Forum Index > Photography Talk > Proper care for a camera on hiking trips
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Jeff
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Jeff
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 5:12 pm 

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kawi_200
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 7:09 pm 
Treat it like you would your regular old point and shoot. There is no extra storage steps needed. I think mirrorless cameras are not weather sealed do avoid shooting in rain or very dusty environments, just like a P&S. A little water here and there is probably fine. Clean the mirror if/when it gets dirty. You will see spots in your pictures in things like the sky. You can find lots of cleaning kits and tools online and in a camera store. I bought a cleaning solution and used a Q-tip to clean my camera sensor. You have to be very careful not to leave a bit of cotton on the sensor. There are lintless brushes that are made for cleaning camera sensors, I just haven't bought any yet. NEVER use compressed air. The air can come out very cold and freeze, leaving reisdue and potentially damaging the camera. Think of what happens when you turn a can of compressed air upside down and you get a freezing cloud.... I leave my camera stuff laying around every where in my house. No special storage needed. I have a set shelf for putting my gear on, but it ends up everywhere else anyway. Sometimes lenses stay in backpacks for months at a time. Lens caps are soley for protecting the lens's front element. Some as the sensor, anything that won't leave lint or scratches will work for most lens cleaning. A wipe designed for eyeglasses works very well. The same cleaning solution I use on my sensor works on my lenses. In the field, I have used my shirt to wipe my lenses off, but I do it at my own risk and only when there is no other way, like shooting in lots of rain and there are drops all over the front element. Condensation is normal. Just like taking a shower on a cold day and the bathroom mirror fogs up. It happens because of a temperature difference. If you leave home, drive in a nice warm car and start hiking, your back likely still has a bit of heat in it, and so does the camera. Once your camera adjusts to the temperature you are shooting in, it won't be foggy. Fungus is a result of being stored in a humid environment. I guess the only storage advise would be, don't leave your camera in muggy humid areas. Indoors is usually not too bad. Fans and heaters can create enough airflow to avoid moist stagnent air. Again, I've had my multiple $1000+ lenses stored on shelves, under clothes, on my desk, in the other bedroom, in backpacks..... for years and haven't had an issue with fungus. If you really want to avoid it, or take special procautions, save your dessicant packs from clothes, shoes, freeze dried foods, and whatever else and leave some in your camera bag or the pocket you keep the camera in. Change them out everyonce in a while and you will be fine. One final note, when changing lenses I try to do it inside my backpack or at least covered to keep dust out of the camera body. If you are somewhere windy, like the beach, you can get sand in the lens or camera. Just use your bag as a shield. Same goes for moisture like fog. Just something to think about while exposing the camera at its most vulnerable time. Oh and don't drop it smile.gif

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kawi_200
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 10:11 pm 
Check out this site for more info on cleaning supplies for the camera. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Lens-and-Sensor-Cleaning-Supplies.aspx

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Randito
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 10:44 pm 
A UV filter is good. If nothing else if something brushes the lens the filter will get scratched and not the lens. A lens hood is another approach.

