After the pen has been used for a while, how can the pen itself be cleaned so it can keep doing a good job?

The trick to any camel hair lens brush (a why professionals have been cleaning lenses for decades) is to be as meticulous with them as you are with your camera. Keep them clean to begin with. They naturally do not attract dirt, in fact, dirt tends not to stick to the hairs which is why they have been the top way to clean optics before you move to liquid cleaning. However, if the brush hairs finally go get very dirty with say any oily substance. best thing to do is flush it under water and use just a drop of dishwashing liquid. Many brushes, like the Nikon unit and many others. retract into their holders to prolong the time before are in need of wet cleaning. In the interim, between use on optics, gently tap the brush on a hard surface such as the end of a table or your camera case. As mentioned, the camel hair doesn't want to hold dirt, but just whisk it away from the glass surface. What you DON'T want to do is brush the bristles against your hand. Your fingers ALWAYS contain lipid fat -- that's what makes the finger prints. And just as you wouldn't clean your lens by wiping it with your finger, don't "clean" your lens brush by wiping it with your fingers. The camel hairs don't want to cling to dust and hard particulate, the fat from your hands and finger WILL adhere to them. Rule of thumb: that thumb should never come in contact with either your lens or the brush you clean it with.

Is this better than any other soft cloth for cleaning the lense?

In my opinion, yes the lens pen is better than a soft cloth. Reason being: the protective caps keep dust and contaminants out of the lens pen cleaning surface while not in use. A soft cloth may have a larger surface area, which will cut cleaning time, but this can also be its downfall, by allowing too much dirt and dust to accumulate when not in use. I have used the lens pen for years on all of my hunting optics, and would trust no other product to clean the expensive lenses, especially when you only get one shot at that animal of a lifetime, why leave it up to chance wondering if your optics are clean and ready for the job?

Purchased the cleaning pen on 5/16/2013 and 5/20/2013 total of 4 pens Fulfilled by Amazon. These cleaning pens came on time. But it was not an original Nikon cleaning pens. I called Nikon they told me that there should be a printed website on the pen. (www.nikonsportoptics.com). I was told to return them and buy them at (bandh.com). I have used these pens for five years and had six of them, all had Nikon website on it. And yes it has black carbon on the tip of the pen.

Is there supposed to be something on the suction-cup looking end of the pen? Upon opening, a black dohicky fell out and all thats left is the plastic

Aurora..yes there should be a soft pad that the end of the "suction-cup" looking end of the pen. It fell off you haver two options. To "attempt" to glue it back on or to simply replace the entire pen. I would recommend the latter. The pen is relatively inexpensive and its always good to have a backup...as you can see :)

ASIN	B00006JN3G
Amazon Bestseller	#53,596 in Electronics ( See Top 100 in Electronics ) #36 in Camera & Photo Cleaning Kits
Color	Black
Customer Reviews	4.6 out of 5 stars 5,063 Your Review
Global Trade Identification Number	00018208070725
Item Height	1 inches
Item Weight	0.03 Pounds
Liquid Volume	100 Milliliters
Manufacturer	ElectricalLand
UPC	659096714355 043699884407 018208070725

Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System

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