Tips You Might Not Know for Taking Care of Your Digital Camera
Almost everybody has a digital camera now. Though, a lot of them look much more rugged than their film counterparts from 20+ years ago, they still require TLC.
Sure, the price has come down greatly on “point and shoots” and some might even consider them “disposable”. But with a little forethought, your little memory recorder can last for many, many years.
One thing that doesn’t automatically come to mind with a camera is that extreme temperature can and does affect it. All digital cameras have internal “computer” circuitry. Extreme heat can ruin internal components. Extreme cold may produce condensation that can short circuit the camera if it’s turned on.
Tip: If you accidentally left your camera in a cold car over-night, wait 20 minutes or so to let the camera warm up to room temperature before turning on and using.
It is important that you keep your digital camera dry and clean. Though, there are some “water-resistant” digital cameras available, none are waterproof. If you find yourself needing and/or wanting to take photos during a rain storm or at a pool with lots of splashing going on, you should protect your camera with a rain cover. It is basically just a plastic bag that covers your camera but has a tiny hole over the eye piece so you can see clearly and also exposes the lens opening so you still can easily shoot a clear photo. But it protects the rest of the camera from water. These bags are pretty inexpensive and you can purchase them at most camera shops.
Also, remember that digital cameras are highly sensitive with respect to their electronic parts. So it’s important to make sure that you turn off your camera before changing SD/memory cards or hooking it up to any cords/USB cables.
When storing your digital camera, you need to keep it away from magnets of any form. Magnets will affect the circuitry of your digital camera and should not be placed near them.
Don’t forget about the batteries. If you intend to not use your camera for a length of time, make sure that you remove the battery(ies). Otherwise, the battery(ies) can have corrosive leaks over time.
This final thought is technically not about your camera itself, but about the memories inside. Upload your photos from your SD/memory card frequently! You don’t want to learn the hard way that SD cards can and do fail/age/break and you could lose all of those precious memories. To make sure that you never lose a photo, I recommend backing up your photos to more than one place. I back up my photos to my computer, an external hard drive and to two different online services. Now, this may be overkill for most of you. But since I take professional photos and my livelihood depends on it, I don’t want to take any chances.
Keep Shooting!
Abrah, aka “Miss Z”