Home > Learn About Photography > Cleaning Cameras by , June 1999 (updated January 2007) Remember that your camera is just a tool. always buy a new one. If you leave your camera in a closet, it will never get dirty or broken, but you won't have too many great photographs to show for yourself. Many of the best photographs can only be taken under conditions that will render your equipment wet The photo at right was the result of spending six hours at the bottom of a canyon in the Navajo Nation. For the entire six hours, sand blew down from the top of the canyon and into a $20,000 Rollei 6008 system. there a sickening grinding sound when I focussed my $3000 50mm lens for the next few months? Did I have to send the camera back to Rollei USA to be cleaned? Did the camera get stolen in Filthadelphia a couple ofSo it really didn't make sense to obsess over theWe can still enjoy this picture even if that 6008 hasIf the camera had been pampered, it would just be in that

much better shape for the crook who is using it now. Basic lens cleaning tools are a blower, a microfiber cloth, and lens cleaning fluid (my favorite: Zeiss). Try to blast dust off the lens with the blower orFinger prints can be removed with a circular wipe of the new miracle micro fiber cloth (my favorite brand is Pentax because it isPersistent dirt should be removed with lens cleaning fluid, of which the safest is probably Kodak. the fluid onto the cloth and then wipe the lens; directly onto a lens. Even if your lenses don't look dirty, every few months you should give exposed surfaces a cleaning with ResidualEven if you were able to protect your optics from all environmental sources of filth, there would still be crud condensing on your optics as camera bag plastics outgas. It is tough to verify ROR's claims, but the optics do look visibly clearer after an ROR treatment and the $4.50 price won't kill you. If you are going to use an expensive lens in a dusty or wet environment

and don't want to obsess over your equipment, keep a B+W UV filter on the lens and count on replacing the filter every year or two.Geisha Curtains Don't even think about cleaning the mirror in your SLR. Ninja Blender And Sale maybe, you could consider using a handheld blower to move a few dustWhite Pitbull Puppies For Sale In Washington State specs off, but canned air is too powerful. with some kind of special viscous fluid and will often do it for free at camera clinics run by shops or conventions. fragile surfaces and I wouldn't dream of getting near them with a standard lens cleaning solution or cloth. Remember: the dirt in your viewing system isn't going to show up on Modern TTL flash systems have numerous contacts and if you don't clean

them every now and then with a pencil eraser or something, you can be fairly sure of getting intermittent failures. One of the things that is great about digital SLRs is that you can change the lenses as necessary for different projects. lens changes, however, there is a risk of dust falling "onto theIn fact, the CMOS or CCD sensor is covered by a color filter or a clear glass plate, so really the dust has fallen on something that is covering the sensor. Nonetheless, you want to be careful and non-aggressive at this point, because if anything near the sensor is scratched, the camera needs to go in for professional service. This is the time to get out the owner's manual for your camera. sure that the battery is fully charged and then follow the instructions to flip up the mirror for "sensor cleaning mode". If you can't dislodge dust using a simple hand-squeezed blower, consider visiting a cameraIf you're impatient or intrepid, you might want to try a

sensor swab wetted with Eclipse fluid (instructions included with the kits). Camera and lens bodies are fairly well sealed against dust and moisture. So you don't really ever have to clean the exteriors of your equipment. On the other hand, if you don't want the dirt and crud that is on the camera body to work its way into your camera bag and from there onto an optical surface, it is probably worth wiping off the body with a softSlightly dampening the cloth with plain water certainly won't do any harm, though I imagine that this wouldn't be Canon or Nikon's I had a very interesting experience in New Zealand after smashing a UV filter on my Nikon 28AF lens. Here are some photos that I wouldn't have gotten if I'd been prissy If you got the picture but lost the camera in the process, you may need to visit one of the photo.net recommended Our exclusive range of Cleaning Products has been specially developed to help keep your computer, AV and office equipment looking clean and working as good as new.

