Canon D400 - cleaning body & lenses
Canon D400 - cleaning body & lenses
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Zelda Pinwheel

Original Poster:

500 posts

228 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2008
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Hi
Newbie here, so pls forgive what may be a terribly obvious question. I did a search but only came up with sensor cleaning issues.

I took my Canon and a couple of decent enough lenses to Morocco recently and stupidly didn't pay quite enough attention to dust while there (having too much fun!) I'm still very much learning about it so I don't know if there's anything on the sensor, but the lens rotation feels gritty and the body is a bit manky as well. Can anybody recommend somewhere in Berks/North Hants where i might be able to get the whole lot thoroughly cleaned, or have I buggered it completely?

Thanks in advance!


Simpo Two

92,914 posts

295 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2008
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Sorry I don't, but your lawn needs watering.

VxDuncan

2,850 posts

264 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2008
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Nice pic...

Grit is different to dust really. If you can feel it in the mount then it won't be the same stuff as sticks to your sensor (that's really fine dust). Your pic doesn't show any dust on the sensor (at that size anyhows). Personally I'd buy a rocket blower and blow all the crap off (with the body cap on to ensure no grit goes in the mirror box, and do the same for the lens. Whenyou're sure all the grit is off the lens elements wipe the glass with a lens cleaning tissue (if it needs it), then use the half used tissue to wipe off the camera surfaces.

malc350

1,035 posts

276 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2008
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Similar to above reply really:

I would wipe the camera and lens bodies with a clean paper towel. Keep the lens attached so you minimise the risk of any dirt or dust getting in the camera. Then I would use a blower or soft brush to get the finer dust off then wipe again using a soft cloth and some lens cleaning liquid as this is safe to use on a camera / lens body.

Finally, with the camera body facing down, in still air inside away from draughts and dust, I'd remove the lens, gently wipe the lens mount free of dirt using a soft cloth with lens cleaning fluid, do the same to the lens mount (this is to remove the "grit" you mentioned in your post, then I'd put the lens back on the camera and worry no more!

For some reason the 350D and 400D have a matt finish that seems to hold dust while the later 450D has a more glossy finish that doesn't seem to suffer from this so much.

I just took a 450D to Thailand but my lenses were the well-sealed 24-105L IS and 70-200 F4L IS which have rubber seals where they mount onto the camera. I did take it on beaches and if it got dusty I cleaned it as described above.

A couple of things to bear in mind:

1) Don't use the cloths used to clean the body to clean anything else, e.g. the lens glass!
2) Keep a seperate cloth for cleaning lens glass
3) Keep the camera body open (i.e. with lens detached) for as short a time as possible (few seconds if poss)

Malc

Zelda Pinwheel

Original Poster:

500 posts

228 months

Wednesday 3rd December 2008
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Many thanks, guys, I'll give it a go this weekend. Just wasn't sure if all this was something you should give to a professional, but it doesn't sound too difficult.

Cheers!