LensPen NLP-1, Black

Like many others, I've been using LensPen products and their variants for a number of years. They've always proven to be reliable, easy ways to perform lens and filter maintenance while in the field. And sometimes when we see a product that claims to be better than previous versions, it's been a hollow promise. I was skeptical, but this LensPen NLP-1 lives up to the "new & improved" tag that appears on the upper right portion of the product. It's good enough so that this user will not go back to the older versions, as worthy as they've proven themselves in the past. Pros: + Compact, tight design; fits into the camera bag or pocket easily + Lens or filter is cleaned in ten seconds or less; fingerprints and dust are gone + Screw-on cap protects carbon cleaner; won't fall off in the pocket + Retractable dust removal brush; very handy and protects the brush + Carbon tip does a superb cleaning job; no fluids needed + Great price on an excellent product; very competitive + Carbon tip cleans in ten seconds; lives up to its claims Cons: - None encountered In Use: When my order for the LensPen NLP-1 came in, the first thing was to check and compare it with my old favorite Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System , which is also made by LensPen... check the cap. The NLP-1 is about a half inch shorter, but all of the good features of my old preference are still there. It has a new shape, and the screw-on cap is a welcome change. The retractable dust removal brush does an excellent job of eliminating general dust and the environmental residue that we seem to collect when we're out taking photos. But where this LensPen stands out is its use of the dry-carbon cleaning pad on the other end of this product. When I was a kid, we used to clean windows and mirrors with crumpled newspaper. Black printing is made with a carbon compound, and the carbon molecules have the capability of absorbing oils, grease and contaminants. It's the carbon that does the cleaning, and why the dry cleaning of this improved LensPen works as well as it does. But there are times when one needs to take further steps, such when I recently left my Nikon DSLR on a picnic table while having lunch, lens faced up. As luck (or fate) would have it, a seagull started his bombing run, and instead of my companion or me, he got my 35mm f/1.8G Nikkor lens smack in the middle of the UV filter. Did a superficial cleaning, and when I got home, I cleaned the "residue" off with a microfiber cloth and a small amount of good lens cleaner. I have both Carl Zeiss Optical Lens Spray Cleaner and Purosol All Natural Lens Cleaner for such heavy duty cleaning instances. I have a five-year-old original LensPen that lost its cap years ago, so the next step was to use that with a drop of the lens cleaner on the filter surface, then the newer LensPen with the dry-carbon cleaning pad to finish the job. It sparkled. Summary: The LensPen NLP-1 is relatively inexpensive, and this with the other LensPen products are a very low cost way of maintaining your photo gear. It's new size and features are evolutionary of a well-design product in the first place, and fit quite easily into your pocket or even into the smallest camera bags. These would make a great gift for a photographer or anyone using field optics, and are usually quite appreciated. For the price and value received, they're highly recommended 5-star products for keeping your lenses and filers clean. 9/6/2012

I don’t know how it works, it just does. Used it to clean watch crystal inside case and outside. No debris was left on glass.

Good product works great

I have two of the older versions of this LensPen (one of them with a rounded cleaning end and the other with a triangular tip, better for corners) and this one, with the rounded cleaning tip is more compact and a bit sturdier than the originals. The only thing I wish I understood better was how the carbon black gets placed on the cleaning tip when you screw the protective cap back on. In the older versions, this cap rotated around. In this version, it screws down and tightens so, again, I'm never really sure how much cleaning powder gets replaced on the cleaning tip. But it does work; smudges and spit spots clean right up and the all important lens coatings stay in place, not risked by that stray bit of grit that might be in your t-shirt, or whatever other cringe-worthy items (Kleenex, paper towels, handkerchiefs, shirt tails, fingers, shirt cuffs, etc.) you use to clean your optic lenses. Just use the included soft brush to knock off the grit and potentially damaging bits before you use the cleaning tip! That said, this pen continues to be what I carry with my binoculars and what I trust to keep them scratch and fingerprint free.

While not the absolute best quality, it is good enough to hold up in my gear bag and backpack and still do a superb job. The cap stays in place without falling off every time you nudge it. It's cheap enough to have one every gear bag and a couple for spares.

