Celestron Lenspen Optics Cleaning Tool Review - Alex Korovessis
I'm a nervous person by nature, and never am I so nervous as when I'm handling eyepieces or telescopes. These are very precise, expensive pieces of equipment. One false move and there goes hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars. This in mind, I was hesitant to try out Celestron's Lenspen on some of my equipment, that although are well taken care of, needed cleaning.
Specifically, I needed to clean some spots from my Orion Short Tube 80 guide scope and Televue Ethos eyepiece. After much deliberation, I decided to give it a go, but for obvious reasons (Ethos = expensive) I decided to try the Lenspen on the Orion guide scope first. If anything went wrong, I'd be kicking myself, but not as hard as if I messed up the Ethos.
Celestron's
Lenspen: Does exactly what it says it does.
The Celestron Lenspen has a retractable brush on one end, and a cleaner/polisher pad on the other. It uses a carbon based powder, which is applied to the pad every time you close the cap and turn it. I wanted to avoid liquid, even alcohol, as I'm not sure what affect a particular type of liquid would have on the coatings of my telescope and eyepiece. I used a blower to blow loose dust off of the lens of the guide scope, brushed it gently, and went to work with the cleaner/polisher pad, applying light pressure and moving from the center of the lens to the outer parts with a tight circular motion.
In both cases, the Orion Short Tube guide scope and the Ethos had small spots on their glass, where condensation had evaporated and left some residue. I've since stopped viewing in mid winter, as the residue left by condensation is a symptom of the very cold temperatures outside. You can't avoid condensation when bringing a scope that has reached an ambient temperature of -20 degrees Celsius indoors. The spots themselves didn't effect the performance of the equipment, but still, they were a nuisance, because I like to keep everything in immaculate condition. Anyhow, if you have the same problem, you are probably wondering if the Lenspen worked. The answer is, it worked like a charm!
I was happy, and lucky might I add, that the spots left by evaporating condensation were mostly on the outside of the guide scope lens. The Lenspen completely removed them, and any other blemish. The optics on the guide scope look almost new. Using the Lenspen on the Ethos eyepiece had the same result. The spots and blemishes left by evaporation and contact with my eyelashes while observing are completely gone. Cleaning both pieces of equipment took less than 5 minutes. As advertised, the experience was painless and safe.
I have no problem recommending this product to you as a safe and easy alternative to alcohol based cleaning of optics. I've heard about people fearing that the Lenspen will scratch the glass on an eyepiece/objective, or that the Lenspen will leave a residue. I've not had these issues. In my experience, the Lenspen works, and it works great. I recently read about a study done by Simon Fraiser University, concerning the effectiveness of the Lenspen, and their results seem to mirror my experience, which put my mind at ease. Personally, I think this product is worth buying.
If you're interested in purchasing a Celestron Lenspen, please consider doing so though our Amazon store. Clear Skies!
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