Welcome to Through the Photographers Lens,

In this issue I thought I would focus on a common problem amongst photographers and videographers of all types. Equipment maintenance!!! A friend of mine told me of an old Russian quote that says, “If the equipment is dirty so is the business.” When I asked him what that meant he explained that you can’t get a good clean product from dirty equipment. In this day of “High Definition”, extremely high ISO’s on cameras, super sensitive sensors and fragile non-fault tolerant equipment it is easy to see even the smallest imperfections in your visual media.

I can’t tell you how many photo and video projects I have been asked to work on where the capture devices used were not properly maintained and cleaned where an otherwise smooth work flow is interrupted because media needed to be cleaned or edited to remove dust and scratches and even the dreaded MOLD! This sort of cleaning and editing increases costs and wastes time and is completely avoidable (Barring environmental contaminants which can’t be helped).

There are several common contaminants that are a regular part of any form of photography. As there are several contaminants there are also many ways to maintain and protect your equipment. While some may be more costly than others remember we are talking about an investment in your equipment, your business and most importantly yourself.

Manufacturer Maintenance Programs – Every equipment manufacturer I have ever come across has a cleaning and maintenance plan for their equipment. Most are very simple and while you may pay a slightly higher fee for it, it’s worth it. It may even be part of your equipment warrantee. In most cases you can just sign up for the service with your manufacturer or favorite camera shop and they will take the camera to a certified maintenance tech and take the camera apart and clean and diagnose all the parts and if any need to be changed, upgraded or replaced they will also take care of that for you.

Personal Portable Cleaning and Maintenance Kits – Most of the contaminants you will encounter come from opening the device to change lenses and media or poor storage conditions. In any case you should always keep a cleaning kit in your camera case with each camera you own. The cleaning kit should consist of a filtered bulb blower [insert image] , lint free pointed and round tipped Q-tips, micro fiber cleaning cloth and a lens cleaning solution.

These tools will help you in the field when you have to change media and lenses to keep them clean and functioning properly. I also keep a white card in my cleaning kit. The white card is a quick and simple way to find out of you are about to start shooting with dust in the camera or on its lens. Simply take a picture (or 30 seconds of video) of the white card in the same lighting you will be shooting in. I tend to take a flash lit image of the white card to ensure the camera is clean and ready to shoot.

Protective Cases – Poor storage condition can cause the worst problem of all (next to dropping the camera) and that is mold. Many believe is there is mold in your lens then you will need to replace the lens altogether. I have even heard of people taking cameras and lenses apart and trying to clean them with peroxide or which hazel. I STRONGLY URGE YOU NOT TO DO THIS!!! If you take the lens or camera apart you will void your warrantee and end up having to replace a camera. Remember there are no user serviceable parts in any camera.

Proper storage is key to fighting mold on a lens or in a camera. Your best bet is an air and water tight, sealable flight case with silica gel in it (Yes, the stuff in the shoe box). On most assignments I carry at least two cameras with me so I need a fairly large camera case to house both bodies, lenses and any other gear I may need. Pelican, in my opinion makes the best cases for this purpose. The cases are air tight and water proof and very well padded. They also have customizable foam inserts that allow you to configure the cases padding to fit your needs and the padding is replaceable. I put three or four packets of the silica gel under the bottom layer of padding to absorb any moisture that may get trapped in the case when it is opened or stored. The cases are also very tough and can absorb a lot of punishment which will put your mind at ease on those long flights to your next assignment.

TLC – In all your gear are the tools you use to do your business and damages tools will not yield maximum results. You have to treat your camera gear like you would a child. In fact even when I am carrying my everyday camera I don’t put it down or let it out of my sight for even a second. I’ve been asked why don’t you leave your camera in the car or at coat check to which I usually respond, “Would you leave your child in the car or at coat check? Well neither would I.”

Protect your equipment and you protect your business…

What are your thoughts?

Rahim Baskett
Photographer
MindSoulVision Photography
Url: http://www.mindsoulvision.com/
Email: Rahimb@mindsoulvision.com