Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week! This week's topic is from a fellow camera club member. As one of the officers in our camera club one of my duties is to come up with a gear related topic each meeting to give a 5 or so min. discussion before our actual meeting starts. I put the question to our camera club membership page and got quite a few good suggestions but one of our new members suggested how to clean your camera so that's how I got this topic. First of all cleaning you camera is just part of taking care of your gear. Gear is expensive and we don't want to damage it just through neglect. Clean gear not only gets you clear photo's but also will last longer if well taken care of. So before we get into the actual cleaning lets get to how to protect and keep our camera equipment clean as possible.

Prevention. Keeping your camera from getting dirty in the first place is key to not having to clean it all of the time. The more you rub on the expensive lenses the more potential there is to damage them. First of all if your not using your equipment it should be stowed away in a clean dry place. Your camera bag will be fine unless you just got in from a rain storm.  In each of the compartments of my camera bag I have desiccant bags to absorb any moisture. You get these little bags in every thing you buy from shoes to electronics. Instead of throwing them away put them in your bag to help absorb moisture.  Keep lens caps on front and rear of your lenses when not in use. This will keep stray dirt and dust off of your expensive lenses. The same with your camera body if its stored without a lens on it put a cap on it to keep dirt and dust out. A protective  screen protector for your rear display is a must. These displays are easily scratched and the screen protector works great just like it does on your phone.

Cleaning. Cleaning your camera comes in phases. The first phase is cleaning the outside of your camera and lenses. Microfiber is your friend. I keep small microfiber clothes in each of the compartments of my camera bags. Little small squares that you get from all kinds of places work great for this. You seem to get one with electronics , from the eye doctor, and they just accumulate. I take them and put in my camera bag and always have one in my pocket for easy access. These are great for wiping down your camera's outside from dust and debris. You could also use pre-moisten cloths that you can get for cleaning electronics also they work great.

The second phase is the lens glass itself. Keeping these clean and free of debris can make post processing easier without a lot of processing to get out pesky spots. The first line of defense is blowing the debris away from the glass , not with your mouth because you'll just end up spitting on your camera. But with a blower. I keep a small one in my bag just for these purpose's. You'll find that a blower will get out most if not all of the stuff off of your lens. The second thing you can do after blowing is use a lens brush. These are inexpensive brushes that are very soft and made for lenses. These will get the stubborn debris off of your lens. 

The third phase is for stubborn smudges or water marks on your lens. A liquid lens cleaner and a microfiber work well. There are some prepackaged wipes that are made especially for lenses.  Zeiss makes the one's that I'm thinking about but I'm sure there are more. These in conjunction with a microfiber clothe will get these lenses clean as new.

Now lets talk about sensors. Our camera sensors have electricity running through them and that makes them into a dust magnet. If you're using a mirrorless camera this is even worse because the sensor is just right there when you remove your lens. Not like a DSLR that has the mirror mechanism to protect the sensor.  Most cameras have a setting on them that will de-magnetize them and shake the sensor to get the particles to fall off.  This should be your first defense for cleaning .  Second should be holding your camera upside down sensor facing the ground and using a blower to blow away the dust. If your using a DSLR you will have to lock up your mirror to get to the sensor to do this.  The third is using a sensor brush. This is not the same brush that you used to clean your lenses . It is made especially for delicate sensors .  These methods usually get all of the dust off of your sensor. But if your sensor still needs cleaning then using a sensor swab to clean them is the final step. Using the correct sensor swab with the correct solution on it for your sensor gently wipe one direction stop at the end of the sensor and go back with the other side of the swab. Throw swab away don't use it again. If you need to keep cleaning get a new swab and repeat until clean. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR CAMERA to do this. On mirrorless cameras it not to hard but on DSLR's you have to use a setting on your camera to lock up the mirror open the shutter for cleaning. I can't say it enough follow the instruction in your camera's manual on how to do this. Most of the dirt and dust that get on your sensors comes when you change out lenses so try not to change in dusty or dirty areas. I try to always blow out my camera before changing lenses but its not always practical to do when in a rush. 

