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Amy6287

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Hi! my name is Amy and I am a beginner. This is my first time owning a DSLR and this is my first post to this site. My question is how should I sore my camera? I have a bag that came with it when I purchased it but I'm more interested in knowing if I should store it with the lens on or not? Sorry if this is very basic but I want to take the best care if my camera. They aren't cheap! Thank you in advance.
 
I always store my camera's with a lens on,I believe that the fewer times you change lenses or take a lens on and off the better for keeping the inside and sensor dust free. Providing your bag/case gives the correct support it will be fine,also when I do change lenses I always hold the body facing down and when the lens is off give a quick blow out with a rocket blower. I hope this helps and a very big welcome to you.
 
Welcome to the site Amy. I agree with the above. In addition I keep a couple of bags of silcia gel in my bag. At the end of the day I always remove the SDD cards and transfer the data to my computer, check the files are opening and then format the SDD cards(s) in camera. Then it's ready to go for the next time. There is a whole thread on here about batteries which is worth a read.
 
I just leave my kit in a bag, or on the desk, or the sideboard, in a drawer or wherever it's not going to get knocked by the cats.

I'm not precious about it and I've never had any damage come to any of my gear - it really is super-duper tough, you'd do will to damage any of it.

That said, the worst thing you can do is drop it, that can write kit off, so don't do that and you'll be fine.

Being careful about lens changes is sensible but try not to get anal about it - just don't go changing lenses in sandstorms and you'll be fine. If you only have one lens then there isn't really ever a reason to take the lens off.
 
I do have two lenses but right now I rarely use the other. So I just leave it in its little bag.
 
Good advice above Amy. Save up any of those silica gel bags you get with electrical items and keep them in your camera bag, you can 'recharge' them by putting them in an oven that's cooling down that drys them back out. Get yourself a nice big soft microfibres cloth there great for cleaning the camera and a rocket blower as said above to blow any dust off.
People often wrap there cameras in those cloths too.
When you use the camera in the winter or in the cold, don't bring it straight into a hot house let it warm up slowly and or put it away with the silica gel this will take away the moisture.
If you have 2 lenses make sure you have caps for both ends of each, so that when you take the lens off the camera you can put a cap on it straight away without having to swap the cap off the other lens.

Have fun with it
All the best Steve
 
I've heard those silica gel sachets get contaminated very quickly and become useless fairly quickly.

I store cameras with both lenses on and off. Just take care not to do it in dusty areas and to replace caps promptly. Do not put your camera away damp - dry it first. Try and get into the habit of putting settings back to something sensible - otherwise next time you grab it, you may find its been set up for low light conditions and you forget to change the ISO (we've all done it...)

Going from cold to warm can cause lenses to fog up.
 
I don't think that you need to use silica bags unless your house is a bit damp but as Adrian said its important to let your gear dry out if you've been out in the rain before storing it in your bag
also if you have been photographing outside in the cold leave the camera in the bag for half an hour before taking out in a warm room
 
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andrewc said:
I've heard those silica gel sachets get contaminated very quickly and become useless fairly quickly.
Click to expand...
Yes almost useless really, especially in a bag which allows free exchange with the air where you keep it.
Longer term it's quite important to think about storing in a place with more controlled humidity.
A lot of rooms let alone cupboards can be damper than ideal which will eventually risk fungus growth inside lenses or even the camera body.
Having monitored where I keep mine it's worse in the summer when heating is not on for many weeks most years.

At the moment this room is at 63% humidity (too damp) but the camera gear is in a cabinet and it's 34%.
 
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Hi Folks
I guess what i should have said is:- if you bring your camera in from the cold or the wet it is a good idea to dry it off correctly then, let it acclimatize slowly then, to place it in a sealed box with silica gel packs which will absorb any excess moisture. (if you have any doubts that’s its really got damp).
.
**** Warning Boring text ahead***
Silica gel (or silicon dioxide) only "contaminates" if the environment it is placed in, is contaminated. (As there is no chemical reaction as it absorbs moisture, only if the moisture in the air holds contaminates). Absorbing moisture is not thought of as contamination generally, just the gel doing its job as it can absorb up to 40% of its own weight in water vapour. Used Silica Gel can be re generated by gentle heating which drives off the absorbed moisture.
Using Silica Gel is much more beneficial if you place the item to be protected in an enclosed airtight box (because you’re not trying to suck the moisture out of a whole room) But it still has benefits if it is placed in your camera storage because in an undisturbed case where the air isn’t changed much it should still keep the humidity down to a degree. (It certainly won’t have any negative effects). Especially if the place where you keep your equipment has a relative humidity approaching 50% it’s not so good. In open atmosphere Silica gel does not stay charged for long and as little as 15 mins, so it has to be stored in air tight containers and recharged before use normally.
Short answer is, if you have bags kicking around use it, if you dont dont worry about it. Silica gel is normally used short term for transit applications, but every little helps.

This is far too heavy now it'll frighten poor Amy to death!
You will be fine, don’t worry just take good care and it will last you a lifetime or at least until you buy a D800
;)
 
Agree with the above, most camera bags have very little air-flow going through them. We were taught on the Alll Arms Photographic, or Joint Services Photographic course to keep one in your go-back to help stop lenses misting up. It's good practice.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Agree with the above, most camera bags have very little air-flow going through them. We were taught on the Alll Arms Photographic, or Joint Services Photographic course to keep one in your go-back to help stop lenses misting up. It's good practice.
Click to expand...
Are you Ex Mob Nick?
 
Alll Arms Photographic course now that's one course I wanted to do
 
This is far too heavy now it'll frighten poor Amy to death!
You will be fine, don’t worry just take good care and it will last you a lifetime or at least until you buy a D800
;)[/quote]

It'll take more than that to scare me off! Seriously, thanks guys! I really appreciate all your responses!
 
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