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Care
Basic protection
It's very important to protect the front of your lenses. Always keep a lens cap over your lens whenever you are not actually making a photograph. You should also protect your lens when it doesn't have its cap on by putting a UV (ultraviolet) haze filter on the front.
UV filters are cheap insurance – most are less than $20, and the ultra-premium UV filters from B&W are usually less than $50. It is much less expensive to replace a chipped or cracked filter than it is to replace a lens.
A UV filter screws tightly onto your lens and has an extra set of threads on the outside that can accommodate other filters or your lens cap. That way you never have to leave your lens unprotected.
Some people prefer to use a skylight filter. A skylight filter is basically a UV filter with about three points of magenta (a very little bit of pink) added to it. This helps to counteract the blue cast sometimes evident in outdoor or flash photographs.
Protection from moisture damage
Moisture is the deadly enemy of camera equipment because it causes rust, mildew, corrosion, and even nurtures the growth of lichens and mold!
Some older cameras have felt light traps, cloth shutters, and leather body wraps. Even the glue that they use is often water-soluble. All of these materials act like sponges, holding enough moisture to create an environment where something may eventually grow in your camera or lens. Newer cameras feature rubber light traps, plastic bodies, and metal or plastic shutters. This helps, but they still have all of the nooks and crannies that attract moisture. That means you need to protect your equipment from moisture no matter how new it is.
Keeping your gear from absorbing moisture may sound like a simple thing to do, but it doesn’t take much moisture to cause damage. Especially when you're storing gear, moisture can be on your equipment for a long time.
Ziplock bags are very helpful for long-term storage as well as protection from a sudden downpour if you keep one in your camera bag for each piece of equipment you carry. Use silica gel in each bag. It’s inexpensive and absorbs moisture effectively. Another benefit of silica gel is that it is reuseable. Simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions, pop the gel packets in the oven to bake out the moisture they have absorbed, and put them right back in your camera bag.
Molds, mildews, and lichens love to feed on lens coatings as well. They will create a spidery tracing on the surface of your lens elements, and eventually creep inside the lens! This cannot be washed off because it eats right into the glass. Even though lenses are made of materials that won't absorb moisture, they need to be protected from a moist environment.
Remember, your camera bag can absorb moisture too. So don't leave it in the basement, or near other things that have mildewed. Good luck... Stay dry!
Thorough cleaning
Most people keep the front of their lens clean but ignore the rest of their camera. Here are some things to remember when you are cleaning your equipment:
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Cleaning the back of your lens is just as important as cleaning the front to produce a good image. But be extra careful! The coating on the back element is softer and easy to scratch since it isn't designed to hold up to the same kind of environment as the front element's coating.
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To clean the eyepiece, use a Q-tip and push a lens tissue moistened with lens cleaner into the tight corners.
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Clean the inside of your camera with canned air. Hold the can upright and do not shake it. Tilting or shaking the can may allow the contents to escape in liquid form, which can damage your mirror. Place the can on a tabletop and move the camera in front of the nozzle instead of moving the nozzle around the camera. (NEVER, EVER touch the front surface of your mirror with anything!) Since dust in the film compartment can cause spots and scratches, use canned air to clean the inside back of your camera as well. Be careful around the pressure plate, the flat rectangular plate on springs attached to the back door. Damaging this part can scratch your film.
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When you are cleaning your camera, use as little cleaning fluid as possible. Moisture is the mortal enemy of electronics, and too much lens cleaning fluid can get inside your lens where there is no way to get it out.
Diagnosing a "broken" camera
There is a form of corrosion that tends to form on camera battery contacts. Sometimes you can’t even see it, but it will stop the flow of electricity. Try using a pencil eraser on the battery contacts. Be gentle, and rub the metal tabs until they are clean.
If this doesn't work call National Camera Exchange & Video to see if we have any tips specifically for your camera. For instance, many modern cameras benefit from taking out their batteries long enough to purge the built in memory. Put them back in, and the camera may start right up.
Even a simple problem may ultimately need repair, but talk to a staff member at National Camera Exchange & Video to see what they recommend first.
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