Cleaning Lenses, Sensors, Mirrors...
Digital camera cleaning and
maintenance is something many photographers (including myself) neglect
to do with sometimes costly consequences.
It is too easy to come home after a days shooting,
whip out the memory card, have a play with your new images and forget
all about maintenance of your kit.
If you are like me, anything new that I buy over time
(car, motorbike, watch, glasses etc), get cleaned immaculately at least
once a day. Then after a few weeks it falls to once a week or so and
then just "on the odd occasion" or when they look really dirty.
Because photography is my livelihood, I have to
physically make myself grab my camera bag, go and sit somewhere quiet
and take a good half an hour to an hour after a shoot to clean every
piece of equipment that I have used.
This kit has cost thousands and its cleanliness has a direct
bearing on the quality of my images and the longevity of its use. Not
only that but as I upgrade my equipment, I may want to sell on my old
cameras at the best price.
These are the checks that I make;
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - 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.
The last thing you want to do is scrape even the smallest piece of dust across your lens.
I also use the bristles of a blower brush to clean in
between the moving parts of the external barrel. This prevents a build
up of dirt over time and maintains smooth operation whilst helping to
prevent dust from entering the internal optics.
Make sure you clean the brush or replace it often too
otherwise you simply end up smearing minute particles of grease and
dirt onto the lens.
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Camera Sensor
The most talked about and asked about issue with
Digital SLR 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.
Damaging a sensor is expensive...
If you intend 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.
With a fully charged battery in your camera and a 30 second delay, you know where you are.
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.
N.B. The camera is held this way to allow any dust to fall out of the camera and the brush is removed in case it touches the sensor and adds grease smears or dust to it rather than removing it.
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.
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - Mirror/focussing screen
Unless I can barely see through the viewfinder
(exaggeration), I tend to leave the mirror and focussing screen alone
apart from a quick blow/swipe with the blower brush. The only time I
would give it more attention is if it were to run the risk of
transferring dust to the sensor.
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).
Once again, be careful as the mirror in particular is extremely sensitive and easily scratched.
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - 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.
I give it a quick once over with the blower brush
first and then a quick rub with a lens cloth or dustcloth. I usually do
the outer parts before the inner. This reduces the chance of dirt
transferring itself inside.
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - 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.
Digital Camera Cleaning and Maintenance - 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.
All of this seems a bit tedious but once I have done
it I feel surprisingly good and happy with myself. I also know that when
I go out shooting or turn up to a paid job, the equipment is in tip-top
condition.
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