Camera Body and Lens Maintenance

[xrouter2007]

Hi all experts,

Wanted to get some advice and method of maintaining camera and lens. Me have been using my camera and kit lens but have not yet done any actual cleaning so far.

Do happen to know there are some cleaning solution which can be use for the cleaning purpose on the lens, can anyone recommend the brand and the specific cleaning kit to use?

Btw, have been shooting along beaches (with strong sea breeze) so far....

Thanks in advance...

 

[Legoz]

Hi all experts,

Wanted to get some advice and method of maintaining camera and lens. Me have been using my camera and kit lens but have not yet done any actual cleaning so far.

Do happen to know there are some cleaning solution which can be use for the cleaning purpose on the lens, can anyone recommend the brand and the specific cleaning kit to use?

Btw, have been shooting along beaches (with strong sea breeze) so far....

Thanks in advance...

Theres really not much things you need to do except to wipe clean and keep in storage.
For lens, just use blower.
If indeed, you have stuborn stains, go ahead and use a lens pen.

Regards

 

[Kit]

Just get a blower and lenspen to clean the lenses.

For the camera body, a blower is usually enough to clear the sensor. For the stubborn specks or dust accumulated over time, try using a sensor swap or send it in to the service for cleaning.

 

[gymak90]

I personally don't use cleaning solution. I don't like treating my lens glass like car windscreen. Plus the lens isn't really dirty.

Invest in a dry cabinet to store all your equipment to prevent growth of fungus. Get a lens cloth to wipe away dust on lens will be sufficient.

Since you also shoot along beaches, try not to change lens too often. Salt and dust will get into your camera easily. And salt corrodes metals.

 

[xrouter2007]

Thanks for all the tips guys.....guess I will need to get a lenspen cos I see some stain-like patches on the lens surface.

By the way, is it advisable to store the camera with the strap together in the Dry cabinet? I took my camera out to sea and unfortunately the camera strap "kanna" some sea spray while the speed boat was cruising at high speed. I have use some water to clean the strap and hang out to dry.

 

[Fotophilic]

Thanks for all the tips guys.....guess I will need to get a lenspen cos I see some stain-like patches on the lens surface.

By the way, is it advisable to store the camera with the strap together in the Dry cabinet? I took my camera out to sea and unfortunately the camera strap "kanna" some sea spray while the speed boat was cruising at high speed. I have use some water to clean the strap and hang out to dry.

For dirts that are pretty big, i suggest u getting those Kimwipes lint-free tissue. A few dollars for a box. I prefer to use lenspen for more "delicate" smaller dirts. I prefer not to use solvents like alcohols for lenses, becoz i am not sure wat's gonna happen to my lens coating after prolong use. I just moist the lint free tissue with a little bit of tap water to wipe. Yah i know, i may seem to be a little paranoid over my equipment, but that's how i treat them.

For dirty strap, the answer is obvious. It's not advisable. Preferably, don't store the strap in the dry cab. But if u think its clean enough and too much of a hassle to remove it, then i guess u gotta judge it for urself, what's more impt.

Hope this helps.

 

[JoshSiao]

I will always wipe down my equipment with a damp cloth to remove pespiration and salts plus dirt and dust on the body of the camera and lens. This will help prolong the quality of the camera finishings. As for the lens element itself, it is protected by a filter. So I do wash the filter if necessary. The lens elements are just gently blown with a blower.

 

[Pennywise]

What about the viewfinder? It seems to have stubborn specks of dust in it.

Is it advisable to use the brush to gently brush it?

 

[Octarine]

What about the viewfinder? It seems to have stubborn specks of dust in it. Is it advisable to use the brush to gently brush it?

Your camera is not made of sugar cotton, it can stand a lot of things and also cleaning. Use blower and a brush for whatever sits on viewfinder. Just keep in mind that dust also might get inside the viewfinder. Don't get to carried away about that, it doesn't appear in images and after some time the dust gets shaken into a different corner.
For your strap: you did well with washing and drying first. You can also have a look at those straps than come with quick locks (e.g. Optech). Easy to separate camera and strap for washing. Also, the material is quite elastic and is more comfortable to wear.
For lens cleaning: blower is first choice. This is to remove all lose dust and to prevent scratching it across the surface. After this you can use lens cleaning solution (available in nearly all shops. Some guys also use Isopropyl Alcohol. Just check what kind of dirt it is.
Lens coating is quite good these days, it won't come off that easily.

