Since so often you see that lenses are damaged due to cleaning, just what is a good way to clean a lens?

thanks
Kim Hartshorn

ther are more opinions abou this than there is about what makes a great photograph.

Wile others will decry my technique, here goes.

1st. Brush or blow of most of the dust, dirt, etc. that you can.

2. take the tissue and push in on your finger like you were going to clean out some grime around the stove. Now pull it off your finger and hold it about a 1/2 inch away from the tip end.
The folds make the tissue stiff enough that the finger shape will stand up and get a lot of the dirt, but since you are holding it back you can't exert any force on the tissue. And since you are using the center of the tissue you reduce the lint coming off the edges. It's a poof or a puff.

Clean in a figure 8 motion. Using just the tip of the poof. If you need more cleaning power, SOFTLY breathe on the lens. This will condense mostly H2O on the lens unless you've been eating a lot of onions.

Most of the scratches come when the lens is in a dusty environment and somebody will take a tissue lay it on the lens the use their finger or thumb to grind the grit into the lens by wiping.

Lastly do as I say and not as I do and keep those lens caps on the lens. Better to keep a lens clean than keep cleaning a lens.