Essential camera gear protection and maintenance

Is there anything more frustrating than having a great photo opportunity, perhaps leading to the image of a lifetime, and your camera's not working because you didn't protect your gear well enough?

It's not that hard to keep photo gear in excellent working condition. While regular maintenance and precautions can't prevent every failure, it's been my experience that most can be avoided with some planning and commonsense measures.

Keep your camera clean

Photographers understand the importance of keeping the inside of their camera clean to keep their camera's sensor dust-free and prevent wear and tear on moving parts. It's important to keep the outside of the camera clean, as well. When lenses are changed, dirt on the exterior of the camera and lenses can enter the camera. Keeping the outside of your camera and lenses clean will keep controls, contacts and screens clean plus prevent dirt from entering your camera.

Printing your travel photos: PPI vs. DPI

While these days, most travelers display their photos online instead of in the photo albums of the past, many travelers still print more than a few images to keep and show off their travel memories. Some even hang prints of their travels on the walls of their home.

Unfortunately, many travelers, like other photographers, are often confused about sizing their images for printing because countless photographers incorrectly use the terms, PPI (pixels per inch) and DPI (dots per inch) interchangeably.

PPI and DPI are not at all the same, and they are independent of each other.

Can I prevent my DSLR sensor from getting dusty and dirty?

Earlier this month, in my article, What do I do about those dust spots on my digital photos? I discussed how to clean your dirty DSLR sensor. Since then, I’ve received numerous emails asking how photographers can prevent their DSLR sensors from getting dusty and dirty.

There are techniques to use to slow down an accumulation of dust and dirt on your DSLR sensor, but if you take enough photos, eventually you’ll need to clean it.

Each time photographers change lenses on their DSLRs they open up the camera to allow dust to enter. In addition, zoom lenses can bring in dust to the camera. Many zoom lenses literally vacuum in dust to the sensor area of the camera when the photographer zooms their lens in and out. Different zoom lenses have different affinities for pulling dust into DSLRs. Consumer quality zoom lenses which use external lengthening/shortening to change focal length are particularly prone to this, compared to pro level zooms which zoom internally.

What do I do about those dust spots on my digital photos?

In recent months, numerous readers sent emails to me about dirt and dust problems on their photos. They had cleaned their lenses, but the spots remained. They examined their DSLR’s sensor/filter and saw little specks of dirt, and asked what they should do.

You can generally remove spots during post processing, but it’s better to not have the problem to start, as sometimes “Photoshopping” doesn’t work particularly well.

Lenses for Travel Photography - Part V (Lens qualities and characteristics in purchase decisions)

This week in Part V of my seven part series about lenses for travel photography, I discuss what qualities and characteristics are important to consider when choosing lenses for travel. The series is primarily meant for SLR and DSLR camera users, who can attach a variety of lenses to their cameras to support their creativity, and suit the needs of their photographic opportunities.

Unfortunately for anyone purchasing lenses, there are a myriad of lens qualities, specifications, and characteristics which should be considered. Even if you’ll be purchasing nothing but the absolute best quality pro lenses, you will be weighing choices and making compromises.

You’ll have to decide the relative importance of specifications and characteristics for you photography to make your lens choices. This article should help you familiarize yourself with what you need to consider, and why, when purchasing your lenses.

By Request: What do I do before my first photo of the day?

This article is most applicable for those using digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR), but if you're using a Point and Shoot camera, or a film SLR camera, there are many relevant ideas in the article which apply to your camera too.

Before I use my DSLR, during a trip, or otherwise, I assume its settings are incorrect for the first shot of the day. I go through a 11 point checklist before I start each day's shooting, when I travel, or anytime I'm taking photographs.

Before I started this procedure I can't tell you how many great photos I thought I took before realizing that my meter method was wrong causing dark photos, or my ISO was too high causing graining photos unnecessarily.

You often don't get a second chance in photography, so you've got to take advantage of your opportunities when you get them.

Before running through the checklist, I do two additional things. The evening before, I recharge my camera's batteries (I use a vertical grip on my camera which uses two rechargeable batteries.) as well as my spare batteries. Next, I check my camera's sensor, to see if it's grimy, and clean it, if necessary. Don't wait to the last minute to check your sensor. Cleaning can take time. Moreover, since it's possible to damage your sensor during cleaning, you don't want rush the process.

When traveling I always take my cleaning kit. Zoom lenses draw air into DSLRs when the are zoomed in and out. Some dirt and dust is in the air almost everywhere. When you change lenses on a DSLR, even if you take precautions, dirt and dust can enter the camera and lodge on the sensor. Take my word for it, if you use a DSLR long enough, eventually your sensor will get dirty. That dirt will show up on your photos, and while you can normally "fix" the photo, you're better off eliminating the need to fix it.

My cleaning kit consists of:

• A Sensor Loupe which enables me to easily see any dirt and dust on the sensor.
• A Giotto Rocket hand air blower which is the first device I use to clean the sensor.
  
• An Arctic Butterfly brush which is the second item I use to clean the sensor, when necessary.
• The correct size Sensor Swabs and Eclipse cleaning solution which I use to clean hard to remove grime on the sensor. I follow the general procedures of the Copper Hill Method of sensor cleaning when using these products.
  

Most of the time, just using the Giotto Rocket will take care of loose dirt or dust. During a trip, I check out my photos on my laptop nightly, not just to see the photos themselves, but to see if I have a grime problem.

