After sinking hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in your digital camera kit it is so important to protect your investment by maintaining for it in the best way possible. What is the best way to maintain and care for your digital camera?
We scoured the web today to find the best digital camera maintenance and care tips from some of the most respected digital camera sites:
General Camera Maintenance starts with general camera maintenance - 'Clean the outside of the camera by wiping with a clean, dry cloth. Never use harsh or abrasive cleaners or organic solvents on the camera or any of its parts.'
Luminous Landscapes - Understanding Digital SLR Sensor Cleaning tackles the tricky question of how to maintain imaging sensors. Here is an excerpt from their detailed description (make sure you read the whole thing before very carefully proceeding) - 'Situate yourself at a table with a bright overhead light or gooseneck desk lamp. Set your camera so that it is in sensor cleaning mode with the sensor exposed. (Some cameras require that they be plugged into AC power for this). Using either a hand blower bulb or a CO2 blower gently blow away any lose visible dust. If you have a jewler's eye loup this can be helpful in seeing what you're doing. Don't over do it with blowing, and don't let anything touch the sensor. Never blow into the camera with your mouth.'
By Thom - Cleaning your CCD also tackles the topic of cleaning your CCD image sensor writing 'A lot has been written about different cleaning techniques, such as using an air compressor or a small turkey baster type of hand blower as suggested by Nikon, but eventually you'll find some dust that so stubbornly sticks to the CCD that it forces you to use the "wet method": a light swipe of a lint-free cloth that�s been wet with a small bit of methanol. The dampness grabs the dust and makes it adhere to the cloth rather than the filter. You use lint-free material because you don�t want to generate more specks to clean off (trust me on that one--I decided to see how bad a regular cloth would be, and ending up spending most of an afternoon trying to get rid of all the residual threads and spots left behind). Methanol is the liquid of choice as it is less prone to leaving water streaks behind (contrary to popular opinion, methanol can pick up water vapor, though it does so less readily than isopropyl alcohol).'
Caring For and Cleaning a Digicam focuses upon lens maintenance - 'The most important thing you can do to preserve the condition of the lens is to not touch it with your fingers! When cleaning the lens, viewfinder or LCD , position your camera so it's pointing downward. To remove dust and unseen grit, squeeze the end of the brush. Bursts of air come through the soft bristles. (In a pinch, if you don't have a camera brush, use your breath).� Next, lightly wipe the lens, etc. with a soft, dry cloth or lens cleaning paper. When needed, wipe the lens with a few drops of lens cleaning fluid. It's a good idea to put the fluid on the lens cleaning paper and not directly onto the lens.'
Cameras and Camera Care introduces a useful little tool - the 'blower brush' (pictured left) - 'This little contraption is your camera�s best friend. It resembles a bulb or balloon with a removable brush at the end. It only costs around $3 and is an essential part of your camera care regimen.'
New York Institute - Spring Cleaning-Camera Cleaning introduces another useful tool - the Micro-fiber cloth - 'This is a relatively new invention. The extremely fine fibers and very tight weave of this cloth makes it possible to remove dust, grit and even the oil left by fingerprints without the use of any solvent. These cloths are quite expensive, in the range of $7 to $10 for a piece of cloth about six-inches square. The cloth can be washed and reused, so the initial investment is worth it.'
HP Digital Camera Care advices that attention should be paid to batteries:
-'Do not expose batteries to temperatures above 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). For example, leaving batteries in your car in the hot summer sun can result in permanent damage. Your best bet is to store them in a place that�s cool� and dry.
- Do not overcharge the batteries.
- Do recharge your batteries before or after long-term storage. Batteries discharge over time, and if not recharged they may leak and corrode the camera.
- Do not mix old and new batteries or batteries of different types.'
DC Views Care tips has some good general purpose tips like these - 'Always put a UV filter on the lens for permanent protection. Take special care when cleaning the lens as the coating on the front element is easily damaged. Special cleaning agents are available for lenses, but if you keep them covered when not in use you won�t ever need them.'
Photo.net - Cleaning Cameras has a variety of tips for all kinds of cameras including a hint on flash contacts - 'Modern TTL flash systems have numerous contacts and if you don't clean them every now and then with a pencil eraser or something, you can be fairly sure of getting intermittent failures.'
Winter Camera Care Tips gives a series of tips for caring for your digital camera in the cold including - 'Buy or make a weather-proof cover for your cameraWinter weather conditions can range from fog, rain, and sleet, to blowing snow whether it's wet or dry snow. Various companies, including Domke, make weatherproof covers for cameras. They are large enough to accommodate the large SLRs and lenses, and they have an opening for the lens with a pull tie to secure the cover. If you don't want to invest in a ready-made cover, you can fashion one from a heavy-guage plastic freezer bag. To secure the bag or bags around the camera and lens, you can use Velcro straps sold at many grocery stores, or rubber bands.'
Cameras and Camera Care introduces a useful little tool - the 'blower brush' (pictured left) - 'This little contraption is your camera�s best friend. It resembles a bulb or balloon with a removable brush at the end. It only costs around $3 and is an essential part of your camera care regimen.'