[rollei_list] Re: Cleaning Rolleinars
- From: "Richard Knoppow" <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 12:07:29 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc James Small" <marcsmall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2011 10:31 AM
Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Cleaning Rolleinars
At 12:11 PM 7/2/2011, Richard Knoppow wrote:
> Same as any other lens, try any of the "streak free"
>glass cleaners first. Use soft, lint free tissue such as
>Kimwipes or Kodak Lens Tissue (if you can still get it).
HOLD HARD. If you use ROR (Residual Oil
Remover), the instructions require you to use a
Kleenex or similar tissue, and NOTHING
else. Kodak lens tissues used to be specifically
banned but now it instructions just forbid the use of any
lens tissue.
ROR is available from B&H inter alia and is
simply the finest lens cleaner I have ever used.
Marc
But why? Kodak lens tissue was made specifically for
this purpose and made the best one-time brushes because of
the way it feathered. Furthermore, I am very skeptical of
the claims made for ROR, which, as far as I have been able
to determine, is mostly alcohol. Kleenex is OK to use
because Kimberly-Clarke, the manufacturer reportedly takes
care to eliminate particulate matter in the pulp including
running past a strong magnet. Kimwipes are made by the same
company and have the advantage of being free of lint.
Kodak lens cleaner, and many others, was mainly a
dilute solution of ammonium carbonate. Normal ammonia is
ammonium hydroxide and is a lot more alkaline. Some types of
optical glass will dissolve in a strong enough alkaline
solution so one sometimes sees warnings about using cleaners
made of ammonium hydroxide like the original Windex.
However, I think is so dilute and applied for so short a
time as to be harmless. The Kodak cleaner has much lower pH
so does no damage even when used repeatedly. Newer glass
cleaners of the type called "streak free" are made from
butyl alcohol and seem to be both effective and safe. They
are recommended by a number of scanner manufacturers for
cleaning the scanner windows.
I think the main thing in cleaning a lens is to avoid
abrasion and scratching. Anything that is re-used can
scratch including those little camel's hair brushes that are
so popular. The are safer than a multi-use cloth because the
pressure applied is much less, nonetheless, its safer to
make one-time brushes out of tissue paper. Kleenex should
work fine for this.
Note that other brands of tissue may not be made with
as much care to eliminate particulate matter, so I also
suggest Kleenex if you are using plain tissue. However,
watch out for any tissue which has perfume or lotion in it
as some do.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
---
Rollei List
- Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe'
in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org
- Online, searchable archives are available at
//www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list
Other related posts:
