I had the opportunity to check out a new camera cleaning kit by Llano. They did send me this to try out and make content on, but they have no say in anything that I produce, and I was not paid anything besides getting a free product to test. My goal here is to simply see how well it works and share my experience.
Check out the full video here:
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| The box for the Llano camera cleaning kit before opening it up to test the contents. |
The Contents of the Kit
The kit includes quite a few items designed to keep your exterior camera body and lenses clear of dust and grime. Inside the package, you will find a lens cleaning pen, an air blower, microfiber cleaning cloths, disposable electronics cleaning wipes, a bottle of cleaning liquid, semi-hard tip pointed cotton swabs, and a storage bag to hold everything.
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| Looking at what's in the kit. |
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| Taking a look at the included instruction manual. |
The manual provides some straightforward instructions. It specifically mentions that prior to wiping anything down, you should use the air blower to remove dust. This ensures the surface is free of large abrasive particles like sand or grit to prevent scratches during the cleaning process.
The microfiber cloths come in a sealed package. The packaging is tearable but also resealable. Once you pull it out, you can tell it is an actual cloth instead of disposable and pretty big.
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| The included cotton swabs have a hard, pointed tip. |
The cotton swabs are interesting. They are semi-hard and pointed. I can see why the manual suggests putting a cloth or wipe over them rather than using them directly on delicate parts of your camera.
Starting with the Air Blower
First up, as the manual suggests, I used the blower. I usually try to use a blower as my first option to just blow the dust off before I touch any glass or other delicate surfaces. On an older lens I had sitting around, it did remove a fair amount of loose particles right away.
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| Using the air blower on the front of a lens to remove loose dust. |
Cleaning the Camera Body
Next, I moved on to the electronics wipes. These also come individually sealed, and you just tear the packet to open it. The wipe does have some sort of smell to it, but it is not terrible smelling. It was very easy to use, and it left the surface as clean as I would ever need it to be. It's better than the included microfiber cloths.
I decided to try wiping off my camera with the wipe and one of those pokey cotton swabs. The electronic viewfinder eyepiece is definitely an area of the camera I have never really deep cleaned. I've tried in the past, but it is a delicate, small area.
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| Using a pointed swab wrapped in a cleaning wipe to get into the hotshoe. |
The wrapped swab doesn't quite get the tightest corners, but it definitely helps. The instructions mention using the liquid spray on the cloth and not directly on the surface. So, I could use the pointed tip of the swab with a cloth to get the hard-to-reach edges where a lot of dust settles.
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| Checking the visual results around the viewfinder eyepiece. |
I also figured the lens mount would be a good area to clean. It is important to note that this kit does not come with any sort of tool to clean the camera sensor.
When it comes to camera maintenance, cleaning the exterior and lenses is very different from cleaning the digital sensor. Sensor cleaning requires highly specialized, lint-free sensor swabs that match the exact width of your camera's sensor along with specific optical cleaning fluid. A standard cotton swab or microfiber cloth should never be used on a camera sensor, as they can leave behind residue or permanently scratch the delicate sensor glass. -- Generated by Gemini Pro
I used the wipe on the back of a plastic mount lens. The material has enough texture to it that it was pulling the grime right off the mount.
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| The dirt removed from the camera's lens mount shown on the wipe. |
Testing the Lens Pen
I have a lens that I keep in the background of my main computer area, so the front UV filter is very dirty. I decided to try the lens pen on it to see how well it works.
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| Trying out the lens cleaning pen on a very dirty filter. |
The lens pen is a dry method of cleaning. I swiped it across the glass and you could see the line where it cleaned. The instructions mention not to touch the cleaning tip.
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| The inside of the lens pen cap showing the internal cleaning material. |
You can see there is some sort of material on the inside of the cap. That is where it should refresh and clean the tip. It didn't mention it in the instructions, but my guess is that you rotate the cap to clean the tip. Even after trying that and blowing on it, the tip was still a little dirty.
A lens pen uses a specialized carbon compound on its cleaning tip. This carbon material is highly effective at absorbing oils, such as fingerprints, without the need for liquid solvents. When you place the cap back onto the pen and twist it, the tip rubs against a carbon-impregnated pad inside the cap, which replenishes the carbon compound and prepares the pen for its next use. -- Generated by Gemini Pro
Personally, I would be a little leery of using the dry pen directly on my expensive lenses, but I am not super concerned about this old lens filter.
Final Lens Cleaning Thoughts
After seeing the lens pen results, I wanted to compare it to a wet cleaning method. The kit provides a liquid solution and wipes that have their own liquid in them.
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| The microfiber plus spray didn't work out well. |
If you do clean your lenses, I would stick to the disposable wipes with their own liquid. Use the lens pen if you want to risk that. The blower, of course, remains the best first option.
Packing It Up
The kit does come with a storage bag, though it is a little tight to fit absolutely everything inside. If I get rid of the cardboard boxes and plastic packaging, it will probably be okay.
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| Fitting all the cleaning tools into the included storage bag. |
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Llano camera cleaning kit provides a useful collection of tools to keep your gear looking fresh, especially the blower, the liquid wipes, and the microfiber cloths. Just remember to always use the blower first to avoid dragging grit across any delicate surface like glass.
llano 7-in-1 Camera Lens Cleaning Kit:
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