Keeping your camera clean and in good working order is easy to do if you take the time to find out how. If you are not comfortable on cleaning your sensor you can take it to your local camera store and they will clean it for a small fee. Having well maintained equipment (clean) will extend the life of your equipment and make your picture taking more enjoyable. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey Everyone! I hope you had a Fantastic week! Me? Well thanks for asking it was great! This week I want to Revisit a Blog that I did in 2015 about Tripods, Tripods, Tripods! If your new to photography and you'e talked to some more experienced photographers you can find that Tripods can be a very controversial subject  Some don't even own one and others live by them and have one everywhere they go.  I guess I fall closer to the later but I don't take one everywhere.  Like all things there are pro's and con's to be considered when using tripods.  Let me go over why I like to use a tripod when I can.  When I'm doing landscape work it helps me see the scene it also slows me down and lets me work the shot and think over what Im doing without running and gunning like most of us do.  Its also a must for any type of long exposure photography whether it be astro photography , waterfalls, or time lapse.  I also use a tripod when doing portraits.  This is where I differ from a lot of portrait photographers.  I like the tripod because it is like a book mark.  Let me explain what I mean.  If I have a subject posed and I see a fly away hair that I need to take care of with my camera on a tripod I can simply walk over take care of the fly away and go back to my camera and the only thing that has changed is that the fly away is gone and SNAP I can take the photo.  Without the tripod you see a fly away you walk over with your camera fix the hair and go back to the approx place you were recompose, refocus and take the shot.  Its a lot less work with the tripod and less time spent recomposing the subject.  Well there's my spin on the controversy.  Lets talk about parts and pieces.

Tripods come in all sorts and sizes.  They are made of all kinds of materials from aluminum , plastic, carbon fiber, even wood if you can find one old enough.  Aluminum is the industry standard and there are many really good aluminum tripods.  Carbon Fiber is the new kid on the block and they are lighter in weight with the same strength as their aluminum counterparts.  I have many tripods most are aluminum and one is of carbon fiber.  Aluminum is cheaper and for my money it is the best choice for most people.  Unless you are carrying your tripod for long distances aluminum is the best choice in my opinion.  

As the saying goes "Size Matters".  I personally have had tripods that could reach as high as 7 feet and as small as 6 inches high.  Not only size should be considered, but the weight that the tripod can support also.  No matter what tripod you pick you must be able to support your most heavy camera combination. So if you just have a small point and shoot or mirrorless camera system a small tripod will do.  But if  you have a big boy combination with heavy lenses then you must go big.  Each tripod has a maximum camera weight rating and you should consider this. With your heaviest camera and heaviest lens weigh you rig. You should have a maximum rating on your tripod to handle this with ease. My main tripod will hold 17 pounds but I use a mirrorless crop sensor camera and my heaviest combo is only about 3 pounds so I'm well with in. But if I had a full frame DSLR and a big 70-200 that wouldn't work on my tripod. It would be too flimsy and shake while taking the photo.

How your camera connects to your tripod is another thing you must think about when getting a tripod.  We've talked about size, material, of the legs what about the tripod head that sit atop the legs of the tripod.  There are many types of heads but the two basic design are Pan and Tilt and Ball Head.  The pan and tilt head does exactly as it says it pans back and forth and tilts up and down.  The ball head has a more versatile system where everything sits on a ball and can be moved in any direction and angle.  I use the ball head for all of my tripods.  Atop of the tripod head is the part that hooks up the tripod to the camera.  Long time ago you just screwed the camera onto the mounting plate of the tripod head but that was a pain.  Now they have quick disconnecting mounting hardware that a plate hooks to your camera and stays on and a mounting bracket hooks to your tripod head and with a quick move of a lever the camera is secure and with another move its off.  There are a few styles of quick disconnects the industry standard is Arca Swiss but there are others like Manfrotto quick disconnects. I use a Arca Swiss type of bracket on my camera's. I also use a bracket that is called an "L" bracket on all of my cameras.  As the name suggest it is a bracket that is shaped like an "L" and fits your camera.  The beauty of this bracket is that I can be taking a photo in Landscape mode and with a flip of a lever I can turn my camera to Portrait mode with out changing my tripod position. Lets talk about how the legs extend. There are two different ways that they can work there are Screw type and clamp type of locks for you leg extensions. I use the screw type just because I've always had them. I have had the clamp ones and they seem to me to be a little finicky but people swear by them so I'm sure they are fine. Then there are the feet to consider. Many tripods come with different kinds of feet for different surfaces . Some are spikes to stick in the ground when you're doing landscape and some have rubber feet when your inside on your  nice wooden floors. Being able to change the feet are a big plus when choosing a tripod.

