How often should I clean my lens?

How often should I clean my lens?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: What kind of protective case should I have for my digital camera?; What kind of lens-cleaning kit do I need and how often should I use it? and more...

You need to clean it when it's dirty. If you go to the beach, every time you go, you're going to need to clean it. If you just take it to a birthday party and it comes out and goes back in the case, maybe you don't need to clean it every time. But one thing I'll tell you is that digital cameras today are far more finicky with dust and dirt than film cameras ever were. You've got to keep the lens clean, the LCD clean, the whole camera clean, because otherwise you get dust and spots and blur on your picture that we didn't have with film.