a hardwater area, the kettle will have limescale in it so using a nice clean saucepan on the hob might be a better option.


----------



## mnclayshooter (Oct 10, 2016)

Funny thing about your kit description and user name - I had immediately suspected you might be my older brother who likes to remain as incognito online as possible. He's an rfdesigner and has a couple large scopes. HA! Your profile says you're in the UK - so it's safe to assume you and he are two separate people entirely. 

Thanks for the tip on the dehu water. I looked a lot closer at mine - it drains via a hose to the floor drain - the scum/algae I see is only really at the end of the hose and is likely just dirt with some misc algae growth right at that location, I could shorten the hose and catch it in a bucket or something similar which would probably head off the issue and still allow it to overflow direct to the floor drain, but we're headed into winter and the humidity is FAR lower now in Minnesota than it is over the summer months. The basement is staying pretty dry, so hardly any action on the dehu.


----------



## AJ (Oct 11, 2016)

cayenne said:


> Hello all!!
> 
> I use my 5D3 to film my YouTube cooking show, CWI: Cooking While Intoxicated.



I suggest licking off the oily residue. It's probably quite tasty. mmmm.... munchies.... cough


----------



## TheJock (Oct 11, 2016)

I have 2 small dogs who jump all over me everyday when I come home from work, they regularly smear my specs with their tongues/noses and I always clean my specs by sticking them under the tap, then using some liquid soap to make a lather in my hand then wipe the lenses. Dry off the excess water with tissue then finally wipe with a microfiber towel.
Obviously I'm not suggesting you stick your lens under a tap, but the liquid soap works wonders every time!!


----------

