Keeping your camera clean

Keeping your gear clean and in working order is one of the easiest ways to ensure your photo shoots go smoothly. By cleaning and testing your camera before each use, you'll catch problems before they become an issue. In this continuation of our photography basics series, I'll take you through the finer points of going Hazel on your camera.

Getting down to business

When it comes to keeping your camera clean, you won't need a lot of tools. For the most part, there are really only about three tools you'll need, possibly four if you shoot with a digital camera.

For removing dust and particulate matter from your camera and lenses you'll want a lipstick brush. Found in pretty much any photography store, lipstick brushes, like the one shown in Figure A, are just the ticket for sweeping off dust.

Make sure you thoroughly blow out the bristles to dislodge any particulate matter before each use. You wouldn't want a grain stuck in the bristles to scratch your lens. Use the brush to sweep any dust or particles off your lens, as shown in Figure B.

Don't forget to clean the opposite end of your lens either. Dust can accumulate there just as easily as on the front. In some cases, the glass on the back of the lens can be recessed rather far inside the body of the lens, but your lipstick brush should still be able to clean it, like in Figure C.

Some people will swear by canned air for removing particulate matter and dust, but I personally don't care for it. Not only can compressed air damage sensitive parts, I have yet to use canned air that doesn't deposit moisture on whatever surface I spray it on. Nonetheless, I count canned air as a tool you may want to keep around. Disposable cans of compressed air can be found in virtually any retail or photography store.

Another essential tool, whether you're shooting film or digital, is a package of high-quality lens cleaning tissues. Like the lipstick brush, you'll find quality lens cleaning tissues at your local photography store. You can use these cleaning tissues to remove smudges from your lenses and viewing portals.

Because these tissues will be in direct contact with glass of your lenses, don't skimp on quality. Use a high-quality brand-name cleaning tissue. The lens cleaning tissues from Kodak, shown in Figure D, are as fine as spider silk.

Always use a clean, unused cleaning cloth to polish the smudges off your lens, like in Figure E.

Once you've swabbed the lens with a cloth, toss it and use a fresh one for the next application. By always using a fresh cloth the chances you'll cause any damage to your lens is dramatically decreased. And steer clear of cleaning fluids; they can damage the coating on your lens.

Some people prefer a reusable cloth for cleaning their lenses, but I'd rather trust the safety of my lens to a cloth that's never been used before. You never know when something might be trapped in the fibers and end up scratching your $400 lens.

There's one more tool you may need in order to keep your camera clean, and this one only applies if you use a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex). DSLR Clean from IMS, shown in Figure F, is designed to clean the image sensor of your digital camera.

Similar in design to an eye shadow applicator, DSLR Clean is a liquid-free cleaning system that's supposed to lift the dust off your CMOS or CCD sensor as you swipe it across. I've never actually used DSLR Clean, so I can't make any claims regarding its performance, and I don't have a digital SLR, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of how their internal workings are designed. I do advise extreme caution though when it comes to touching the image sensor of your digital camera. If it gets damaged, the camera would essentially be useless.

In the same neighborhood as cleaning a digital sensor is cleaning the inside of a regular SLR camera. Now, most manufacturers will advise against this, but nevertheless, the reflector mirror and prism will occasionally need to be cleaned. They get dust on them just like any other part of the camera. When you do need to clean these parts of your camera, use the gentlest of touches, and sweep the particles out the front of the camera as shown in Figure G.

On the flip-side of the mirror and prism is the shutter. Shutters come in different styles, from spring-loaded pieces of plastic or metal with a hole in the center, to cloth curtains, and louvers. Few elements of a camera require more delicate handling than the shutter, like this cloth curtain shutter on my Mamiya 645.

Basically, you should never touch the shutter if at all possible. If dust or particles do accumulate on the shutter, lightly brush them off with the lipstick brush. Never use compressed air on the shutter; the force of the air can cause serious, if not permanent damage.

Once everything is clean, replace all the caps and covers, load your film or insert your memory card, close all the doors, and your ready for your next photo shoot. Check everything over one more time just before use and you'll get the best pictures possible from your clean and fully functioning camera. In a future installment, I'll address prepping all of your equipment, from camera to flash, in order to prepare for a photo shoot. Good luck and good shooting.

James Booth is the Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and Palm specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.