Dan Mc Loc: NM

I see so many photos of cameras and lenses for sale where the bodies and barrels appear as though they have been treated with some sort of oil? What substance is used to reach that condition? I have cleaned mine with a brush, lint free cloth, Q-tips, etc., but the result is never such an impeccable looking piece.

Any tips and tricks to achieve that result?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Dan, Diffused lighting.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

Probably the same stuff used car dealers use to make the tires look shiny.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

The “substance” is called Photoshop.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Armour All?

Actually, I have used the Zeiss lens cleaning wipes on camera bodies and lens barrels to clean them. After I clean the lens glass, I use the wipe to go over the barrel until the solution in the wipe has evaporated. They are lint free and pick up dust and debris quite well.

Stan

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

Of course I was just kidding. But I am sure making lenses look shiny has the same purpose. Your method actually makes a lot of sense. The less dust you have on your lens, the less will make it on your sensor when you change lenses.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Try using extremely large, diffused light sources. They use similar lighting in makeup ads to make women look flawless. A 7-foot octobox works great, but is probably overkill. The trick is to make the light source *relatively* four to six times larger than the subject.

Photocraig

To the root of this issue, is a well kept tool of any kind be it a torque wrench or a EOS1dx, or an "L" lens will be CLEAN. Any craftsperson or Artist will be almost obsessively clean. Clean tool, clean work surface, clean workshop.

The best Auto mechanics garages have floors that are sealed and usually as clean as a good restaurant kitchen. Organized storage is another contributor to good condition and cleanliness.

But to make, especially black, surfaces clean, a light wipe with a small amount of an evaporating cleaner on a soft cloth does the trick. Soft light diffuses a multitude of imperfections. And just like in print matting and mounting, nice soft clean lint free gloves go a long way toward keeping products clean while in the studio. Evan my days as a client, I was given gloves, as I was politely requested to stay out of the way.

I love the after-use of the Zeiss cleaners. I'll adopt that today.

C

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

I collect old vintage lenses as well as have quite a few contemporary lenses. If a lens has collected dust or other types of dirt I will generally clean with an old fashion shoe brush, the kind that when I was a kid my dad would pay me 50 cents to polish his shoes with. They are large with soft bristles and do a fine job. If they alone are unable to clean the lens I will find a soft cloth like a new wash cloth and moisten it with clean water making sure that it is well rung out because you only want enough moisture to clean with, you do not want to actually get the lens wet, I will clean the lens with the cloth and then immediately use a dry cloth to make sure that I leave no moisture behind and then again brush with the shoe brush.

It works well for me, and the other posters are correct in that well diffused light and properly exposed images help to show a lens, however those two things do nothing to remove dirt and dust, they will still show in photos.