Maintenance: Alway Own A New Camera
2008-08-04

                                                                       Maintenance: alway own a new camera

Now, as the fast development of the digital products region, more and more people own a self digital camera. But, whether you’re a professional or amateur photographer, your gear is a substantial investment that requires constant maintenance. The maintenance of the digital cameras includes two aspects, protection and cleaning.

Protection 1. the problems of the place your camera stays Sand There is nothing that frightens users more than the thought of sand getting into cameras. The only protection against sand is not taken your camera to sandy places. Of course this is not particularly feasible and you’ll need to do what you can to keep your camera separate from the sand. Always be aware of your surroundings and things like wind when you’re changing lenses, memory cards and batteries as these are high risk moments that sand just loves to swoop in. Meanwhile, before reaching the beach, you should learn to think ahead about what lens you might need so that you can change it inside in a more stable environment Dust Just like sand, dust is also a natural enemy to the digital camera. On the other hand, it’s a more subtle attacker that it generally won’t scratch your moving parts – but when it works its way on the inner parts of your camera, it will damage your camera. Due to this problem, remember to wipe your camera down each day, and be careful of when and where you change lenses, memory card and batteries, also be careful to your sealed bag when traveling with your camera. Moisture and water Moisture attacks cameras in everywhere. At its most extreme it attacks as water which has the ability to quickly reduce the life-span of your camera. A more subtle attacker when it comes to moisture is condensation. Particularly noticeable is when you move from one temperature to another with your camera. Some people suggest putting it in a sealed plastic bag when moving between temperatures - this might work well but is not particularly practical in many situations, especially when you have a large camera. Use you camera’s wrist or neck straps to keep your cameras out of water and always be aware of where you put it an how it can be knocked. What’s more, Investing in silica gel packs is one way to help with this as they absorb moisture in your camera bag. Salt When you take photos of the wonderful scenes on the beach, you should not only be worried about the sands but also the salt. Within the wind, the salt can easily enter into your camera. So be care of this and do like the steps of protecting sand. 2. the weather problems Hot, cold weather should not prevent you from taking photos with your digital camera. However? extra precaution and protection of camera equipment must be taken in each weather condition to prevent condensation or freezing. Extremely cold In very cold weather, keep the camera warm. When its gets cold out, one thing you can do for your camera is try to keep it as warm as possible. Again, putting it under your jacket works well using, your body heat. Keeping your camera as warm as possible will hopefully prevent condensation from occurring. If condensation does happen, open the battery and memory compartments, empty them and keep the compartments open until they dry out. Don’t take your camera back outside if there is condensation in/on it. It is possible it will freeze. Extremely hot In hot weather, keep it out of direct sunlight. Avoid leaving your camera in the extreme heat if you’re outside. Laying a light towel over it will help shade it from the sun. Don’t use dark colors, as they will just absorb the heat. Never leave a digital camera or other sensitive camera equipment in an automobile when the temperature is extremely hot or cold. 3. the problems made by yourself or others Dumps and Drops If the camera drops or bumps into other hard objects, it may get a extremely damaged. While some cameras now come with shock proof casings the majority of cameras do not and need to be treated as delicate objects. In order to avoiding it happening, use a padded camera bag or casing and use it when your camera is not in use, be aware of the place you put your camera, be careful when passing it from one person to another and so on. Also check your house and contents insurance to see whether it covers accidental damage. Thieves I think no one wants his camera to be stolen. So just pay attention to it. Cleaning 1. Lenses Obviously take great care when cleaning the glass, it is what makes the lenses so expensive and costly to repair or replace. Use only fine tissue paper and alcohol solutions that are designed for camera optics. Clean both the front and rear elements using a blower brush first to remove any dust particles. What’s more, scrape even the smallest piece of dust across your lens. However, before scraping, make sure that you clean the brush or replace it often too otherwise you simply end up smearing minute particles of grease and dirt onto the lens. 2. Camera Sensor The most talked about and asked about issue with Digital camera maintenance is the sensor and the accumulation of dust. If you are altogether unsure of how to go about it, wait until any sensor dust is at a point where it is unbearable (most specs are easily and quickly removed in editing), and then take it to be professionally cleaned. If you really want to do it yourself, just be careful. Set the camera to manual with a 30 second exposure. You will need time to clean the sensor but using the bulb setting ("B") could be a mistake. If whilst cleaning the sensor, you accidentally close the shutter you are in danger of damaging the mirror, shutter, sensor or all three. Even if you use a remote release set to "B", the batteries on the remote could give out and close the shutter prematurely. Once the shutter is open, hold the camera up so that the sensor is facing down, and use the blower (without the brush) to blow any dust away from the sensor. If the sensor is really dirty, you are able to buy cleaning kits with swabs where you physically touch the sensor to "swipe" away dirt. Again, you need slight of hand and great care to do this so if unsure, seek professional help. 3. Mirror/focussing screen Dust on the mirror or screen has no effect on the final image so any dust you see on these through the viewfinder, won't affect the photograph (although excessive dust on the screen "may" affect the accuracy of focussing). However, if you want to clean the focusing screen, please be careful as the mirror in particular is extremely sensitive and easily scratched. 4. Outer casing Even though it is mostly aesthetic, it is still important to try and keep the external workings clean. The dirt on the outside can easily make its way inside, particularly if you change lenses often with dirty hands. Remember to do the outer parts before the inner as avoiding the chance of dirt outside transferring itself inside. Give it a quick once over with the blower brush first and then a quick rub with a lens cloth or dustcloth. 5. Accessories Most accessories have mechanical or electronic workings so it is just as important to keep these clean to help with their longevity. For example, the battery contacts in a speedlight or remote switch need a quick clean now and again just to prevent any build up of dirt or even rust. A failing accessory can be as disastrous as a failing camera in certain situations, especially paid ones.

6. The Bag This is something that many people wouldn't consider but the quickest way for cameras, equipment and accessories to become dirty is if you have a dirty camera bag or holdall. Dust, dirt, sand and even bits of Mother Nature (leaves, grit etc) are easily accumulated when out and about. Remove all equipment once in a while and just Hoover/vacuum the bag thoroughly inside and out. And make sure that the bag is clear enough. Maybe you will think the maintenance of digital camera is really tredious, but if you want of extend the service life of you camera, please put aside your boring.