The wide selection of products includes LCD, Plasma and monitor screen cleaning sprays, DVD / CD lens cleaner, DVD / CD scratch repair polish, wet wipes, dry cleaning tissues and multi-purpose office cleaning kits. Title A-ZTitle Z-APrice Low-HighPrice High-LowPart No Low-HighPart No High-LowMost RecentOldestTop SellersFeaturedHighest RatedI resisted the lure of the Nintendo Wii when it first came out. When it comes to video games, I still dig the old school, original Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda. My idea of cleaning a video game system was always blowing into the cartridge receptacle, and then blowing in the cartridge itself. MAYBE using a q-tip if the game still won’t operate. I still don’t know why it worked, but it always did. It didn’t take me long to get on board with the Wii, though. It boasts a wireless point-and-click interface, connectivity to WiFi, and even streams Netflix instantly to your TV. It’s as if someone probed the suggestion box in my mind, and put everything I ever wanted into one neat, little package.

Coupled with the fact that it also plays my old Nintendo GameCube games, the Wii becomes a one-stop shop of awesome. Bearing all that in mind, I want to extend the life of my Wii for as long as I can. Here’s how to do just that. Steps in Cleaning a Wii A word of warning about cleaning a Wii. Do not ever, under any circumstances, open your Wii to clean it. Do not use compressed air to clean the disc slot or its other nooks and crannies. Both of these actions will cause irreparable damage to your Wii, and ARE NOT covered by any warranties that Nintendo or retailers offer. If your Wii ceases to function, and refuses to work even after the cleaning discussion below, you should first check the Nintendo website for step-by-step troubleshooting. If it still does not work, contact Nintendo customer support. It is imperative that you do not attempt to fix it yourself, unless you plan on buying a new console. How to clean the Wii lens. For those of you who don’t know, the lens is the component that the laser shoots out of in order to read the Wii disc.

If it gets dirty or smudged, it can affect how well, or even if, your Wii will read the disc. This is an internal component, and as I mentioned above, you should never ever open up your Wii console. Fortunately, just as there are CD lens cleaners, there is a Wii lens cleaning kit. You can pick one of these up from most retailers, as well as the Internet. Follow the directions on the packaging, and you’re on your way to a better performing machine. You can get the Official Nintendo Wii Lens Cleaning kit at Amazon for about $16. How to clean the Wii exterior. The level of soiling should determine your course of action. Mostly, the exterior shell is in place to protect the interior from getting dusty or dirty, and cleaning it off is a question of aesthetic. Dust and oils from skin can build up over time, giving your white Wii more of a gray tinge. Take a soft, cotton, lint-free cloth, and simply wipe the plastic down. If it is dirtier than that, I don’t want to know what you’ve been doing with your unit.

But seriously, take the same cotton cloth, and dampen it lightly prior to wiping down the Wii exterior. Take great care to avoid any interfaces, as water and technology do not make good bedfellows. How to clean the Wiimote. Okay, this I can see getting dirty. Once again, take your cloth, and wipe the entire remote down. If that doesn’t do the trick, take a bottle of hand sanitizer (avoid alcohol based sanitizers) and cotton swabs. Dip the cotton swab into the bottle of hand sanitizer and rub it gently on the problem area. This should eliminate most of the buildup. Do NOT use the hand sanitizer on the sensor lens on the end of the Wiimote. How to clean the Wii sensor. Do not get the sensor bar wet. Do not use the hand-sanitizer option mentioned above. And for God’s sake, don’t lick the thing no matter how tasty it looks. You laugh, but I had an acquaintance reason that since you can clean your glasses by licking them (also not a good idea), you should be able to lick your sensor bar.

This, it turns out, is simply not true. Once again, take your cloth and wipe it down gently. This should remove any smudging. If you have dust and grit between the cracks, take a dry cotton swab and use it to clean out of the cracks. How to clean the Wii game discs. This comes straight from Nintendo itself. You will need water and a clean, soft, cotton cloth. Dampen a small portion of the cloth. Using straight strokes, lightly rub the disc surface from the center hole out to the edge. Never rub in a circular motion as this will corrupt the information on the disc. Use the same center-to-edge motion with a dry portion of the cloth to clear the moisture. Let the disc sit for at least two minutes before putting it into your system. Always Take Care When You Clean a Wii Whenever we start talking about cleaning sensitive equipment, we can only give you the information. Once you take matters into your own hands, it’s all on you. If you aren’t careful, you can do serious damage to your system, but so long as you take care of your equipment and follow the cleaning instructions, everything should be fine.