Daniel Ray, our tech, buttonholed me yesterday and asked me to pass a message on to the photographers of Western Australia. You know, that state on the left of the continent that is made up of red dust and grains of sand...He would like you to keep it out of your cameras, please.
Oh, not entirely - there is still a good trade to be had in sensor cleaning - but some days he'd like to slow down a bit. If you watch what you do, you might be able to put a little more time in between sensor cleans.
One part we often forget ( Okay, I often forget... ) is the amount of crud that can live in a camera case or on the shelf of a studio. Unless you clean up where you work -
and keep on cleaning - dust and debris just keeps mounting up. It finds its way into your camera and onto your sensor and through to your files.
The point Daniel made was regarding the back lens cap. We all get them with our accessory lenses and they are great to protect the rear element while the lens is in the case. Then when we take the lens out to change it over on our camera we just drop it back into the case...and we could just as well be dropping it down the smokestack of a locomotive. Into the case or pocket it goes and the dust and crud climbs aboard, ready for the next time that we put it on the lens. And thence to the camera and sensor in the fullness of time.
The way to break this is to keep that back lens cover clean - and the way to do that is to mate it with a body cap. You'll need that at some stage of the game anyway, but the combo is a perfect way to keep the keepers clean.
If you've lost the body cap that came with your camera, call in to CE and we'll find you another - they make them as aftermarket as well as manufacturer's accessories. Not heavy to carry and cheaper than another sensor clean.
The Three Amigos - front element, rear element, and body protection. Dust, Begone!