Believe it or not I have just skimmed the surface of the "Three Legged Monster" There are many things that we could talk about.  For me the main thing I want to convey is that if you have a tripod and don't use it you should give it a try.  Using a tripod can slow down your process and have you taking and thinking more about what your photographing instead of just the point and shoot mentality that we have gotten use to.  Tripods will also make your photo's sharper by eliminating hand shake. 

As you can see Tripods have been a part of photography from the beginning of the art and will be for a long long time. So get your tripod and lets get out and shoot!

Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is have a great week!  I am.  This week I want to discuss the things that you should do after you get your new camera. We usually think that we've bought a new camera that it should be as up to date as it can be. Well that's not always the case. Your camera might be new and shiny but depending on what you got it could be years old. So one of the first things to do is check your firmware version and make sure you have the latest firmware version.

 Firmware.  Back in the film days we really didn't have to worry about firmware because everything was mechanical but now in the electronic and computer age everything seems to have some sort of program in them.  And for some reason there is always an update to be had.  Firmware ( in simple terms) is the program that electronics use to do whatever they do. When you update your firmware you are altering the program that was in the device that your updating. Usually fixing some sort of bug or adding some sort of feature.  Much like Lightroom or Windows updates they correct bugs or improve stuff. In your camera this could mean better focusing or faster focus.  Maybe they add some sort of new software to make your camera like new.  As long as the hardware can handle the upgrade the possibilities are endless.  Some company's put out lots of firmware updates and some do not.  Making sure your camera has the latest and greatest update can make the camera perform like brand new saving you from having to upgrade or buy a new one. If you haven't checked your firmware you should. If you  have never updated the firmware you may tell a big difference in the way that it works.  Installing the firmware is easy and all of the camera companies will have a step by step procedure for you to follow to make sure you have the latest and greatest.  This usually involves installing on your computer some sort of program that when your camera is connected to your computer the program updates the firmware.  On older cameras it was installing the firmware on a SD card and inserting it into your camera and going through a series of procedures to update the firmware. In any case it's fairly easy to do .

But now a days its not just camera bodies that get the firmware update its also Lenses.  Newer lenses have small computers in them also that can be tweaked to give that lens a sharper focusing and quicker focusing.  So check your lenses especially if they are fairly new.  The firmware updates that you do to them can make them really nice lenses.  If you have a new body that has super fast focusing powers but your lens is still using the old way of focusing a firmware update to that lens could make it perform just like a brand new lens. I just got through checking all of my lenses for the firmware updates and they were all up to date. Its a good feeling to know that all of your equipment is up to date and running as efficient as it can.  I think this should almost be an annual event or even a simi-annual event to check the firmware of all of your electronics.

 The next thing you should do is read the manual.  I know nobody likes to do this .  New camera's can do all sorts of things that we might not know they can do until we read the manual. Another good alternative to this is to watch a video on how to set up your camera and go through all of the settings. This is usually one of the first things I do because now a days camera's are so complicated and have so many options that Bell & Howell /CannonHere is the new addition to my film cameras . 1961 Canon Canonet 19. learning from someone that has more experience using your make and model of camera and how to set it up is a great starting point. Whats nice about a video is you can rewind as many time as you want to get all of the facts right to set up your camera. You can find these videos on youtube or on places like Creative Live. I usually use Creative Live because I buy my camera's used and they have all kinds of video's on my particular camera and can usually get a print out of all of the settings and where to set.

Accessories. Make your camera yours. Maybe a new camera strap or a fancy lens cap.  Or a new camera bag. Making your camera yours is a great way to make your camera more enjoyable to shoot. I don't do a lot but I always have a camera strap system put on my cameras . I usually use the Peak Design system that have the little buttons that you attach to your camera to put on the strap. or a plate on the bottom of the camera that will attach to a clip attached to my backpack. If your new camera that is in the same system as your old camera say your own Nikons and you buy another Nikon your accessories might work for your new camera like a remote shutter release system. Maybe an "L" bracket to put on your camera . I usually have these on all of my cameras.  Make it yours. Oh just thought of this is to get a screen protector for your display to keep it from getting scratched because believe me it will get scratched. Just like you protect your phone screen you should definitely protect your camera display.

After all of this done you should shoot, shoot, shoot! The more you shoot the more familiar you will be with your new camera. Being very comfortable with your camera and not fumbling with it only comes with hours of practice . So shoot everything and anything.  Getting used to all of the dials and buttons and knowing where they are will help you get the shot when it counts. Make photography more natural instead of a process of figuring out a new gadget. So until next week take your new camera and get out and Shoot, Shoot,Shoot!