Camera Care

[Quinte]

Given that Alaska can be rather damp and some excursions will be wetter than others, how have people cared for their cameras on this trip? I have a Canon S3 IS with telephoto. Not a fancy DSLR, but a decent camera that takes great photos and reasonable quality video.

[judynorth]

Given that Alaska can be rather damp and some excursions will be wetter than others, how have people cared for their cameras on this trip? I have a Canon S3 IS with telephoto. Not a fancy DSLR, but a decent camera that takes great photos and reasonable quality video.

 

Normally I just try to keep the camera dry by holding it close to my body covered with my hand when not using it. If it gets a little damp I keep the drops of water wiped off the lens body. I doubt that I would be using it in a downpour. It was cold and I wore a fleece half glove on my right hand. I found that it was perfect for wiping the lens body when it got drops of rain on it. On this trip (we just returned) my camera got a pretty good dousing going back to the ship on the tender in Sitka. I mean it really got wet with sea water. It was turned off so the lens didn't get wet. My DH spent about 20 minutes cleaning it and making sure that all the salt water was cleaned off. It has worked fine ever since then. I have a new G9 so the idea of it getting ruined by salt water was not pleasant.

[Singinman]

I'm the husband that cleaned the G9. Most camera bodies these days are polycarbonate which is darn near indestructible. Salt adn Salt water iare about the only things that can hurt it over time. I told Judy to get a wet washcloth and wring it out. I wiped down everything but the lens. I did the lens with a standard lens cleaner. Just a few drops on a microfiber cloth is all it takes. Then I wiped it dry with the same cloth.

 

In extreme rain, you can keep the camera in a plastic bag and figure out how to shoot with just the lens face exposed. This trick varies from camera to camera.