Dust - Best way to avoid it

Music_Producer · May 11, 2006

Hey friends, so I just took my wife to Seaworld (San Diego) .. and then we went to Las Vegas to see Bryan Adams. For Seaworld, I used my 70-300 mm Nikon lens, and for BA.. it was the 85mm f/1.8 (for obvious low light reasons)

My major concern is, I always get so paranoid when I'm changing lenses.. like I'm handling a nuclear weapon or something! I try to change them as fast as possible to avoid any dust from getting in the camera. When I do change them though, I can't help avoid a little dust (the real tiny ones.. looks like lint) from getting onto the lens rear cap.. and I try to get it off with my t-shirt.

Would it help if I had a little vaccum thing, to suck all that up before attaching it to my camera? Or am I just being really crazy? I see one little speck and I'm like "Oh damn! There goes my camera"

What do you guys do when you're changing lenses? As in, to prevent dust from entering the camera.

Edit: Oh, and Chip.. man that 70-300 mm lens sure 'shakes' when its at 300 mm.. this is the first time i've gotten a zoom lens so I was pretty surprised. Should I get the 18-200 mm VR?

TheMonarch · May 11, 2006

Carry around a swiffer?

I use it on my PowerBook all the time and it works wonders... Then again, it isn't a lense...

Sun Baked · May 11, 2006

Do you know how much dust (aka lint) t-shirts produce?

Music_Producer · May 11, 2006

Sun Baked said:
Do you know how much dust (aka lint) t-shirts produce?

I know!

But it does work a bit..well atleast I can confirm that visually

Its better than just putting on that lens cap with tons of stuff on it

Lebowski · May 11, 2006

i always have a cleaning pouch in my gear bag. Lense wipes and solution, a can of compressed air, and q-tips.

Whenever i change lenses, i try to get somewhere that is not windy/dusty (inside a store/bathroom/phonebooth... etc.) that way i minimize the amount of junk that might make its way inside.

Mr. G4 · May 11, 2006

Music_Producer said:
Hey friends, so I just took my wife to Seaworld (San Diego) .. and then we went to Las Vegas to see Bryan Adams. For Seaworld, I used my 70-300 mm Nikon lens, and for BA.. it was the 85mm f/1.8 (for obvious low light reasons)

My major concern is, I always get so paranoid when I'm changing lenses.. like I'm handling a nuclear weapon or something! I try to change them as fast as possible to avoid any dust from getting in the camera. When I do change them though, I can't help avoid a little dust (the real tiny ones.. looks like lint) from getting onto the lens rear cap.. and I try to get it off with my t-shirt.

Would it help if I had a little vaccum thing, to suck all that up before attaching it to my camera? Or am I just being really crazy? I see one little speck and I'm like "Oh damn! There goes my camera"

What do you guys do when you're changing lenses? As in, to prevent dust from entering the camera.

Edit: Oh, and Chip.. man that 70-300 mm lens sure 'shakes' when its at 300 mm.. this is the first time i've gotten a zoom lens so I was pretty surprised. Should I get the 18-200 mm VR?

As many Olympus E-system like me we don't have to worry about that.
The thing that people do is turning you camera upside down when change lens that way the dust wouldn't get in the camera as much.

Chip NoVaMac · May 13, 2006

Music_Producer said:
Edit: Oh, and Chip.. man that 70-300 mm lens sure 'shakes' when its at 300 mm.. this is the first time i've gotten a zoom lens so I was pretty surprised. Should I get the 18-200 mm VR?

The VR II on the 18-200 is fantastic. Keep in mind you won't have the reach of 300mm (450mm FOV). There were rumors flying around before PMA about a slew of new Nikon lenses. One of them was to have been a 70-300VR. Maybe it will see the light of day at Photokina.

miniConvert · May 13, 2006

Music_Producer said:
Would it help if I had a little vaccum thing, to suck all that up before attaching it to my camera? Or am I just being really crazy? I see one little speck and I'm like "Oh damn! There goes my camera"

Hey!

Well, if you carry around a portable Mac, you could use one of these USB vacuum cleaners! They're intended for keyboards AFAIK, but hey, how awesome

Just make sure you get one of these too

virividox · May 13, 2006

use a bulb blower - either a branded one like giotto, or you can go to ur pharmacy and use the enema bulb
just blow on the real element of the lens before mounting and after taking it out

try to change lenses indoors rather than in a windy place (if not try to shelter it witha bag or something

and yes 300mm shake is mighty fierce; i rarely shoot at 300, unless im using my tripod

jared_kipe · May 13, 2006

I've never gotten dust. I guess I'm just that fast at changing lenses. I set my body down pointed up and twist the lens so its loose, but I don't take it out. Now I take another lens and twist off the rear cap and put it down such that I can just pick up the lens and the rear cap comes up. Now I just pick up the lens off both and secure the new lens on the body. and then put on the rear lens cap on the other. I've never had a problem with dust. And I don't always change it indoors.

virividox · May 13, 2006

jared_kipe said:
I've never gotten dust. I guess I'm just that fast at changing lenses. I set my body down pointed up and twist the lens so its loose, but I don't take it out. Now I take another lens and twist off the rear cap and put it down such that I can just pick up the lens and the rear cap comes up. Now I just pick up the lens off both and secure the new lens on the body. and then put on the rear lens cap on the other. I've never had a problem with dust. And I don't always change it indoors.

lucky you then. it takes me about 6 months or more to actually have an issue with the dust that builds up.

