Cleaning Your Binoculars
Birding can be a dusty business, and a lot of what makes up the dust is harder than glass -- tiny sharp boulders, just waiting to gouge trenches in a perfect, smooth, optical surface, just waiting for someone to breathe on the lenses and rub the dust away, leaving a trail of microscopic scratches that will forever scatter light.
There's a better way to clean your binoculars. First, remove as much dust as possible without rubbing. Blow it off, using a pocket-size can of compressed gas. Or brush it away with a camel-hair lens-cleaning brush (other animal-hair brushes work just fine, too). Then use camera-lens cleaning solution and lens-cleaning tissue to finish the job. Moisten the tissue with a drop or two of the lens cleaner, and rub gently. Resist trying to get the surface absolutely, perfectly clean. The less rubbing, the better.
These cleaning supplies are available at any camera store. It's important to use cleaning solution and cleaning tissue made especially for cleaning camera lenses, not eyeglasses. Some eyeglass cleaners and tissues contain chemicals that can damage a lens's anti-reflective coatings.
You can substitute a soft cotton cloth for the tissues. Personally, I am partial to a square of cloth from an old T-shirt that has been worn and washed a million times. It's got sentimental value.