 

[night86mare]

Hi all experts,

Wanted to get some advice and method of maintaining camera and lens. Me have been using my camera and kit lens but have not yet done any actual cleaning so far.

Do happen to know there are some cleaning solution which can be use for the cleaning purpose on the lens, can anyone recommend the brand and the specific cleaning kit to use?

Btw, have been shooting along beaches (with strong sea breeze) so far....

Thanks in advance...

after you go to beach, when you get home, you should wipe down your camera with a very slightly damp cloth. the reason is, salt hastens corrosion.

before you wipe, remember to go through the camera with a blower, so that any loose sand particles (likely since you have strong sea breeze) can be dislodged instead of giving your c camera body a nice sand massage and scratches.

for cleaning solution, frankly not needed for lens. just use a blower, and microfibre cloth.

 

[night86mare]

Thanks for all the tips guys.....guess I will need to get a lenspen cos I see some stain-like patches on the lens surface.

By the way, is it advisable to store the camera with the strap together in the Dry cabinet? I took my camera out to sea and unfortunately the camera strap "kanna" some sea spray while the speed boat was cruising at high speed. I have use some water to clean the strap and hang out to dry.

microfibre cloth is better than lenspen in the long run, can throw into washing machine and reuse for good brands.

lenspen might not help with your stain like patches, esp if it is oil-based.

if you get it anyways, and does not seem to work, my advice is get isopropyl alcohol from guardian, and use it on a microfibre cloth. if it doesn't wipe off still, then you have somehow damaged coating on your lens.

you can store it together, there is no issue.

 

[Anino78]

For those small particles/dust/sand on the camera body and lens body I usually use vacuum cleanr with a clean paint brush. Holding the vacuum on 1 hand and the brush on the other (brushing off the dust while vacuuming). IMHO using vacuum is better than using a blower coz the blower will just blow the dust and in some instance it will just be blown to another location on your camera.

just my 2cents

 

[CS TAN]

For those small particles/dust/sand on the camera body and lens body I usually use vacuum cleanr with a clean paint brush. Holding the vacuum on 1 hand and the brush on the other (brushing off the dust while vacuuming). IMHO using vacuum is better than using a blower coz the blower will just blow the dust and in some instance it will just be blown to another location on your camera.

just my 2cents

If you do that, you have to ensure your vacuum cleaner has a clean filter otherwise the amount of dust that is going to blow through the vacuum cleaner will be thousand times more than the dust generated by the blower. ;p

 

[xrouter2007]

Hmm :think:......in that case I might just get a microfibre cloth instead. I am confused as some of my friend who uses SLR camera told me that some patch-like on lens surface might be the lens coating. Advice to me was not to clean the surface of the lens if the quality of the photo taken turns out fine :embrass:.

Can filter(not glass but plastic type surface) be washed?

 

[Octarine]

Hmm :think:......in that case I might just get a microfibre cloth instead. I am confused as some of my friend who uses SLR camera told me that some patch-like on lens surface might be the lens coating. Advice to me was not to clean the surface of the lens if the quality of the photo taken turns out fine :embrass:.

Can filter(not glass but plastic type surface) be washed?

So you want to wait till there is enough dirt / dust on the lens to affect image quality? Check against some light, the filter surface will give a greenish reflection (for multi-coated filters). Everything else doesn't belong to the surface and should be removed. But no need to get anal about a bit of dust. If the greenish reflection appears uneven then the coating might have been damaged. Nothing to panic, just that the flare resistance is lower. In situations with strong lights in the frame you are better off without any filter.
Filters can be washed, the coating doesn't come off just by using water and some mild detergent. Better use lens cleaning fluid and clean cloth.