Every time your camera leaves the bag, it picks up something it didn’t leave with — dust, fingerprints, sea spray, rain marks, eyelash grease on the viewfinder, sticky residue from a coffee cup. Most of it is harmless on its own, but left in place it dulls images, scratches glass and shortens the life of your kit.
This guide covers cleaning the camera body, lens glass, viewfinder, rear screen, electrical contacts and weather seals — everything except the sensor, which has its own dedicated process and tools. Done well, the whole job takes five minutes a session and protects gear that costs hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds.
What You’ll Need to Clean Safely
Before you start, gather the right tools. The wrong cloth or fluid can scratch coatings or damage rubber seals.
The Essential Kit
A microfibre cloth (lens-grade, not the kind you wipe screens with). A blower (rocket-style, not canned air — canned air contains propellant that can freeze and damage). A lens pen or carbon-tipped cleaning tool. Lens cleaning fluid (alcohol-free, photographic grade). Cotton swabs for tight corners.
What to Avoid
Household glass cleaner — the ammonia attacks lens coatings. T-shirts, paper towels, tissues — they’re abrasive and leave fibres. Canned compressed air — it freezes glass and can blow dust deeper into the camera. Any cloth that has been used for car interiors or kitchen wipes.
Cleaning the Camera Body
Start with the body before you touch the lens. Loose dust on the body can transfer to the lens otherwise.
Remove the Lens First
Always cap the lens and store it lens-down on a flat surface while you work on the body. Cap the body too if you can — a body cap costs £5 and saves you from a sensor full of dust.
Blow, Brush, Wipe — In That Order
Use the blower first to lift dry dust from grooves around dials, the hot shoe, strap lugs and rear panel. Then a soft brush to release anything stubborn. Finally, a barely-damp microfibre cloth to wipe smooth surfaces. Never wipe before blowing — you’ll grind grit into the finish.
Rubber Grip and Seals
Wipe rubber grips with a slightly damp cloth — water only, no fluid. Weather-seal rubber on the lens mount, battery door and card door dries out over years; never use alcohol or solvent on it.
Cleaning Lens Glass
The front element of your lens is the most exposed piece of glass you own. Treat it gently and it will stay sharp for decades.
Always Blow First
One firm puff from a rocket blower removes any loose grit. Skip this and you risk dragging a sand grain across the coating.
Use a Lens Pen for Smudges
For fingerprints and grease, a lens pen with a carbon tip works in tiny circular motions from the centre outwards. The carbon absorbs oils without leaving residue.
Microfibre and Fluid for Stubborn Marks
For rain marks or splashes, put one drop of cleaning fluid on the microfibre cloth — never directly on the lens. Wipe in circles from centre outwards. Use a dry portion of the cloth to buff away any streaks.
Don’t Forget the Rear Element
The rear element of the lens (the small piece of glass at the mount end) gathers dust quickly. Clean it the same way — but never touch it with anything other than a blower and a fresh microfibre. Smudges here show up on every photo.
Cleaning the Viewfinder, EVF and Rear Screen
These are the parts you press your face against. They get oily, smudged, and covered in eyelash debris.
Optical Viewfinder (DSLR)
Inside the eyepiece, you’ll see eyebrow grease and lash debris. Clean it the same way as a lens — blower first, then a lens pen for marks, then microfibre for any smears. The eyecup itself slides off most cameras for easier access.
Electronic Viewfinder (Mirrorless)
EVFs have a tiny screen behind the eyepiece. Be especially gentle — the diopter dial is fragile. Same blower-first approach.
Rear LCD Screen
Modern LCDs have anti-reflective coatings. Treat them like the lens — never use household glass cleaner. A barely-damp microfibre wipe in straight lines, not circles, removes fingerprints without streaking. If your camera has a flip-out screen, clean both sides — the back picks up dust when folded against the body.
Cleaning Electrical Contacts
Lens mounts and battery compartments have small gold-coloured contact points. Dirt or moisture here causes intermittent autofocus failures and false battery readings.
Use a Pencil Eraser — Carefully
A clean white pencil eraser (the kind on the back of an HB pencil) gently removes oxidation from the contacts. Light pressure, two or three passes, then blow away any rubber dust. Do this once a year if you change lenses often.
Battery and Card Compartments
Tap the camera upside down with the doors open to dislodge dust. A dry cotton swab around the battery contacts and card slot springs picks up anything stubborn. Never use fluid here — the camera’s electronics sit underneath.
How Often to Clean — and a Field Routine
Cleaning frequency depends on how you shoot. Beach, snow, woodland and city work all leave more residue than studio work.
After Every Shoot
Quick blower pass on the body, lens front element, viewfinder eyepiece. Thirty seconds, no fluid needed.
Once a Month
Full clean — body, lens front and rear, viewfinder, screen. Five minutes total. Check weather seals for cracks while you’re there.
Once a Year
Contact clean (eraser method). Inspect the rear element of every lens carefully — fungus and haze grow over months and are easier to spot in good light. Anything you can’t clean yourself, send to a professional service centre — sensor cleans, internal dust, focus calibration.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I clean the sensor myself?
Sensor cleaning is a separate process with dedicated tools (sensor swabs, dust-detection software). It’s covered fully in our companion piece on cleaning your sensor. If you’re not confident, a professional sensor clean costs around £30 and avoids any risk of scratches.
Is it OK to use my breath to fog the lens before wiping?
It works in a pinch, but breath carries microscopic moisture and saliva. For a deeper clean, photographic lens fluid is far safer.
How do I know if my lens has fungus?
Hold the lens up to a bright light and look through it. Fungus appears as feathery white or grey patches inside the glass elements — distinct from external dust. Mild fungus can be cleaned by a service centre; advanced fungus etches the coating permanently.
Can I just use a UV filter and never clean the front element?
A UV filter (or clear protector) takes the impact and the smudges instead of the lens itself, so the lens stays cleaner for longer. The filter still needs cleaning the same way — but if it ever gets scratched, you only replace a £30 filter, not a £600 lens.
Why does my microfibre cloth leave streaks?
Either the cloth is dirty (wash in plain water, no fabric softener) or you’re using too much fluid. One drop on a fresh corner of the cloth is plenty.
“Look after your tools and your tools will look after your photographs.”
Final Thoughts
Looking after your camera is one of the cheapest forms of insurance you can take out. A blower, a microfibre and one bottle of cleaning fluid cost about £15 between them and last for years. Make a five-minute clean part of unpacking after a shoot and you will keep your gear sharp and reliable for the long haul.
If you take one habit from this guide, make it the blower-first rule. Most lens scratches we see on members’ kit come from someone wiping a dusty lens before they removed the dust. Blow first. Always.
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