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Review on 🧻 ZEISS Lens Cleaning Wipes, Pack of 80, Pre-Moistened by Derek Isaac

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Actually, they clean well, but it’s better to save them for trips (+ tips for cleaning optics)

It all started with the fact that, while examining the front lens of a recently purchased lens, I found strange streaks there, speaking in our language - "smugu". At first, this didn't seem like a problem to me. Here is a Filmann microfiber cloth, here is medical alcohol, we take it and clean it ... However, the cherished bottle of ethanol, which helped me out in such cases, was already empty by that time. And when I started cleaning the lens with alcohol from a new bottle, which I don’t remember for what merits, I found out with a bad feeling that the stains remain even larger than before the procedure. Kind aunts in white coats mixed glycerin there! :(( Normal isopropyl was also not at hand then. I never made friends with a cleaning pencil ... Well, the miser pays twice, and in my case it turned out almost four times. It's time to try branded optics cleaners! To my surprise, at that particular moment, someone drank all the cleaning liquid in Minsk, sold outside of expensive kits... ;) So, in the end, I had to take these wipes. The kit is officially called Zeiss Pre-Moistened Cleaning Cloths (ZEISS wet cleaning wipes), in which capacity it is officially declared on the website of Carl Zeiss AG. Branded box, strict design. The information on the package is rather mean, however, there is a sticker with a translation. Such a box costs 20 rubles new, which is about 10 "evergreens". A lot of. In the box, according to the official specification, there were 10 double packs of wet wipes and a dry microfiber cloth. Here are the double packs. Click to enlarge! Each of the bags contains a folded paper napkin soaked in some liquid that exudes a rather pleasant alcohol smell. The composition of the liquid is not disclosed, however, you have an inalienable right to call the hotline and prove in the purest bourgeois that you are a doctor and you have just been delivered a child who swallowed such a napkin...;)) A branded ZEISS microfiber cloth (one would like to say - a handkerchief!) Packed in a plastic envelope. I have to say, I didn't really like the napkin. In my opinion, even the film's "handkerchiefs" are better. Shake it well before using it, because there are whitish particles stuck to it. And the structure of the fabric itself is somehow cloudy ... So, for sensitive optics, it is highly desirable to take a more serious microfiber, for example - JJC or Lenspen MicroKlear MK-1. Company instruction. Already in ten languages, Russian is present. Don't be surprised, it is universal for all ZEISS cleaning products, including their signature set. Detailed instructions, click to enlarge! Mustache. Getting ready for work. We wipe the table, lay out the accessories. Napkins, microfiber, a brush (in this case, built into a cleaning pencil), a rubber pear, the "hero of the occasion” itself - a lens, a flashlight (its light perfectly detects the slightest stains and dust particles on the lens), and also a tray to put used napkins . It's also good to have gloves. Can be special photographic. However, disposable film ones, such as those in which they take bread in a bakery, in this case are just right ... If someone considers me a perfectionist, I will add that a perfectionist will also put on a headdress - like a hospital cap; and the dust collector will turn on for half an hour before work ... Hm, it would be necessary to take care of both ...;) Thoroughly blow the lens with a pear. A brush to climb to the optics should only be a last resort. For, to find a brush on sale, for the sake of which they ruined a real squirrel, is extremely difficult. Standard brushes for photographers are now made from goat hair, possibly mixed with synthetics. With frequent use, micro-scratches on the "enlightenment" are inevitable... Now let's open the package. We unfold the napkin, trying not to touch the part that will come into contact with the lens, if you have not bothered with gloves. And gently, in a circular motion, from the center, as the instructions teach, we wipe the lens, without much pressure. On an enlightened surface, the napkin leaves bright, quickly disappearing traces, after which "technical” stains are clearly visible under the side light of a flashlight. They need to be carefully wiped with microfiber. And here there is a problem. Since the amateur photographer is not Truffaldino and he clearly does not have a second pair of limbs, there is a risk of delay. And mashing-wiping begins ... And then you look - bam! - dandruff fell, fat trace. Everything is new. This is despite the fact that all optics manufacturers unequivocally and in unison advise to touch the lenses less ... The problem is especially acute with small, recessed lenses, such as the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN Art Micro 4/3 . But with due skill, the result is obvious! Especially on large, flat lenses and filters. It will be clean. Not like a brand new lens, of course, but really clean. So the main objection is more of a mercantile order. Napkins cost a little less than half a dollar a piece, and for cleaning one lens, three of them can "fly away”. Direct reason to still find a cleaning fluid, at least the same Carl Zeiss Cleaning Fluid. The only situation in which wet wipes clearly outperform liquid is when traveling. It's always easier to put a few bags into a trunk than to carry a bottle with which they may not be allowed on a plane ... Used napkins look like this. Paper "lint-free". It dries up quite quickly after unpacking, so there is no trace of lingering during the procedure. As information for reflection, I’ll add that ZEISS Lens Cleaning Wipes kits of 60,100 and 200 of these wipes are available on Amazon, eBay and AliExpress. The price is democratic, especially among the Chinese. And this is not some kind of gag from the slanting ones, no - these are quite official kits, only originally intended for the American market ... :)) You can also easily find white microfiber handkerchiefs with a blue ZEISS logo on AliExpress. The quality is the same... ;) Wet cleaning wipes for optics Carl Zeiss is a really working compact, but, alas, not the cheapest solution. So, for economic and practical reasons, it is better to prefer liquid and microfiber for home use. As a result, there will be a troika for this product - from the best Solingen steel ...

img 1 attached to 🧻 ZEISS Lens Cleaning Wipes, Pack of 80, Pre-Moistened review by Derek Isaac



Pros
  • They clean well!
Cons
  • Expensive, the composition of the impregnation is unclear, leave stains, there are difficulties with small lenses