Caring for Your Digital Camera

You did the research and made the investment, but are you protecting the digital camera you’ve grown so fond of? Countless consumers make large purchases on their camera equipment, but fail to look after it. With a little common sense and basic knowledge, you can ensure that your camera will last. Here are a few tips for taking proper care of the camera that’s so important to your scrapbooking life:

Clean the lens. The lens of your camera is the most important part, as this is where the image is captured. A dirty lens could mean specks or spots on your photographs. To properly care for your lens, make sure that you never, ever touch the lens with your fingers and be sure to put the lens cap on when your camera is not in use. To clean dust or fibers from your lens, use a lens brush or a lens blower (you can also use an ear syringe). Then use a lens cleaning cloth and either blow on the lens or add a drop of lens cleaning fluid to the cloth and rub lightly in a circular motion.

Cleaning the camera body. The outside of the camera can be cleaned with a soft, lint-free cloth. Rubbing alcohol applied to a Q-Tip can be used to clean metal parts of the camera, if necessary. Also, be sure to occasionally open the flaps to the memory card and battery compartments and use a soft brush or blower to remove dust.

Storage. The temperature under which your camera is stored is also important. A camera should never be stored in the sunlight or extremely hot or cold temperatures (like the trunk of your car or an unheated basement). If you must leave it in the car on a hot day, cover it with a light-colored towel or tin foil. Dark colors will absorb the heat. In extreme cold, keep the camera as warm as possible by keeping it under your coat. The cold weather may weaken the batteries in your camera, so carry extras.

Indoors, avoid storage near radiators or in other places likely to get hot or humid. You should also keep your camera away from magnets in any form—these can affect the circuitry of your digital camera.

Also, if you’re storing the camera away for a long period of time, remove the batteries as they can form corrosive leaks and ruin your camera.

Protecting from condensation. When taking the camera from a cold area to a warm one, protect it by wrapping the camera in a plastic bag or newspaper until its temperature climbs to that of the room. If some condensation does occur, remove the batteries and memory cards and leave the compartment covers open until everything dries out. Many electronic products come with silica gel capsules that help combat condensation. Slip these in your digital camera bag to help keep condensation away.

Further protection. Always protect your camera equipment from water, dust, dirt and sand. When shooting in the mist, fog or rain, cover the camera with a plastic bag and cut a hole for the lens to stick out of. Use a rubber band to seal the bag around the lens, protecting the body of the camera.

In addition, be careful when packing your equipment for traveling. Pack everything carefully so bangs and bumps won’t cause your lenses and other equipment to hit each other, and don’t pack your camera in soft luggage where it can easily be damaged. Pack your camera in carry-on luggage rather than checked when flying—the metal detectors are much less harmful to your equipment.

A soft, padded camera bag is always a sure bet for keeping your camera safe.

Protect your investment—a well-cared for camera means better photos for scrapbooking!