This is one of the most essential lens-cleaning tools a photographer can have. There are several reasons why I choose these pens over any other type of lens cleaning: - This is very portable - The new design has a screw-on cap - There is NO way to scratch your glass with the brush - The carbon tip does an excellent job at cleaning Traditional microfiber cloths are good, however if you don't brush off the minute foreign particles on the lens first even a light cleaning can leave micro-abrasions/cleaning marks! I trust the LensPen not just for my Canon L glass, but also for vintage manual focus lenses, some of which are rare and quite valuable. I am very pleased with the new screw-on cap design - my last LensPen cap had several close calls hooked on the inside of my pocket, including on a hike that would have meant that I never got it back. The push-up design of the brush hasn't changed, seeing as it has always been excellent! RECOMMENDATIONS: If you have ever gotten anything on your lens that seems impossible to clean (pollen, little kid sticky fingerprints etc), I would highly suggest the following cleaning routine: 1) Using the brush, remove all particles from the front element as best you can. 2) Spray some Purosol All Natural Lens Cleaner on the included microfiber cloth, and wipe off until clean 3) Finally, gently use the carbon tip to finish up, gently making sure there are no streaks (unlikely with this spray) 4) Be amazed by the cleanliness of your lens! I know that cleaning solutions aren't required with the LensPen (having its own carbon compound), however for certain contaminants you really do need something liquid to get things moving. 90% of the time, you won't need to, but I find the above method to work every time. IMPORTANT: 1) Make sure you use the brush side FIRST. If you use the carbon tip first you run the risk of grinding dirt into your glass. This is how lenses get micro-abrasions which can actually affect image quality by wearing on the front coating, and will definitely affect the value of your lenses. Once you have used the brush side, you are free to clean it with the carbon pad. 2) Believe it or not, this pen is faked rather often...I have even come across one or two while traveling. Make sure that there is a LensPen holographic seal of authenticity somewhere on your packaging! I would NOT recommend using one that doesn't have this hologram, who knows what quality control the imitations do or do not have! If in doubt, send it back! To avoid this possibility, buy directly from Amazon or a seller with high feedback whenever possible! OVERALL This never leaves my gear bag/pocket while I am shooting. People tend to over-clean their lenses leading to deterioration of coatings, but I love that I can at least use the brush as often as I want to get rid of the bigger particles, using the carbon pad or the method described above only when I accidentally get a fingerprint on the glass. This is indispensable, and HIGHLY recommended!

I love this for use on telescope eyepieces. I use these, combined with a hurricane bulb-blower to clean my telescope eyepieces. Since I have an 8-year-old that likes the telescope and likes to stick her fingers into things (despite being repeatedly told not to) this is a lifesaver. It is quick, easy, and compact enough to fit in my eyepiece kit. Better yet, I don't need any liquid cleaners with it that could leak inside the kit! I try to clean the eyepieces just as much as absolutely needed, as there's no reason to risk scratching the coatings unless you need to clean. I start with the hurricane to blow off larger stuff (eyelashes, dust particles, small bits of sand, etc). I always do this before brushing as I'm paranoid about the brush getting sand stuck in it (unlikely, but just because I'm paranoid doesn't make it impossible). If the eyepiece is now clean, I stop here and don't bother with the pen. That said, blowers only do so much. From there I use the brush to flick off any remaining bits of dust, and dislodge things that are a bit stuck to the surface. Again, if it is now clean, I stop here. Finally I use the pad end of the lenspen to rub off any fingerprints or other goop stuck to the eyepiece. I would strongly advise never doing this stage without making sure the brushing stage got rid of all the large particles. You don't want the pad end to be rubbing stuff around on the eyepiece, and risk scratching the glass.

This is the best camera lens cleaning tool you can purchase.

Der KLASSIKER. Klare Kaufempfehlung. Für Hobbyknipser und Profis gleichermaßen notwendig und sinnvoll, um das teure Equipment zu pflegen.

Excellent camera/lense brush, so handy to have when travelling

Bom produto! Para quem tem câmera é interessante ter um desses.

It is a fake one. Came with no original packaging. Logo printed badly and no red E. Plastic cheap.

Im OCD when it comes to cleaning my glasses or camera lenses, and the usual cleaning cloth just either leaves fragments of fluff on the lens or smears oil around the lens, but these lens pens work completely different. They clean glasses and camera lenses crystal clear. I wish i knew about these sooner. Ive seen some 1 star reviews complaining about black marks, and while this is true (because its carbon based), you aren't meant to touch the lenspen with your finger or dab it on a cloth! You'll ruin it if you do, and you don't get any black marks on anything if you replace the lid after use. Someone also mentioned that you should tap the lenspen on the side of a table to take excess carbon off the tip, but don't do that either, as it'll just make it less effective, and won't last as long. I highly recommend this product. Its small, its quick, it lasts a long time, and its all im going to buy from now on.