Regular maintenance of Rebel

[new girl on the bloc]

I am looking for tips on keeping my Rebel in top condition with regular maintenance and such. Suggestions?

[Belmondo]

New girl:
Cleanliness is next to godliness.

[richardtallent]

A few tips:

- A nice, even, thin layer of dust is the best protection for your camera.
- You should regularly take a direct picture of the sun to reset the white balance.
- Some Rebels may be dishwasher-safe. You'd have to ask around.
- Make sure you always leave your lens and cap off when you are just walking and not actually taking pictures. The body needs to breathe.
- Like batteries, you should keep the CMOS sensor refrigerated to preserve it (you should remove it carefully from the body before doing so).
- Make sure you use a black magic marker to obscure any bright logos on the CF cards, they can cause reflections inside the camera.

;)

[new girl on the bloc]

I am looking for tips on keeping my Rebel in top condition with regular maintenance and such. Suggestions?

was that a dumb question? :roll:

[Pekka]

I am looking for tips on keeping my Rebel in top condition with regular maintenance and such. Suggestions?

Just keep it dry.

If there is anything in need of cleaning inside the camera, have a camera repairman clean it. You can keep the internals clean by taking care where and how you change lenses.

[ilya]

NG,
I don't do anything, except clean lenses and sensor. I think I may have wiped it down once when I rolled it around in the snow. I think the 10D is a bit more rugged then the rebel, but its no 1D or 1Ds which are weather "resistant" by design. So as Pekka says, keep it dry. If something terrible happens like you get sand or dirt inside, you should take it in.

[Tom W]

I am looking for tips on keeping my Rebel in top condition with regular maintenance and such. Suggestions?

was that a dumb question? :roll:

No, it was a good question. One answer may have been sarcastic, but I'm pretty sure that no harm was meant.

I'll second Pekka, Ilya, and Tom's answers. You don't need to go out of your way, but keep it dry, keep it free of dust, and keep the lenses clean. Also, try your best to only change lenses in a relatively dust-free environment so as to keep dust away from the sensor area. You can use a small hand blower to remove loose dust from the sensor (turn the camera so that the dust will fall down and out). If it needs further cleaning, there's a couple of posts here with that advice, or you can let Canon clean it (it helps if you live near a service center).

You can wipe the camera down occasionally according to Canon's recommendations (I think a very slightly damp cloth, not wet but damp) to remove any dirt from the exterior.

As for lenses, be sure to use the blower brush to remove loose grit that can scratch before cleaning. Same with viewfinders and I'd recommend that for the LCD as well.

Good luck.

[Belmondo]

I am looking for tips on keeping my Rebel in top condition with regular maintenance and such. Suggestions?

was that a dumb question? :roll:

new girl:
Please forgive the brevity of my original answer. It was intended to be somewhat longer (as are most of my comments), but my wife was standing at the door saying, "Let's go!." I figured that hopefully I'd made my main point which was dirt is probably the biggest enemy of a camera, and you're best routine for avoiding unnecessary problems is to keep everything as clean as possible. That goes for the sensor, the optics, the exterior of the body----everything.

Good luck.

[new girl on the bloc]

thanks for all of your helpful answers everyone! tom, your original response was short, simple and to the point and not taken with any offense. i appreciate you (and everyone else) taking the time to answer. :D

[-Bill-]

New girl ...

It is strange (but I guess not too surprising) that the only times I have had problems with either photography of video equipment is when I stopped using them for a long period of time. They are designed to be used regularly, and unless you are a pro shooting hundreds of pictures a day, you are unlikely to wear it out.
So exercise it to keep it in good shape.

[new girl on the bloc]

New girl ...

It is strange (but I guess not too surprising) that the only times I have had problems with either photography of video equipment is when I stopped using them for a long period of time. They are designed to be used regularly, and unless you are a pro shooting hundreds of pictures a day, you are unlikely to wear it out.
So exercise it to keep it in good shape.

hey bill, sorta like driving your car too keep it running good, etc. I have no problem using my rebel often; in fact, i wish i had more time, to use it more often :?

[gsmx2]

A friend of mine passed a tip onto me that he learned in a class.

When changing lenses, keep everything pointed down as much as possible.

I am now carrying the spare lens attachment cover that comes all lenses. I get out the lens I want to use, point the camera down, remove the current lens and install the cover. I then remove the cover from the new lens and put it on the camera with the camera pointing down.

The idea is to keep dust of the sensor, which is more important than keeping dust off film.

gsm x2

[new girl on the bloc]

A friend of mine passed a tip onto me that he learned in a class.

When changing lenses, keep everything pointed down as much as possible.

I am now carrying the spare lens attachment cover that comes all lenses. I get out the lens I want to use, point the camera down, remove the current lens and install the cover. I then remove the cover from the new lens and put it on the camera with the camera pointing down.

The idea is to keep dust of the sensor, which is more important than keeping dust off film.

gsm x2

this is very good advice - thanks!

[richardtallent]

No, it was a valid question (one I'm interested in as well as new 300D owner), I was just momentarily overcome by silliness. ;)

[new girl on the bloc]

No, it was a valid question (one I'm interested in as well as new 300D owner), I was just momentarily overcome by silliness. ;)

silliness is a good thing! :lol:

[Belmondo]

It sounds like a camera is much like gunpowder: Keep it cleand and dry or you won't be able to shoot.
:!: :!: :!: