Wasted $150 on a lens cleaning kit that wrecked my vintage glass

I bought this fancy ultrasonic cleaner off Amazon thinking it would save time cleaning a 50mm f1.4 from the 70s. Ran it for 5 minutes and the solution got hot and fogged up the inner elements from the inside out. Now I gotta find someone who can take the whole lens apart and clean it properly, which is probably gonna cost double what the kit did. Has anyone else tried these ultrasonic things on older lenses and gotten burned?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanr8925d ago

Yeah the ultrasonic thing is a trap for vintage gear. In my experience, heat and old coatings don't mix well at all. It's kind of like how people ruin cast iron pans by putting them in the dishwasher, something modern is supposed to be convenient but it just wrecks what made it good in the first place. Your mileage may vary, but I only use lens cleaning fluid and a microfiber cloth for anything older than the 90s, no shortcuts.

daniel_rivera25d ago

Yeah and even beyond the heat thing, I think the vibrations in those ultrasonic cleaners can loosen stuff inside the lens that's been sitting stable for decades. Like the old grease or adhesive holding the aperture blades together or the lens groups in place. That stuff is already brittle from age, shaking it around is just asking for a little piece to break off and float around inside the glass. Total nightmare. And the comparison to cast iron in the dishwasher is spot on, people don't realize that older stuff was built with different materials that can't handle modern treatments. I bet if you take it to a proper repair shop they might be able to save it but that's gonna be a painful bill for sure.