spots on lens question

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I got some spray from a water ride at DL on my brand new Sigma lens. The lens/camera were not soaked, just some slight over spray. I think it was from Pirates or Splash Mountain. Tried to remove it by using lens cloth and lens cleaner to no avail. The lens is not scratched. There are simply these weird spots that I can see w/ my naked eye on the front of the lens. It looks like it's iridescent so I assume it has something to do with the multi-coating on the lens. It really only shows up in long exposure shots, or shots in which there is a lot of light reflected.
Has this ever happened to any of you? What do you do to remove it?Someone on another photo board told me I should never use lens cleaning solution on lenses and recommended I get a lens pen. What do you all use to get the gunk off your lenses? I thought using a lens solution would be better than just using the microfiber lens cloth, especially if there was any dust/debris on the lens. (To avoid scratching it.) I'm confused now. I'm praying that I haven't ruined my lens. The weird thing is that I had similar spots on my Nikon lenses from over spray, and the lens cleaner and cloth took them out no problem.
Thanks for any info/insight...

 

[spinetnglr]

I use a Nikon lens pen. It has a retractable brush on one end for loose dust and dirt and a cleaning tip on the other with the cleaner infused in the tip for smudges and such. I dont know it that would help with the spots you have but its always worked well for me with no scratches or marks left behind. I got mine from Amazon but I am sure you could find something similar at a local camera shop.

 

[jann1033]

i use this lens pen (link below) or a micro fiber cloth i wash in the washing machine occasionally so it doesn't have hidden specks of something or other on it. usually one or the other takes care of it. i had some spots that sound like what you were talking about( never figured out where they came from) and used the lens cleaner i got to clean my glasses( that had uv anti-reflective coating on them originally that scratched when you looked at them so i figured if it was safe for that it would be safe for about anything) after i had tried the other two unsucessfully and along with the microcloth it took it off. mostly i try to keep from sticking my fingers on the lens so i don't have to clean them anymore than i have to.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=lens+pen&x=0&y=0

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

i use this lens pen (link below) or a micro fiber cloth i wash in the washing machine occasionally so it doesn't have hidden specks of something or other on it. usually one or the other takes care of it. i had some spots that sound like what you were talking about( never figured out where they came from) and used the lens cleaner i got to clean my glasses( that had uv anti-reflective coating on them originally that scratched when you looked at them so i figured if it was safe for that it would be safe for about anything) after i had tried the other two unsucessfully and along with the microcloth it took it off. mostly i try to keep from sticking my fingers on the lens so i don't have to clean them anymore than i have to.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=lens+pen&x=0&y=0

Thanks for the responses. What's worrying me is that I did use the lens cleaner that came with my glasses and the spots are still not coming off. It says it's safe for all uv/multi-coated lenses, camera lenses and camcorder lenses. I ordered the lens pen. Hopefully it'll help get rid of the spots...

 

[MICKEY88]

you should always use a blower brush first to remove any dirt or such that might scratch, then put cleaner fluid on microfiber cloth...never ever put cleaning fluid directly on the lens.. then wipe gently in a circular motion.

I've heard other people say you shouldn't use lens cleaner, but I've used it for 20+ years on some of my lenses with no ill effect..

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

you should always use a blower brush first to remove any dirt or such that might scratch, then put cleaner fluid on microfiber cloth...never ever put cleaning fluid directly on the lens.. then wipe gently in a circular motion.

I've heard other people say you shouldn't use lens cleaner, but I've used it for 20+ years on some of my lenses with no ill effect..

Thanks Mickey88. Any ideas on how to get rid of the spots? (Besides the lens cloth/cleaner) I'm worried about why the lens cleaner didn't get it out.

 

[VMKAddictTrueTrue]

sometimes they say those are ghosts thatts what happened when we went on the ghost tour in williamsburg VA

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

you should always use a blower brush first to remove any dirt or such that might scratch, then put cleaner fluid on microfiber cloth...never ever put cleaning fluid directly on the lens.. then wipe gently in a circular motion.

I've heard other people say you shouldn't use lens cleaner, but I've used it for 20+ years on some of my lenses with no ill effect..

Thanks Mickey88. Any ideas on how to get rid of the spots? (Besides the lens cloth/cleaner) I'm worried about why the lens cleaner didn't get it out.

