Appreciation post: the old timer at the Columbus camera show who showed me his lens cleaning routine

Mila Hayes · 2026-10-20T15:50:03.011285+00:00

I went to the Columbus camera show back in March mostly to dig through junk bins for parts bodies, and I ended up standing next to a guy in his 70s who had a folding table of old glass. He watched me fighting a hazy element on a 50mm for about ten minutes and finally leaned over and said my problem was the cloth, not the fluid. He walked me through his whole routine, lens tissue torn into quarters, one pass per quarter, and a squeeze bulb instead of canned air because canned air spits propellant. That little change has saved me at least two coatings since then, and I keep thinking about how close I came to just skipping his table. Anyone here pick up a trick from a show stranger that stuck with you?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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Appreciation post: the old timer at the Columbus camera show who showed me his lens cleaning routine | Camera Repairers - Pinecone Attack