Ouch!!!!! How to take care of your gear!!!!!

Thanks to my old Nikon buddy Sam Garcia for sharing this rather scary image!!!  Doesn’t this guy know that lens mounts aren’t strong enough to support your body weight!!!???  I admit I’m super careful about how I protect my gear, o.k. obssesively!!!   If you want your cameras and lenses to not let you down when you need them, don’t mistreat them!

My efforts to protect my gear may be over the top, but since I fly a lot and the micro vibrations can really work on gear, I take extra procossions!

FIRST:  Choose your camera bags and back packs carefully.  This is not a huge problems, as today, many manufacturers make really good bags with high tech foams that isolate and protect your gear well.  Pick the one that you can afford and that works for you!  I love Think Tank bags, and they have held up well for me, Guru Gear (now gone), and the newest Tenba Anvil Series work great too. Some traditional companies like Lowepro, Domke and Tamrac make some nice stuff too.

SECOND:  To further protect lenses and bodes I have been using Tamrac Goblin lens and body pouches.  They provide surface protection and an extra layer of vibration stopping insulation.

THIRD: Use nesting to double protect your lenses and bodies.  Once you put them into a wrap of some kind make your lens and body slots big en0ugh to hold the equipment in the wrap snugly.  Don’t make them so tight that they cannot be taken out easily, just firm enough to hold them in place.  This is all valuable should you ever mistakenly pickup your bag unzipped, it would help protect the lenses from flying out!

FOURTH:  Learn how to clean your glass properly.  Always blow off any glass surface before cleaning it.  There are several ways to clean the front and rear elements of your lenses, but I’ve  been using the Zeiss Lens Cleaning wipes for some time with great results.  You  can pick them up in camera stores and the eye glass department of Walmart.  A good quality micro fiber cloth is handy for removing small smudges or light dust, after blowing of course.

So a few ideas for all of us obsessive equipment lovers!

Blessings,

the pilgrim