Dust protection advice needed.

docbell

This summer I am going to be doing the photography on a 5 day cattle drive. The equipment I currently have includes a Canon 30D and Rebel XT. Lenses I plan on taking include a 24-105 and 70-200. I spoke with a local camera/lens repair/cleaning company and he scared me a little. He said he has seen many cameras ruined by being in a very dusty envirnoment like I might be in. Soooo, I would love to hear any advice on avoiding or minimizing problems with the dust.
Some of my initial thoughts have been:
- I will be able to ride away from the dusty part of the trail (ie don't ride behind the cattle, stay upwind- for reasons other than the dust:D...).
- Would keeping the camera in a ziplock bag (with the lens coming out through a hole in the bag) be practical or worth the trouble??
- Is the risk so high that I should leave the new 30D at home and only use the Rebel??
- Take both cameras, one with the 24-105 on it and the other with the 70-200 on it, so as to minimize lens changes in the dust.
- I have looked into a product called 'Camera Armor', which seems like it would help protect a camera in a bump, fall..., but would only provide minimal dust protection. Anyone have any first-hand experience with this product?

I would appreciate any thoughts, ideas, past experiences people may have had with a similar situation... you might have.
Please no suggestions to just by the new Mark III (I would love to, but I probably wouldn't see the cattle drive - I think the wife would string me up:hung
Thanx- Kevin.
(please move this post if it should be in a different thread).

Jeffro

docbell wrote:

I spoke with a local camera/lens repair/cleaning company and he scared me a little. He said he has seen many cameras ruined by being in a very dusty envirnoment like I might be in.

Well he probably wanted to sell you some kind of protection.

I shoot almost every summer weekend in a very dusty environment, covering motocross. Somedays me and my camera are just covered in dust. I can't avoid it. I don't take any special precautions, other than not opening up the camera while a huge dust cloud surrounds me, and keeping the camera pointed down while the lens is off. Of course I minimize the number of times I change lenses.

I have had ZERO issues. I use a visibledust brush kit to clean my sensor when it needs it, which isn't really all that often, believe it or not. I have the visibledust spinner so I don't have to carry canned air to charge the brushes. I do have canned air at home, to clean the outside of the camera and lenses. I keep a blower brush with me at the track to dust off the camera and lenses if things get really bad, which does happen.

Don't worry so much. I see more people getting concerned about this than they did with film...dirt wasn't good there either. Remember it could get inside you camera and scratch the film each time it advanced....and what was the picture fix for that?

Have a good shoot, and take the 30D....that's what it's for!!

pathfinder

I'm with Jethro. Generally,

I do not worry a lot about the environment of my camera. I do what I can to minimize its exposure to dust and dirt, but I do not leave it at home. I do avoid changing lenses in the open if there is any dust in the air. I have never used a clear garbage bag as a changing bag, but I might think about it it the need should arise.

I clean the outside of my cameras with a large shop type micro fibre cloth and a camel's hair brush if it has a lot of grit on it. Try shooting in Antelope Canyon in a sand storm and you will understand what I am referring to. I try to avoid using compressed air any where around my camera - it might just drive dust inside rather than off.

I am more careful about rain - the 5D, in particular, seems sensitive to moisture affecting it - so I do try to keep it covered and out of the rain or snow. But I do use it there if needed. The Canon 1 series cameras are a better choice for this type of service. There are raincoats for cameras also.

If you expect salt or water spray, a filter is a good thing to use in front of your lens. I usually do not use one unless I inclement expect weather.

Bodwick

Dust....


Don't change a lens.

Keep all your gear, flash, mem cards, cables, batteries etc in a good zipped and flap closed rucksack or waist holder of your choice.

A single grain of sand stuck under a button will stop your camera. If it shows a strange error check for this.

You might want to use electric tape.

At the end of the day when you step outside into dust just use your stuff as normal. As the saying goes, use it like you stole it.




And if a lens should come off (roll on the day you can lock a lens on properly), even for a second, as in this case with a 200 1.8 while inside a Landy..The result will look like this.


After six weeks in Africa my gear looks like it's wrecked. A good full clean and it's just aged a little bit....


Bod.

dogwood

Yup, gotta agree with the previous posts. Did a shoot last year in a Nevada desert-- every so often the wind would kick up and dust would fly so much you had to close your eyes-- at the time I was shooting with a 20D. Just kept lens changes to a minimum, swabbed off the gear at night in the motel, and really didn't get much more dust than usual on the sensor over three days. Also, any gear not actually in use was kept in a sealed camera bag in a car if possible.

Bodwick

Nice shot Pete...


Don't you just love the desert....




Bod.

gus

Dust ??..What dust. Honestly i ignore all advice on dust & my old 20D still clunks away happily. If its as bad as in this shot then i will wait for it to settle a bit prior to changing a lens.

I recon its mostly a load of hogwash that is kept alive by those so paranoid about their gear that they will never enjoy it as it was designed to be enjoyed.

Use common sense

docbell

Thank you all for the excellent advice. You said what I was hoping to hear -- take the gear, use a little common sense and don't worry about it (now I think the biggest risk to the camera will be falling off the horse).

Thanx again- Kevin.