How to Take Care of Your Digital Camera

How to Take Care of Your Digital Camera Are you having trouble taking care of your digital camera? A digital camera is a very delicate piece of equipment. The camera body, especially the lens, can be easily damaged through rough handling and scratches. I’ve owned a Canon S300 camera for a long time, and it still works fine. Why? Because I do put in effort to take care of it. Here are some tips for taking care of that precious camera of yours. Lens Care The lens of your digital camera is its eye or window to the outside world. It is easily the most important component in any camera. To take care of the lens, make sure that you never, ever touch directly with your fingers. Also make sure that you put on the lens cap when not shooting pictures. If you really need to clean the lens, use good lens cleaning equipment. Investing in such equipment is really important. Always use a good lens brush, lens blower and lens cloth to do the job. Temperature The other thing to look out for is the temperature under which the camera is stored. You should always keep the camera out of sun. One mistake that newbies always make is to store the digital camera in the extremely hot temperatures (e.g. the car boot). Don’t ever do that. It’s also important not to store the camera in extremely cold temperatures either. Storage When storing your digital camera, you need to keep it away from magnets of any form. Magnets will affect the circuitry of your digital camera and should not be placed near it. Another point to note is to use silica gel to combat condensation. Many electronic products come with silica gel capsules. Keep these and put them in your digital camera storage box. It will prevent condensation. The batteries of the camera should also be removed if you intend to store the camera away for a long time. The reason is that batteries can have corrosive leaks over time. Protect Delicate Components You also need to protect those delicate components. In particular, watch out for the memory card (whether it is a CompactFlash, SD or MMC card). Handle them with care because they are small and delicate. Camera panels are also very delicate. In my Canon PowerShot S500, the panel for the USB connect and the battery is a tad flimsy. I make sure I handle it with care whenever I open it. Conclusion You digital camera costs a lot of money and it pays to take care of it. Remember to apply the above tips to preserve your camera and it’ll last you a long, long time. Good luck!