TIL my lens cleaning cloth had grit in it from the factory

Pulled out a brand new microfiber cloth from the package last Tuesday to clean a 50mm f1.4 front element. After three wipes I noticed hairline scratches catching light. Turns out the cloth had tiny particles embedded in the fibers from manufacturing. Ruined a $400 lens coating in 10 seconds flat. Now I wash every new cloth twice in distilled water before I touch glass. Anyone else had this happen with a fresh pack of cleaning supplies?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_chen818d ago

Man, that stings. A buddy of mine got a brand new pack of sensor swabs and the first one he used had some kind of residue or grit on it. Streaked his sensor with oily marks and a couple tiny scratches. He was steaming for a week. Now he checks every single swab under a bright light before it ever touches his camera.

grant1557d ago

That's rough. I've heard the same thing from a few people now. QC on swabs seems to be slipping lately. I use a blower first and then a good visual check on the swab before it ever touches the sensor.

nina_hall487d ago

Right, so now we're basically doing forensics on a cotton swab before cleaning a sensor. Might as well get a jeweler's loupe and a UV light to check for microscopic defects. Next thing you know, people will be doing a full blown QC inspection on the plastic wrapper before they even open the pack. "Sorry mate, this batch of swabs didn't pass my personal ISO 9001 audit, gonna have to reject it." It's getting ridiculous but hey, after paying $3000 for a body, taking 10 minutes to stare at a piece of foam under a lamp feels like cheap insurance.