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Beginner Camera servicing
- Thread starter rspsteve
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- 'Gramps'
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Yes and no 
The camera sensor will inevitably pick up tiny specs of dust which mostly can be blown off using something like a 'Rocket Blower' but some dust or other muck may stick so well that it needs a wet clean using special cleaning fluid and a specific pad for your size camera sensor. A wet clean can seem frightening at first but it is something that you can do yourself with care,(video tutorials available), however camera dealers and service centres will do it for a price range of around £30-70.
Other than that, keeping the camera body clean and using the card slots etc with care are all you need worry about basically.
Generally cameras only get sent in for repairs of some kind or another (though maybe some 'Pros' working in harsh environments may do more).
The camera sensor will inevitably pick up tiny specs of dust which mostly can be blown off using something like a 'Rocket Blower' but some dust or other muck may stick so well that it needs a wet clean using special cleaning fluid and a specific pad for your size camera sensor. A wet clean can seem frightening at first but it is something that you can do yourself with care,(video tutorials available), however camera dealers and service centres will do it for a price range of around £30-70.
Other than that, keeping the camera body clean and using the card slots etc with care are all you need worry about basically.
Generally cameras only get sent in for repairs of some kind or another (though maybe some 'Pros' working in harsh environments may do more).
Photodiva
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- Carol
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If you use your camera at LOT, as a busy sports photographer might, you might want to get it checked over annually. If you are a typical hobby photographer, its probably not necessary. I had a camera shutter mechanism go after a LOT of use, and got it repaired. Other than that, you probably don't need to if you take care of your stuff.
TheBigYin
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I've had maybe 1 in 4 of my cameras serviced.
Before you start worrying though, NONE of them were the electronic picture makers, all the ones that required a service (normally referred to as a CLA - Clean, Lubricate & Adjust) were film cameras, and the newest one that needed a look at was the Canon A1 which was produced in 1979 according to it's serial number. And even that one was really a Lube job for a known issue with the mirror damper mechanism (the "canon cough"). The Fed 3a from 1969 needed attention to the roller shutter because it had begun to lose it's rubberised coating and was basically not light tight anymore, and the Voigtlander Perkeo I from around 1956 needed the shutter mechanism cleaning from the old oil/grease that had set through old age and lack of use. Strangely, the oldest camera I've currently got, a Kodak Autographic from 1915-ish (bits are from 1915, other bits from 1920...) basically "just works" so it's not a given that it's just down to age either...
Basically, I reckon that apart from a reasonably regular clean of the sensor, and with "normal usage" you're unlikely to need to actually service a digital camera before it's basically so obsolete you've stopped using it 5 years before...
Before you start worrying though, NONE of them were the electronic picture makers, all the ones that required a service (normally referred to as a CLA - Clean, Lubricate & Adjust) were film cameras, and the newest one that needed a look at was the Canon A1 which was produced in 1979 according to it's serial number. And even that one was really a Lube job for a known issue with the mirror damper mechanism (the "canon cough"). The Fed 3a from 1969 needed attention to the roller shutter because it had begun to lose it's rubberised coating and was basically not light tight anymore, and the Voigtlander Perkeo I from around 1956 needed the shutter mechanism cleaning from the old oil/grease that had set through old age and lack of use. Strangely, the oldest camera I've currently got, a Kodak Autographic from 1915-ish (bits are from 1915, other bits from 1920...) basically "just works" so it's not a given that it's just down to age either...
Basically, I reckon that apart from a reasonably regular clean of the sensor, and with "normal usage" you're unlikely to need to actually service a digital camera before it's basically so obsolete you've stopped using it 5 years before...
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- Stewart
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If your concept of "servicing" means undertaking proactive or preemptive maintenance in order to increase the lifespan or reduce the chance of a major failure, then no, cameras don't need servicing.
Keep it clean, if you can. Clean the sensor or get it cleaned when it needs it (interchangeable lens cameras only). If and when something goes wrong, get it fixed. But that's all.
Keep it clean, if you can. Clean the sensor or get it cleaned when it needs it (interchangeable lens cameras only). If and when something goes wrong, get it fixed. But that's all.