HELP! Accidentally touched lens

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thekenman

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I accidentally touched the lens(ocular) on my new zeiss conquest. It says in the manual that fingerprints can damage the lens. Unfortunately I do not have any special lens cleaner or anything fancy other than windex..

I did just order some zeiss compact cleaning kits but is there anything I can do in the meantime? maybe run water on it? Do you guys think the fingerprint will do any permanent damage? It is a oily visible smudge
 
It's ruined, send it to me, I'll dispose of it properly. :D

All jokes aside, your scope is fine. Use a microfibre cloth, like the one came with your sunglasses or eyeglasses after breathing on the lens lightly. I wouldn't use windex, the ammonia could damage lens coatings.
FWIW, I use my shirtsleeve or any soft cloth.
 
If you can get your hands on some distilled water (no minerals) you can lightly flush the lenses with that. Then, take some 4x4 gauze and lightly dry the lenses in a dabbing motion.

Remember, normal tap water has minerals in it and when either letting it air dry or trying to wipe it off, you take the chance of those minerals making light scratches in the coatings (the most important part) of the lens.

Circular wipes are the quickest way to turn that expensive lens (camera, riflescope, bino's, doesn't matter) into an extremely expensive paperweight.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I ended up just running it under warm water for a couple minutes. I don't have any micro fibre or even que tips or cotton balls atm so hopefully I didn't wash off the coatings :s it seems like there is some light refgraction arouind the edges when looking through the scope, especially on higher magnification, is this normal?
 
thekenman said:
Thanks for all the replies! I ended up just running it under warm water for a couple minutes. I don't have any micro fibre or even que tips or cotton balls atm so hopefully I didn't wash off the coatings :s it seems like there is some light refgraction arouind the edges when looking through the scope, especially on higher magnification, is this normal?
Click to expand...

Where the hell do you live? And yes, it is normal. - dan
 
I live in Toronto, in a 30 something year old building too, not sure how nice the pipes are. I think I went overboard with the cleaning haha.. I bought 3 zeiss compact cleaning kits and an optex digital camera cleaning kit from japan camera (only 20$with tax, comes with solution, brush. Blower and a micro fibre cloth..) I hope the solution doesn't expire it looks like ill have some for awhile
 
I thought rule #1 with cleaning any lens is to make sure there is no dust on the surface..? Oil/salt from fingerprints are way less likely to have an impact on the lens/coating than swirling a soft cloth over what might be fine sand/dust particles! I've seen dust cause scratching on otherwise clean lenses.
 
The last time I looked, the Zeiss Conquest was primarily a line of top quality hunting scopes.

In case there's any confusion here, "hunting" is generally understood to be an activity that takes place in the great outdoors, a place filled with no end of dirt, dust, mud, rain, snow. Good quality hunting gear is designed to survive in this environment while providing many, many years of serviceable life. It's meant to be used, not babied. :p As noted previously, the big thing is get the dust off prior to any wiping of the lens surface.

OK, all jibes aside, the OP can rest assured that the occassional smudge or fingerprint is not going to change the view through the optic. Just clean occassionally per the many suggestions above and that scope will perform very well long past the expiry date of its owner!
 
well, if you want to preserve the coatings,go to your local optician and get a bottle of lens solution- the one for cleaning glasses, not the one for cleaning contacts- that's a whole different set- and a lens CLEANING CLOTH- riflescopes are the low end of the spectrum as far as telescopes go, and clean it from the centre out in a circular motion- if it's just a small smear, you can wipe it with the edge of a cloth- DO NOT use a q-tip or cotton shirt as these are far too coarse- a CAMERA shop will also have the same stuff- you use the bulb for blowing dirt from the lenses, then wet the lens with the solution, and wipe with the cloth -GENTLY- this is how it used to be done at the LEICA service depot( spent 5 years there)- and your cloth will be a lint- free one- and keep it in it's plastic bag
 
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Its not a big deal, go to your local grocery megastore with an eyeglasses place, or a dedicated eyeglass store, pick up a bottle of spray and the soft clothes and your good to go.

Fingerprints over several months or years im sure is an issue, a couple days or a couple weeks, no big deal
 
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