What do you clean your camera bodies with?

[lisa_b4]

I keep a small inexpensive paintbrush in my bag and I use that to brush off any

sand, grit, dirt, etc. from my camera bodies, but that just removes the loose

surface dirt so I don't smear it around when using a cleaning cloth. One of my

photography professors taught us to clean our camera bodies with a siliconized

"rod and reel" cloth like you find in outdoor stores. While I've never had any

problems with this, I know that it's easy to get set in my ways--which aren't

always the right way!

 

What are you using to keep your camera bodies clean and shiny??

[Matt Laur]

What sort of camera body? All metalic? Plastic?

 

A silcone-saturated cloth, to me, would leave too much of that rust inhibitor on the surfaces, for my taste. I like those for wiping down firearms, but I don't like them on something like a camera. Could cause problems on the rubberized grip parts, too, and possibly even mess with the adhesives used.

 

I just use a very barely damp, grit-free microfiber cloth. Works just fine. Like you, I brush the obivous stuff off first, and use a rocket blower to get some of the find dirt out of the crevaces first.

[User_276104]

After a day in hot & humid weather I'll spray a little ammonia-free Windex glass/surface cleaner on a 3M household microfiber cloth and wipe the body down.

 

For general dust, I'll use a blower brush or dry cloth.

[robert_hooper1]

Hi Lisa,

 

The silicone impregnated cloths are good for metal bodies and lens barrels, but for plastic

bodies I use a brush as you do, blower bulb and Weiman e-tronic wipes, (any brand will

probably do). E-tronic wipes are made for cleaning LCD screens, and are safe for all the

exterior areas of plastic camera bodies. They come in a liter size plastic dispenser. I

also keep a large micro fiber utility cloth such as the kind you find in bulk at Costco in my

camera bag, which safely cleans the LCD screen of smudges in the field.

[lisa_b4]

I first learned of the silicone cloth back when I was shooting FM2's and FE2's--I've just carried over the silicone cloth to my first DSLR's the D70 and now D200. I don't see any ill affects yet, but like I said sometimes I get used to doing something one way that might not be the best way!

 

Given that the D200 is a more metallic body, will the silicone damage the rubber or plastic? There's VERY little silicone on the clothes--you can even wipe them on glass and just see the tiniest traces of the silicone.....but it also leaves the bodies nice and shiny and it does seem to make it hard for dust and dirt to accumulate on the bodies.......

[robert_hooper1]

I doubt if the silicone impregnated cloth will harm rubber or plastic, however the sport

cloths used for reels and guns that I am familiar with render plastic surfaces slippery. Its

possible the cloth you use has less silicone than the cloths I am familiar with.

 

I have found that if a smudge of silicone gets on a lens surface, it requires alcohol and

cotton buds (my method) to remove it without leaving a residue. Its a stubborn smudge!

[tri-x1]

Best invention of the 20th century IMO was the microfiber cloth. I always carry at least two. One for wiping down the bodies or lense barrels, and one for the lens glass itself. I at one time used silicon cloths on metal bodies but it can attract dust and I'm nut sure it does any good on plastic portions of a body.

[eric_arnold]

photographic solutions' pec pads and eclipse solution (aka methanol or methyl alcohol) are good for cleaning metallic surfaces as well as glass. they're made for sensor cleaning, but if you have a nikon digital body with an ITO sensor (like the D300), eclipse is not recommended; use E2 instead. usually a combination of microfiber cloth/pec pads, lens pen/brush and eclipse will keep things looking pristine for both the body and lens.

[frank uhlig]

I must love to get down and dirty I guess, but in 50+ years of photographing I have never

cleaned any of my 9 camera that I have used so far. Not even thought about it or felt the

need. Just handling the cameras kept them clean enough for me.

 

Am I a pig? oink oink then!

[SCL]

A microfibre cloth with a mist of water on it, thoroughly dry. Don't need to do it very often as I keep things pretty clean on a daily basis.

[bwcombs]

The microfiber cloth is perfect for this. I have stocked up on several of the convenient microfiber packs sold at The Container Store. I toss them into camera bags, backpacks, etc., and always have one near.

 

If you wear glasses, as I do, then you probably receive the complimentary glass cleaning cloth that your eye doctor gives you every visit. Those are handy as well.

[craig_shearman1]

I'm with Frank. If a camera body has gotten wet in the rain I'll wipe it off with a towel or whatever's handy. I supposed I must have done the same with mud or dust at some point. Lenses, that's a different story. But I've never sat around polishing up a camera body to make it look pretty. That's something camera collectors do, not photographers.

[errol young]

I don't clean the body regularly, Just dust it with a small air compressor when I do the sensor.

 

Errol

[gary_watson]

A clean cotton hand towel(no fabric softener)and Costco lens cleaner. Cuts oil from your hands that attracts and holds dust and crud. Anything that's additive like silicone is just wrong. Once knew someone who hosed down his F5 with Armor All, leaving it, in his words, "slicker than snot on a glass door knob."

[Mary Doo]

This works very well for me, per instruction from a photography mentor: Wipe equipment surfaces with a cloth rinsed from half water and half rubbing alcohol. I then use a microfiber cloth to wipe them dry.

 

Good luck,

Mary

[peter_j2]

The Nikon technicians at the Nikon camera clinics used to recommend methyl hydrate to clean the Nikkor optics and Nikon F bodies. Methyl hydrate is listed here http://www.reagent.co.uk/solvents.html as an organic solvent.

 

The manuals for the Canon EOS 5D Digital and Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT forbid the use of organic solvents to clean the camera bodies.

 

I use a microfibre cloth dampened with warm water which is an inorganic solvent to wipe the exterior of the DSLRs.

[lex_jenkins]

Mane 'n Tail, followed by Armor All.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

I honestly don't think i have ever cleaned one isn't that what nps is for?

[jim mucklin]

One drop of dawn dish soap to two cups of warm water applied with a damp cloth and a old tooth brush, then dried with a cotton cloth. Then I use Q-tips that I dip in the water and squeeze out for all the tiny cracks, followed by dry Q-tips or I would be the only guy with brown Nikons. Lex, mount the camera on a tripod and get out the old buffer, wax on wax off and don't foget the chrome polish.

[john_cox7]

I have and still use a number of the silicon impregnated cloths to wipe down the outer surface of my cameras and lenses after a days use. But, I do not use them on glass surfaces.

 

A lens tissue with a drop of distilled water for the obviously visual smears, otherwise, a soft blower brush (the retractable type that caps and conceals the brush when not in use) is used on the filter glass (as all lenses have either UV or Sky filters attached).

 

For cleaning recently purchased used cameras for the first time I use a cotton bud and methylated spirits.

[wpahnelas]

i find that fellowes anti-bacterial phone cleaning wipes followed by a microfiber cloth on the displays keeps my D300 looking like it never gets used. not that i worry about it -- except when it comes up here. my opinion is, you don't need any special, expensive preparations to take care of your camera body. lenses, on the other hand, are meant to be fussed over, since keeping the glass "immaculate" as possible is critical. that's what you should devote your thought and time to.