Grimace · May 13, 2006

My Bryan Adams CDs have so much dust on them that I would NEVER consider changing lenses within 50ft!

jared_kipe · May 13, 2006

carletonmusic said:
My Bryan Adams CDs have so much dust on them that I would NEVER consider changing lenses within 50ft!

You should probably avoid Bryan Adams concerts too

Chip NoVaMac · May 13, 2006

It is my opinion/experience that 80% of the dust issues can be done away with the likes of the Giotto Rocket Air blower. The other 20% may need to go to the likes of the VisibleBrush system or as a last resort the SensorSwab system.

virividox · May 13, 2006

Chip NoVaMac said:
It is my opinion/experience that 80% of the dust issues can be done away with the likes of the Giotto Rocket Air blower. The other 20% may need to go to the likes of the VisibleBrush system or as a last resort the SensorSwab system.

do u have the visible dust system? im tempted to get it, but seeing as i only get it cleaned every 6-8 months it doesnt seem like i need it.

i go to the nikon service center in manila when im in town, takes 15 minutes and costs something like 25 dollars not bad

too lazy to do the wet swab myself haha

M. Malone · May 14, 2006

Music_Producer said:
Hey friends, so I just took my wife to Seaworld (San Diego) .. and then we went to Las Vegas to see Bryan Adams. For Seaworld, I used my 70-300 mm Nikon lens, and for BA.. it was the 85mm f/1.8 (for obvious low light reasons)

My major concern is, I always get so paranoid when I'm changing lenses.. like I'm handling a nuclear weapon or something! I try to change them as fast as possible to avoid any dust from getting in the camera. When I do change them though, I can't help avoid a little dust (the real tiny ones.. looks like lint) from getting onto the lens rear cap.. and I try to get it off with my t-shirt.

Would it help if I had a little vaccum thing, to suck all that up before attaching it to my camera? Or am I just being really crazy? I see one little speck and I'm like "Oh damn! There goes my camera"

What do you guys do when you're changing lenses? As in, to prevent dust from entering the camera.

Edit: Oh, and Chip.. man that 70-300 mm lens sure 'shakes' when its at 300 mm.. this is the first time i've gotten a zoom lens so I was pretty surprised. Should I get the 18-200 mm VR?

the best thing to do, is open your shower to hot, so it steams the bathroom, making all the dust drop, then change the lens in the bathroom, or wait right after a rainy day and go out and change it

this is a joke

virividox · May 14, 2006

i know someone who got 2 bodies just so they didnt have to change their lenses often thus reducing the likelyhood for dust to enter... haha its not like they even take that much pictures!!!

NATO · May 20, 2006

jared_kipe said:
You should probably avoid Bryan Adams concerts too

LMAO

YS2003 · Aug 1, 2006

Visible Dust

So, has anyone tried Visible Dust for cleaning the digital camera's sensor? Mac World had an article on it when they were covering the topic of how to clean a digital camera's sensor. Sooner or later, some dusts may get in as you change lens. Is it as effective as some reviewers claim?

Mike Teezie · Aug 1, 2006

Man, you guys would hate to see me in action - I'm changing lenses 10-12 times during a shoot...outside. I don't worry about dust much, though I will if and when it becomes a problem.

Can't wait to add my second camera, so I don't have to change nearly as much.

YS2003 · Aug 2, 2006

By the way, what type of "dust" causes the spec on image sensor which affects the image output? I run 2 filter-type air cleaners and 2 Ionic Air Cleaners 24/7 in my room where all the gear is located. So, dusts are not that much. When I change lens, I usually do it in my car (with door/window closed).

Under those circumstances, I think my digital camera is only slightly subject to the dust problem. Or, am I underestimating the chance of getting the dust problems?

Abstract · Aug 2, 2006

jared_kipe said:
You should probably avoid Bryan Adams concerts too

Yeah, there's a lot of dust on Bryan Adams' fans. They're all quite old.

Music_Producer · Aug 2, 2006

Abstract said:
Yeah, there's a lot of dust on Bryan Adams' fans. They're all quite old.

Yeah, but as my wife and I found out to our surprise.. there were many teens as well.. we thought we 'd be the youngest ones out there!

Good music draws fans from all ages. I guess you guys prefer today's trashy music to Phil Collins..

extraextra · Aug 2, 2006

Get one of those little blower things that blow the dust off the sensor. Normally you won't see much dust unless you take a picture of a wall or a sky at f/22 or something. And the little dust that you do see is easily photoshopped out.

I wait till my sensor is absolutely covered with dust before I actually do anything about it, because I usually shoot wide open (f/1.4) and you can't see the dust!

seenew · Aug 2, 2006

More companies should add built-in sensor cleaning like Olympus, or like, some kind of thing that blows off your lens right as you're about to put it in place...

...because I'm too lazy for all this maintenance.

Dust - Best way to avoid it

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