Chances are that you have not cleaned your camera lens properly. You might have given it an occasional wipe, but is that enough? If you want the best from your camera lenses, unfortunately, it is not enough. Many photographers who own a camera and couple lenses never bother to properly clean their camera lenses, or perhaps, do not know how to.
Why clean your camera?
Camera lenses are prone to a lot of dirt and smudges because of the environment they are exposed to. To take that perfect picture you need to reach down to the sand on the beach, and other times you may be standing on one leg inside a bush.
Fingerprints, oil, dirt, sand particles, insect parts, you name the perpetrators, there are plenty. Taking good care of your camera is an essential part of taking good pictures. The maintenance and upkeep of your camera and its parts require effort.
Using water and a piece of rag is not an option. Such dirt and debris are a threat to not only the camera lens but the overall mechanism of the camera, especially the camera sensor. You can have a hair, or a speck of dust lodged into a sensor, and it can completely ruin your pictures.
You would do best with a cleaning kit that matches your other equipment and takes as little time away from the actual act of taking breathtaking pictures. Choose the best kit for your camera from our extensive list. Clean lenses and cameras last longer. Your shooting experience will become smoother, and the pictures will come out sharper and blemish-free.
Camera Lens Cleaning Kits
If you are new to camera cleaning and you have no idea where to begin, you can get started with a lightweight Camera Cleaning Kit that has only the basics. It does lack a few tools like a micro-fiber cloth and cleaning chemicals but it can get you started.
If you like to take your camera on adventures, then you need something serious. As you read through the list you will understand more about cleaning kits, and finally, you can choose a kit that best meets your need.
This lens cleaning kit by JJC comes with a dust-free silicone air blower. The silicone makes it easier on your hands. The blower pushes air to blow away any major debris on your camera. You also get 10 wet wipes and 5 dry cloth wipes.
The cleaning brush is mounted on a pen, the round probes are perfect for cleaning around lenses and screens. The pen feels light and easy to work with. The tips are soft enough, so you can be sure that they will not cause any accidental scratches. And finally, a pouch to carry it all together when you are travelling.
We feel the kit could come with a few more wipes, but then, you could always buy more wipes separately.
If you are looking for a complete solution, then the cleaning kit from K&F might be the right one for you. We say this because this kit comes with cleaning rods to clean not only the lens but also the sensors as well.
The sensor cleaning swabs are good for APS-C Sensors that are 16mm and full-frame sensors that are 24mm. Though the kit has eight of the former and only two of the latter.
The kit also consists of a 15ml alcohol-free cleaning spray. These sprays are to be used with the cleaning rods. Also, with the kit comes a pair of anti-static gloves to make sure you’re not smudging your camera as you are cleaning it. Nice touch.
The kit also includes two large cleaning cloths, a silicone blower and a cleaning pen. The only downside with this kit, we feel the bag could be a little more exciting and less…rectangular!
VSGO’s cleaning kit has the usual bells and whistles of a camera cleaning kit. It comes with an air blower and metal brush with a soft tip. The dust-free cotton swabs are really nice, and the cotton tips are tightly placed, so you won’t have to worry about them falling off inside the camera.
However, it could have been better with a few more wet wipes. Currently, it only comes with only five of these. Also, the cleaning spray could be a bigger bottle, but it sure offers an effective cleaning. The pouch with this one is also nice.
The cleaning kit from Altura Photo comes with quite a lot of cleaning tissues, fifty to be exact. It also comes with three microfiber cleaning cloths and a big 2 oz bottle of cleaning spray.
We like this kind of quantity in a cleaning package. It also has a blower and a cleaning brush with soft bristles. We really like the pen that works on the lens and the LCD screen with its flip-able soft tip.
The carry bag is nothing fancy, it is only a zip loc plastic pouch with Altura Photo branding on it, but it is better than none.
The cleaning kit by UES is for both the Camera lens and the sensor. The full-frame sensor cleaning swab is compatible with all full-frame camera sensors.
The soft and flexible 24mm swab head is made of super fine microfiber cloth. This helps you clean without worrying about causing any damage to your sensor. You get 10 of these in the kit. It also comes with a booklet of 50 soft tissues.
The blower and the brush help you with bigger particles around the lens and the camera. The cleaning spray is an alcohol-and-ammonia-free formula.
It is safe for both COMS and CCD sensors and all other delicate optical surfaces. It does not come with a separate brush, but the cleaning pen has a soft brush tip. The portable case on this kit is an impressive hardcover case that is waterproof as well.
The cleaning kit by Zacro has almost all the tools and equipment you would want from a camera cleaning kit. It has cleaning pens like the kind you would see in other brands as well.
The kit also comes with a pair of cleaning gloves. It also has cleaning rods that can help you reach the sensor on your camera. A blower is also included in the case.
A unique tool in this kit is a tweezer, which is missing in almost all the other kits on the list. We like this addition. We could have done with more than just 5 dry and wet bags. Oddly, it has two brushes- they have included a beauty brush as well.
If it was up to us, we would have exchanged one of the brushes for a few more dry and wet tissue packs. The attractive feature of this kit is the fact that you can fit all this in their nifty hard-shell case.
The final camera lens cleaning kit on the list is Movo Deluxe Essentials. The kit contains an air Blower, Camera Sensor Cleaner Liquid, 10 Sensor Cleaning Swab, a lens pen, a cleaning brush, and a few microfiber cleaning cloths. And to pack all this you get a nice travel box.
We feel the only letdown in this kit is that they did not include a few packs of dry and wet wipes and disposable tissues.
So, take your pick from our list of best camera lens cleaning kits. One thing to be mindful, do not to use lens cleaning kits on your sensor unless it explicitly states so. We hope this article helps you out, no matter which level of photography you are at. After you’re done cleaning, great pictures await.