Equipment Maintenance for beginners.

[xxarmando]

Hello everyone, as a just got my equipment I was wondering what my maintenance should consist of. I just received my D7100, and my Nikon 18-140 mm 3.5-5.6g are out for delivery. As a beginner I would like to know what the best lens cleaners, etc are.Also what the maintance consist of and how often it should be done,how to store the camera if I need to remove lenses etc. Im currently informing myself through guides and videos, and Froknowsphoto's youtube guide has been very helpful. Any helpful insight appreciated.

 

[tirediron]

There isn't a lot of maintenance required on modern digital SLRs; in fact, cleaning is really about it. When the body gets dirty, clean it following the directions in the manual (usually a soft, lint-free cloth dampened with clean water). For lenses, use disposable lens tissue and a 'huff' of breath when you see that they're dirty, and invest in a good quality blower like the Giottos Rocket to remove loose dust and debris. At some point, you may have to clean your sensor, but that's not difficult ('though some special cleaners are required), and there are LOTS of threads here on sensor cleaning, as well as lots of videos on YouTube.

 

[KmH]

I use natural bristle brushes in various sizes from 1/4 wide to 4 inches wide to brush dust from my camera and lens bodies.

I use a hand blower, the brushes, and lens tissues to clean the front and rear lens elements of my lenses.
Most of the time I only need to use the blower and a brush to keep the glass of my lenses clean.
sometimes I need to finish with a huff of breath and a lens tu=issue ir two.
Less frequently, I need to use a liquid lens cleaner because a huff of breath won't help remove any oily spots like the oil left as a fingerprint on a lens.
Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster Large - Black
Tiffen Lens Cleaning Paper Tissue Pack Of 50 Sheets
School Smart Flat Tip Natural Bristle Stubby Easel Brushes - 3/4 inch - 7 1/2 in Handle

My gear got brushed and inspected at the end of each shooting day.
I kept reusable silica gel canisters in all my gear bags to absorb moisture.
Pelican 1500D Peli 40 Gram Indicating Desiccant Silica Gel Canister

 

[xxarmando]

Thanks , will look into those. Also when storing my camera do I always need to remove the lens? how often should I remove them and also should I take off the battery every time I don't use the camera for say one whole day?

 

[Tony S]

Always in the top rack of the dishwasher with a non-spotting treatment added in the soap holder???

 

[SCraig]

Thanks , will look into those. Also when storing my camera do I always need to remove the lens? how often should I remove them and also should I take off the battery every time I don't use the camera for say one whole day?

I never take my lenses of nor do I take my batteries out. I keep everything in zipped camera bags when not in use. If you plan to store the camera for a month or more you might want to take the battery out, but that would be the only time.

 

[KmH]

No, you do not need to remover the lens.

You only need to remove the camera battery if the camera will not be used for several weeks or more.
The same applies to hot shoe flash unit batteries.
removing the batteries helps prevent battery contact corrosion.