Cleaning Olympus Housings, especially the lens

[The Chairman]

OK, what's the scoop for getting them crystal clear other than never using them or getting them dirty.

There are five screws holding on the lens... do I hafta perform surgery to really get at the lens and past that rubber light baffle?

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Hay Peter,

Can you give us a hint about which Olympus housing you are talking about. Are you in the Keys full time now?

Phil Rudin

 

[MrPfeffer]

ive used a cotton ball with a little rubbing alcohol on it to clean the inside and outside of my housing lens can hold it gently with tweezers if need be to get down the hole. May not be the way to go but it has worked fine for me.

 

[The Chairman]

Yes Phil, I am in the Keys full time. I just got a dive on the Bibb today and then Snapper Ledges off of Conch Republic. Awesome boat, awesome crew and simply awesome diving.

My housing is the PT-048 for the Stylus 8010.

 

[je76]

Hi Net Doc, What kind of lens are you referring to? A wet lens? I am not sure why you would want to disassemble the housing?

As someone who dove the PT-045 for 2 seasons (the cousin of the 48) I only had to clean the inside on one occasion.

For simple cleaning of the inside after blowing out the inside to remove anything that could scratch it I used either lens tissue or a lint free lens cloth with a drop lens cleaner as required.

If you are cleaning the outside you should first blow off the grit but could use a paper towel as scratching the outside isn't as major a concern.

Of course you may know this already and it may not help if you have attached some after market lens to the thing.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I heard alcohol works well but never tried it

 

[Doubler]

Put it in a box and send it to Reef Photo. A lot less frustration that way, heck you could drive there

 

[The Chairman]

Hi Net Doc, What kind of lens are you referring to?

No additional lens. I just see a lot of spots on the lens. They aren't opaque, but they have to give my pictures the fuzzies.

 

[je76]

The lens on the housing you mean.

If its on the inside I would use a very light amount of lens cleaner (like for a camera) and either lens tissue or a lint free cloth to clean it. Blow off the inside lens before you touch it with anything. I wouldn't bother cleaning any other part of the inside of the housing unless there is grit in there as putting alcohol in there would serve little purpose and may actually serve to hurt the o rings should it get on them.

I am not sure how much you know or don't know about cameras so I will say this. Cleaning the inside of the housing port is more concerning that the outside. A scratch on the outside will not be seen as it will fill with water. A scratch on the inside of the housing and the port is ruined or you are doing work with a mesh kit to try and fix it. I would not unscrew the thing to work on it although a flood on that camera wouldn't be catastrophic like it would on any other camera.