How Do You Care For Your Gear?

microfiber cloth, cleaning pen and rocket blower.

I already banged my 16-35 (hit the hood though) into the wall as I did something. I use 2 cameras, so that is a risk.

i try to baby my stuff somewhat. But i usually just put the camera and lens on my seat or floor of my truck when im done. I have 1 lens sitting in my cupholder (caps are on), cf cards in another cup/change holder. My camera looks used, its not brand new looking. Scratches here and there, lots of nose marks on the lcd screen. I look at it in a way of, if it looks new your not using it.

Take a nice slim extending tube zoom lens. Take one grain of nice sharp quartz sand and place it on the tube. Give it a little time to work it's way in between the extending tube and the outer tube, and what do you have? You have an expensive piece of locked up junk.

Sorry guys, cameras and lenses are not pickup trucks or jeeps. They may cost as much, but you can't treat them like rolling stock or they just quit working for you a lot sooner than they would if you kept them clean. And for me at least, resale value is something I think about.

Most of us do not put grains of sand into the operating parts of our lenses. Not a good idea.

What I was saying, and I think that others do too, is that the physical cleanliness of the non-working parts is not essential. With gear kept in bags there is not much need for cleaning unless you work in muddy areas or in the desert. My vehicle gets maintenance on a regular basis, as scheduled or required. It gets cleaned infrequently, this is just not a necessary function.

Besides, all the gear listed in my sig combined with that that is not is still less than 1/6 of the cost of a new truck.

OK, nobody puts grains of sand in their lenses, but, it happens whether you do it or not. Regular care and cleaning can prevent that. And every single time I place my bag, tripod and lens cases on the front seat of MY truck, it's value increases by about 400%.

canonloader wrote in post #2119499
And every single time I place my bag, tripod and lens cases on the front seat of MY truck, it's value increases by about 400%.

LOL. Sounds like all my previous vehicles.

Sadly true, in my case. But sriously, I was really curious to see if anyone else used the silicone cloths on their camera gear. I've heard opinions both ways. I've been using it for decades and it never hurt anything and did protect the plastic, paint and metal parts.

As anal as I am about that though, it gets worse. I was thinking the other night, I want to find some dessicant bags or containers that are reusable after a good microwaving. It's seriously humid here all year around, and I thought using dessicants inside an airtight bag, even a ziplock, would help keep everything nice and dry inside and out while on the shelf.

I have not heard of these siliconized cloths before.

Most desicants can be re-activated by drying in a regular oven, we used to do it by pail full. Not sure if micowaving will work though.

The silicone cloth is dry feeling, no oil smell, just feels like a regualr microfiber silky type thing. Thats why I like it, non petroleum based, yet it will repel water and moisture, and lubricate all in one. Go ahead and try one, they are under $3.

I did get some dessicants in like teabag things and it said on them to microwave them, which evaporates any water, even molecule size stuff, to recharge them. The tag said you could do it forever without wearing out the effectiveness. I just didn't pay much attention to it then. I'm sure it's a specialty item though, unless you collect the ones you get in electronics gear shipments.

OK, I use the Rocket Blower and Kodak camel hair brush for 90% of my lens cleaning needs since dust is usually the only issue. For wet cleaning, I use a drop of lens cleaning fluid on a KimWipe EX-L lint-free lens paper.

I will wipe the camera exterior down with one of those glass-cleaning pre-moistened wipes every now and then.

I have a lens pen somewhere, but I don't generally use it. Same with the microfiber cloth. I'm not inclined to wipe the glass surface with something that has been used before and may have picked up a bit of grit. One tiny grit of sand and you've got a scratched lens.

I keep most equipment stored in a locking dresser, or in its own case if equipped. I usually keep a bag ready with a body and a couple of zooms for quick access.

I just wipe my gear down with a lens cloth, after blowing with the rocket blower. Any smudges on my filtered lenses get removed carefully with a lens pen. My lenses have never EVER gone nekkid, and no human fingerprint has EVER touched the glass.
If a filter mgets real greasy I take it off , replace it with a new one, and clean the old one with warmn water, dishwashing detergent, and rinse with distilled water to make sure there are no water marks. works a treat. Though I wouldn't do that to a CP.