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NacMacFeegle
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 10:45 pm 
If you never switch lenses I see no reason to treat it any differently than a point-and-shoot, which are essentially just mirrorless cameras with non-interchangeable lenses. I think the best piece of advice I could give you would be to buy a UV filter and keep it permanently affixed to the lens. It won't affect the image quality, and will keep the lens element itself from becoming damaged or dirty. Out of curiosity, which mirrorless camera is it?
kawi_200 wrote:
I think mirrorless cameras are not weather sealed do avoid shooting in rain or very dusty environments, just like a P&S. A little water here and there is probably fine.
It differs greatly between cameras, some have more weather sealing than others. I'm pretty sure most high end cameras these days (Mirrorless, DSLR, and P&S) have some amount of weather sealing.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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joker
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PostMon Oct 05, 2015 11:23 pm 
kawi_200 wrote:
Condensation is normal. Just like taking a shower on a cold day and the bathroom mirror fogs up. It happens because of a temperature difference. If you leave home, drive in a nice warm car and start hiking, your back likely still has a bit of heat in it, and so does the camera. Once your camera adjusts to the temperature you are shooting in, it won't be foggy.
The bigger issue comes from having a camera out in the very cold and bringing it into the warmer moister air indoors. If the lens is not well sealed that can cause fogging on the inner element, and it can also fog on camera electronics. Probably will all just dry back out eventually, but it can take quite a long time for the lens to clear. This can be avoided by putting the camera in a bag before going indoors and wait until it's warmed up to pull it out of the bag. This can hammer a P&S too though. Yes, take care while changing lenses! And if you take the good advice on getting a UV filter to protect the front lens element, get a good one if you have a good lens!! Cheap filters will cut back on what you get from that lens. I'd avoid the t-shirt as cleaning cloth and stick with either lens tissue or relatively clean microfiber cloths. Don't use alcohol based lens cleaning liquid either!! You'll eventually get dust on the sensor - read up on how to properly clean it before going at it. You'll see the dust in sky or other light even toned areas of your photos - that will be your clue to clean it. You can look at the lens (both front and rear elements!) to decide if it needs cleaning - it should look spanking new and spotless/smudgeless. Get one of those rubber bulb air blowers thingies for getting dust of the lens in a touchless fashion while out in the field. Pick up a copy of Outdoor Photographer magazine if you want to see a zillion other products someone thinks they (and you) must have! Depending on what you're shooting, you may want to add some more weight to your pack with a decent tripod and tripod head to get the most out of the camera, if you don't already have one. And a remote trigger or cable release for triggering the camera w/o shaking it. Lens elements can come loose in the barrel if the lens is banged, so it's good to keep them in a padded lens case when not on the camera, and keep the camera with lens in a case as well when you're not shooting. You mention ski trips - if you want to catch skiing action you may want some sort of chest harness that keeps the camera safely contained but right there ready to unholster. It sucks to be the guy who is asking everyone to wait for their Kodachrome moment while you take off your pack, haul out the camera case, pull the camera out of it, etc. LowePro makes a nice top-loading case with a chest harness setup as an option.

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Jim Dockery
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PostWed Oct 07, 2015 8:47 am 
ditto.gif what everyone has said. I'll just add that my Sony cameras for what ever reason seem to be quite prone to dust on the sensor (you have one too as I remember). I try to get around to cleaning mine before every trip if I've been changing lenses. I use a blower bulb like Joker mentioned and the static free brushes with good results. I once had a real problem with an old Canon where a speck of what I assumed was pollen got on the sensor and sat there for a couple weeks before I noticed it. My normal routine didn't work because of the stickiness, so I had to buy some wet sensor swabs, but by that time it was too late and I never could get it all off. Lesson learned was just don't change lenses in a pollen filled environment! I most always have a lens hood on that helps protect the lens and use neoprene caps over those - much faster and fiddle free than normal caps. I don't use a UV filter unless I'm in a really harsh environment like a windy day in the desert or near the ocean. If you do go that route and want to maintain good quality joker is right that a quality filter (multi-coated to reduce flare) is well worth it. I'm really picky about my camera cases - often have to get a new one for each camera because I want it to fit just about perfectly so the camera with my standard walk around lens doesn't move around much. I've been happy with Lowe Pros lately. I've also found that I prefer to have it on a shoulder strap and sling it on my side while hiking. This gives me more flexibility to move it around than a chest pack and is easier to access. I've also got little loops tied on my pack straps to clip it if I want it to stay to the side when skiing.

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mike
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PostWed Oct 07, 2015 9:53 am 
I'm with Jim on the protective filter. I don't use them unless you really need that shot in extreme conditions, e.g. salt spray, sand, etc. And if it's that bad out the camera stays in. A hood is better and actually helps the photo. My 4:3 camera and lens are weather sealed and I've used it in wet weather without a problem other than risk of water spots in the photo. You can actually give the camera a careful quick rinse after a blowing day at the beach. It also does a sensor clean every time it starts up so I've never had to clean it. Just run another cycle if you get a stubborn bit. I use an Optech neoprene case and shoulder strap clips to carry the camera ready to use.

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gb
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gb
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PostThu Oct 08, 2015 8:15 am 
On lenses where appropriate, the filter I use as protective is a polarizing filter. When I don't need the polarizer I remove it to shoot.

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wolffie
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PostWed Oct 14, 2015 12:35 pm 
Is it possible to clean the sensor of something like a Canon point-and-shoot (A590, G9)? Wouldn't you have to take the whole thing apart? [edit: found posts online; looks challenging but doable for the G9.] I have those dust motes -- not too terrible in stills, but awfully obvious in videos or time-lapse. My worst on is in the upper-right, so I sometimes take photos upside-down so the spot won't be in the sky[argghh!] I lost my first point-and-shoot in the desert once -- no threat of rain, so I didn't put it in its plastic bag overnight -- it was low to the ground, a wind came up, and fine dust jammed it -- day 1 of a 10-day trip. That was a Canon A75, and it was really fun to take apart! Little motors way smaller than pencil erasers.

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