That time a retired wedding photographer told me I was cleaning lenses all wrong with my breath

So last month I'm at this camera swap meet in Portland, and this old guy who used to shoot weddings back in the 80s sees me fogging up a lens with my breath to wipe it down. He just about lost it. He told me I was basically spitting acid all over the glass and that I needed to stop doing that immediately. He said the moisture from your breath has enzymes that can eat away at coatings over time. I thought he was just being dramatic, you know how old timers get. But then he showed me his beat up old Nikon 50mm f1.4 that he's cleaned with a special solution and microfiber cloth for decades, and the coatings looked perfect. Meanwhile I've got a 24-70 that's starting to show some weird hazy spots near the edges. I switched to using a lens cleaning fluid I got from a camera shop and a proper cloth, and within a few weeks the hazy spots actually started fading. Has anyone else had a similar experience with breath ruining their lens coatings over years of use?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben_lewis29d ago

Bet the breath thing just slowly eats away at the coatings over years

ward.kim29d ago

A few years and you're basically scrubbing with spit.

claire_young7629d ago

@ben_lewis I think you're totally right about it being a slow burn kinda thing. I've been cleaning lenses with my breath for years without a second thought. Never thought about the enzymes thing until I read this. Now I'm looking at my old kit lens and wondering if the weird spots are from that exact problem. I switched to proper fluid and a microfiber cloth a few weeks ago too, and the difference is legit. Kicking myself for not listening to that old guy sooner honestly.