With a clean sensor, and fully charged batteries, I'm just about ready for the day's shooting, but before I start, I have to make sure I didn't leave the camera set strangely when last used. That might even be the prior evening. Here's my checklist for my Nikon D200:

1. My Nikon DSLR has 4 available groups of custom settings. I make sure that I have set the camera to the group I want to use.
2. I set the ISO setting to that desired, which is usually 100.
3. I set the White Balance to the setting appropriate for current conditions.
4. I double check that the image quality, size, and file type are correct.
5. I make sure that the camera mode (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, programmed auto) is set appropriately. I typically use aperture priority. I never use auto.
   
6. I make sure that the metering method (3D color matrix, center weighted, spot) is set properly. I normally use 3D color matrix.
7. I make sure that my exposure compensation setting (used to alter camera's suggested exposure according to conditions) is appropriate.
8. I make sure that my auto focus (AF) area mode (single area, dynamic area, group dynamic, closest to subject priority) is set to the desired mode, which is generally group dynamic. I never use closest to subject priority mode.
9. I make sure that the focus mode (single, continuous, manual) is set as desired. Most of the time I set it to single. On some DSLR/SLR lenses you must also set the focus mode, as it can override the camera setting.
10. Many of my lenses have Vibration Reduction (VR). Some cameras use Image Stabilization. Both attempt to automatically compensate for camera shake. I make sure my lens VR settings are as desired. For example, the VR on my Nikkor 18mm-200mm lens can be turned on or off as desired, and either set to normal or active mode.
11. Finally, I make sure my shooting mode (single frame, continuous low, continuous high, self timer) is set properly. Most of the time, it's set to single frame. For sports it's often set to one of the two continuous modes, so I can just hold the shutter release button down, and let it continuously take up to 5 photos per second.
    

Your camera may use different terminology, and have different settings, but I think you can easily use this checklist to develop your own.

Have a great trip and take lots of wonderful photos.

The DSLR Multiplier Myth Exposed

Last month, a friend asked me about purchasing a 300mm lens for wildlife photography with his Nikon D80, instead of a 500mm lens. He thought he could save some cash since the "300mm lens would give me the same magnification as a 450mm lens, wouldn't it?"

Before discussing the details, let me get the answer to his question out of the way, "It won't!"

What my friend was talking about is the "multiplier effect." Today's expensive professional level digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) have full sized sensors, meaning their sensors have the same size as a 35mm negative. Other professional DSLR's, as well as consumer oriented DSLR cameras have smaller sensors. Nikon calls their smaller sensors, DX sensors and their full size sensors, FX. When comparing lenses mounted on a DSLR with a DX sensor to a 35mm film camera, or a DSLR with an FX sensor we "multiply" the lens' focal length by 1.5, so a 300mm lens becomes a 450mm lens, or does it?

What's really happening is the field of view is being reduced or cropped. Cropping is the process of cutting part of an image out of a photograph to make the final photo. In the case of a Nikon D80 with a DX sensor, with a 300mm lens attached, the effective field of view is that of a 450mm lens. The photo is cropped, not magnified.

On the right is a view of Monument Valley through the lens of a DSLR. Inside the white rectangle is the image picked up by a full size, FX sensor. Inside the yellow rectangle is the image picked up by a smaller, DX sensor.

Note that the DX image is a cropped portion of the FX image. The field of view has been narrowed along both axises, horizontal and vertical. There is less of the scene in the DX image than the FX image.

Look at the two resultant photos on the right, below the lens view. Both are printed to the screen at the same size. The FX image is at the top, and the DX image is on the bottom.

If you examine them carefully you will find that the DX image appears more "magnified" than the FX image. That's happened because to print both photos to the same physical size, the smaller DX image was enlarged, to increase its size to the FX's image size.

This is where I believe the misunderstanding comes from, when discussing the "multiplier effect." Personally I think we would all be served better by eschewing the "multiplier" terminology and changing it to the "crop effect" and the "crop factor." If we used these terms from the beginning, I don't think anyone would think they could get more magnification from a 300mm lens than from a 400mm lens.

Now that we understand the crop (multiplier) effect, I can hear you ask, "So does the crop factor affect travel photography?" Yes it does, according to the situation. It depends on the type of photograph you're taking while traveling.

• If you're taking portraits, wildlife or macro photos then the crop factor won't be an issue.
• If you're taking landscape photos, or architectural photos in a crowded city, or indoor photos, the crop factor will impact your travel photography.

Often some of the most beautiful landscape photography has utilized wide-angle lenses to capture the scenery in front of the camera. As shown above, a DX based DSLR camera reduces, or crops the field of view. While a 28mm lens on an FX DSLR or 35mm film camera is considered to be a wide angle lens, it isn't on a DX DSLR camera. On a DX camera, the 28mm lens has the equivalent field of view of a 42mm lens.

This means that a landscape photographer using a DX DSLR needs to use extremely wide angle lenses to capture the same scenic panoramas as FX cameras. I use a Sigma 10mm-20mm zoom lens for my wide angle landscape photographs. It has the equivalent angle of view to a 15mm-30mm zoom lens which is a wide angle zoom lens specification in anyone's book.

If you've researched typical DSLR DX sensor based camera kits, I'm sure you've noticed that most come with a lens such as an 18mm-55mm zoom, which can provide a good angle of view for landscapes, architectural, and indoor photos. Now you know why.