Anti-fog cloths

[butch]

Summer is upon us here. 93 degrees today. In the humid days my lenses fog as I go into changing temperature levels. I see some cloth wipes that stop this, they say. Have any of you excerience in using these? I fear harm to my glass. Most of my lenses have UV's but some don't. Still, the eye piece is subject to fogging and there is nothing but the glass there.

[saxshooter]

Are there cloth wipes that do this? Maybe I'm wrong but I can't imagine what could stop condensation. If the lens/camera is coming from a cold air conditioned car/room and you step out into heat and humidity, it will fog.

The worst thing you could do if your fogged is to remove the lens from the camera, you'll condense inside the camera and on the rear element. It just takes a bit of time to acclimate.

[Nikon Bob]

butch

That is a good question and I hope somebody has some experience with the wipes or the liquid solutions sold for anti fogging. I have used the liquid solutions at work on safety glasses and it seems to work for awhile but I hesitate to put it on a lens not knowing what it may do to the coating.

Nikon Bob

[jaapv]

An absolute no-no on your lens. These cloths work by leaving a residue , usually oil or glycerin, on the glass surface. That means they will lead to excessive flare and general deterioration of picture quality. I don't think -but am not sure- that they will damage the coating, but you will have a pretty job getting the stuff off again. Just do the standard anti-fogging measures like getting the camera to acclimatize, use closed plastic bags etc. A high-speed solution is to use a hair-dryer at low setting -carefully.

[butch]

This is what I'm talking about. JAAPV, the build up is what I feared. Maybe even damage to the coating? It sounded to good to be true, so I thought I would ask for other's experience. I used to do the plastic bag thing when coming in from the heat into the cool. Still this doesn't eliminate the condensate from just the proximity of my face to the view-finder. I've always thought myself to be one of those who might auto-combust. I've co-existed with the issue for years. Just thought modern science might have the answer. I have a couple of clunkers I could try it on, so the next time I order film I may try the wipes just to see.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...cessory_detail

[jaapv]

I CAN only work by smearing gunk on your lens - maybe some gunk is not as bad as some other gunk - but gunk nonetheless.

[saxshooter]

I think it is interesting that it is distributed by Nikon, or so it says on the package. B&H calls it "general brand" but if you click to enlarge the image of the item for sale, you see "Distributed by Nikon Inc." I'd be wary of smearing gunk on my lens too. If you had a cheapie UV filter, maybe.

[Ken Ford]

I'm pretty sure those are the wipes sold by Nikon for use on their riflescopes and binoculars - they're *not* for camera optics from what I've heard!

[Nikon Bob]

Originally Posted by Ken Ford

I'm pretty sure those are the wipes sold by Nikon for use on their riflescopes and binoculars - they're *not* for camera optics from what I've heard!

Riflescopes and binoculars have coated lenses these days but maybe they are a tougher variety than those found on camera lenses. A quick question to Nikon might bring an official answer on their suitability for use on camera lenses.

Nikon Bob