Care for Your Gear

[Lawrence]

[MENTION=9753]Scott Murray[/MENTION] purchase of a dry cabinet got me thinking … as strange as that may sound.

I am all into "what should I buy next?" as far as lenses and camera gear goes but am I protecting/looking after my existing equipment properly?
Should I not be buying stuff for "preventative maintenance" rather than chasing the latest and greatest lens?

So far all I have is a camera bag, Giotto Rocket blower and lens pen. That seems pretty thin on care supplies to me. I don't even have a decent cloth (mainly because I have heard conflicting stories of what should and shouldn't come into contact with a lens)!

What gear should we have as absolutely essential?

Of course this will be subject to where one lives, for example I don't have to worry about snow but condensation is a very real issue.

Your thoughts please ...

 

[gqtuazon]

I think if your area has extreme cold and heat seasons and if your place is not air conditioned during summer, you might want to invest in a dry cab.

Alternate solution are: use desiccants and take out your lenses every now and then to kill those pesky mold.


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[Lawrence]

I think if your area has extreme cold and heat seasons and if your place is not air conditioned during summer, you might want to invest in a dry cab.

Alternate solution are: use desiccants and take out your lenses every now and then to kill those pesky mold.


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Glenn what do you mean by take out your lenses every now and then? I assume just air them occasionally if you haven't been using them.
Do you simply store in your camera bag with desiccants?

 

[Dave_W]

Doing a lot of shooting at the beach made it very important for me to wash off my gear (tripod, etc.) and then rub a little oil on them. I would also wipe off my camera with a damp cloth to get rid of residual salt. I can't say for certain whether that removed all the salt off my camera and lenses, hopefully it did. You'd be amazed how much salt is in the air whenever you're near the ocean and even more amazed at how fast it will build up on your gear

 

[Lawrence]

Doing a lot of shooting at the beach made it very important for me to wash off my gear (tripod, etc.) and then rub a little oil on them. I would also wipe off my camera with a damp cloth to get rid of residual salt. I can't say for certain whether that removed all the salt off my camera and lenses, hopefully it did. You'd be amazed how much salt is in the air whenever you're near the ocean and even more amazed at how fast it will build up on your gear

Okay Dave this is interesting as in NZ we are never far from the sea.
Can I ask what cloth you use? Is it anything special or just any old cloth and presumably you don't touch the glass with it.
And then what oil do you rub on?
I'm already pleased I started this thread

 

[Dave_W]

I just use a terry cloth on my camera and no, I do not use it on the glass. And with my tripod, I'll spray some WD40 into an old rag and rub in on the metal and then wipe it with a clean cloth. I can't say whether this is the best oil to use but it seems to keep it from rusting.

 

[mikew_RIP]

A soft new paint brush is good for camera and lens body cleaning,the bristles bring dust out of tight areas a cloth never could, with being a bit stiffer than a blower brush.

 

[gqtuazon]

Glenn what do you mean by take out your lenses every now and then? I assume just air them occasionally if you haven't been using them.
Do you simply store in your camera bag with desiccants?

Sunlight kills mold.

Yes i simply store my equipment in my camera bags with desiccants.


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