OMG! Mickey88 you're a genius! Somehow in reading what you wrote, it made me realize I was probably not putting enough elbow grease into cleaning my lens. I had been spraying the lens directly, not the cloth. So, I just sprayed the cloth, and started rubbing it on the lens where the spots were - and voila! they're gone! Yay! Thank you so much! I was afraid to scratch the lens by rubbing too hard, but the other way clearly wasn't working. Thanks again and thanks to all who responded!

 

[spinetnglr]

Glad to hear something worked and you got the spots off the lens .. I know how I would feel if that happened to me and I couldnt get anything to work !!

 

[MICKEY88]

OMG! Mickey88 you're a genius! Somehow in reading what you wrote, it made me realize I was probably not putting enough elbow grease into cleaning my lens. I had been spraying the lens directly, not the cloth. So, I just sprayed the cloth, and started rubbing it on the lens where the spots were - and voila! they're gone! Yay! Thank you so much! I was afraid to scratch the lens by rubbing too hard, but the other way clearly wasn't working. Thanks again and thanks to all who responded!

fantastic..I'm glad you were successful, it is good to not rub too hard, I've already had to spray my lens closth several times and rub, to clear off spots,,rubbing too hard with a fairly dry cloth can be bad.. but never soak the closth either..

just to elaborate, the reason you never want to put the cleaner fluid on the lens is this...if you put too much on the lens it can actually end up under the front lens element, and then you have serious problems, since you obviously can't wipe it off..

 

[singjenn]

I got some spray from a water ride at DL on my brand new Sigma lens. The lens/camera were not soaked, just some slight over spray. I think it was from Pirates or Splash Mountain. Tried to remove it by using lens cloth and lens cleaner to no avail. The lens is not scratched. There are simply these weird spots that I can see w/ my naked eye on the front of the lens. It looks like it's iridescent so I assume it has something to do with the multi-coating on the lens. It really only shows up in long exposure shots, or shots in which there is a lot of light reflected.
Has this ever happened to any of you? What do you do to remove it?Someone on another photo board told me I should never use lens cleaning solution on lenses and recommended I get a lens pen. What do you all use to get the gunk off your lenses? I thought using a lens solution would be better than just using the microfiber lens cloth, especially if there was any dust/debris on the lens. (To avoid scratching it.) I'm confused now. I'm praying that I haven't ruined my lens. The weird thing is that I had similar spots on my Nikon lenses from over spray, and the lens cleaner and cloth took them out no problem.
Thanks for any info/insight...

Here is the only easy, FREE fix...

I hope I explain how to do this. It's really very simple.

Breathe on the lens with hot breath.... Saying "Haaaaaaaaaaaaa" Then wipe it with a lens cloth. There ya go!! All fixed!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

fantastic..I'm glad you were successful, it is good to not rub too hard, I've already had to spray my lens closth several times and rub, to clear off spots,,rubbing too hard with a fairly dry cloth can be bad.. but never soak the closth either..

just to elaborate, the reason you never want to put the cleaner fluid on the lens is this...if you put too much on the lens it can actually end up under the front lens element, and then you have serious problems, since you obviously can't wipe it off..

Thanks again! That's exactly what I did. I sprayed the cloth and rubbed the lens. Then I thought I noticed it looked like it was getting cleaner. So I tried again; sprayed the cloth and rubbed it some more a little firmer. Then I noticed it really did look like some of the spots were gone, so I did it again, and it worked! Thank you!!! I figured that the reason you shouldn't spray the lens directly was the risk of it getting underneath. Don't know why I didn't think of the possibility of that happening before I sprayed the lens directly! Thank goodness it didn't get under the front lens element!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Here is the only easy, FREE fix...

I hope I explain how to do this. It's really very simple.

Breathe on the lens with hot breath.... Saying "Haaaaaaaaaaaaa" Then wipe it with a lens cloth. There ya go!! All fixed!

Ha-ha singjenn, that was the first thing I did when I first noticed the spots and sorry to say, it didn't work.

 

[MICKEY88]

Thanks again! That's exactly what I did. I sprayed the cloth and rubbed the lens. Then I thought I noticed it looked like it was getting cleaner. So I tried again; sprayed the cloth and rubbed it some more a little firmer. Then I noticed it really did look like some of the spots were gone, so I did it again, and it worked! Thank you!!! I figured that the reason you shouldn't spray the lens directly was the risk of it getting underneath. Don't know why I didn't think of the possibility of that happening before I sprayed the lens directly! Thank goodness it didn't get under the front lens element!

you are quite welcome.I'm glad it worked for you