off to the desert, need protection

Alan_T

Alan_T

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Alan
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hi, i'm going off to the desert soon and i'm taking my canon 500D and Canon 28-135mm, so far all i've got is a uv filter and rocket blower.

now apart from not removing the lens (i'm only taking one with me), what can i do to prevent damage?

cheers
Alan
 
yeah, its insured ok through the house insurance.
 
sorry to say but much like salt water sand gets in everything it sees, best option is to keep it covered fully when not in use and avoid changing lenses if at all possible...

dont forget the desert gets hot, make sure it doesnt overheat in the sun (dont leave it in direct sunlight) my recent trip to egypt i had to put the camera/ipod/psp into the room as the LCD on the PSP went all black with the heat, thankfully it fixed itself but it was a worrying few mins!!!
 
what about cleaning kits or screen protectors? are they worth getting?

and with screen protectors, what type, the glass ones or the film sticker type?
 
Hi Alan,
I live in the desert pretty much, and have had virtually no issues with sand and my camera. I spend quite a bit of spare time in and around very dusty/sandy places. Pretty much always have a uv filter on, sometimes have to take it off at the end of a day to remove dust.
Am always careful changing lenses, i personally try to brush off any dust that may be around where the lens attaches before changing them, and try and brush the camera off at night if i remember!
Other than that, nothing too special.
Whereabouts are you going?
 
Scott kelby talks about working his camera inside a shower cap. THat would keep everything pretty safe. but must to aquward to work.

I thought there was just sand in the dessert. What are you planing to take a picture of anyway? :D

Stuart
 
i'm in the forces, i'm a chinook engineer, so it'll mainly be me n the other lads i work with in the pics. not the first time out there but the first time with my dslr.
 
Don't worry about it too much. Unless you get a sandstorm or roll it in the crap its no worse than taking it to the beach.
 
yeah sandstorms happen quite alot but i'm not going to be getting my camera out in one!
 
Don't let the Loadmasters near it!! (Or indeed, any aircrew;)).
 
maybe see if it will fit in a decent size peli case? I have one and whilst not the easiest thing to carry sometimes, they're pretty good protection if it's bouncing around inside something.
 
If you're going to be at Bastion, you'll be fine - it's like Odiham with better food and more sunshine - as you know.

Keep it clean by wrapping in a cloth - the issue sweat-rags are good for this - or the issued shemagh - then put it inside a small padded camera bag.
If it gets dusty, wipe the exterior (not the glass bits, obviously) down with a damp face-cloth then dry with a towel before putting it away again.
I found a toothbrush moistened with tap water ideal for getting crusted gunk out of the textured rubber.

If you need lens-cleaning kit, the Media Ops cabin is over in Bastion-1 and the CCT phots there will help you out.

Unfortunately you own a Canon, so you won't be able to borrow any lenses from them...


...it'll also die when the daytime temps get above 40C...lol
 
Rob, seriously, are you telling me that if i owned a nikon i could sign out lenses from the photog section? i might cry......

thats good advice though, thanks for that, especially as its experienced advice also.

i've always found baston to be very dusty though, i;m surprised you say it'll be fine, or are you more on about the fact that i'm not carting out out and about?

the toothbrush is a great idea, i'll get one put in the bag.

paul, those peli cases look great but just not ideal for me really, space is of short supply really
 
oh and thanks about the media ops tent, i wouldn't have thought of popping in there.
 
Things you'll need: -

- Large scarf, to wrap up your camera and lens whenever outside. Small dust & sand particles can find their way into your lens and tiny crevasses of your camera. It's not something you'd like

- Medium sized paint brush, to brush off any dust & sand; just make sure not to use it on your lens

- Lenspen

- Air blower, the larger the better

- Tea-towels, to use damped a bit to clean your camera and lens

- Lens cloth


Make sure to clean your camera daily, don't let the dust & sand accumulate otherwise it will seep in.

I am not too sure how robust a Canon 500D is; but I've used Nikon D40, D90 and D700 in temperatures in excess of 50C without a problem.
 
Alan_T said:
Rob, seriously, are you telling me that if i owned a nikon i could sign out lenses from the photog section? i might cry......

thats good advice though, thanks for that, especially as its experienced advice also.

i've always found baston to be very dusty though, i;m surprised you say it'll be fine, or are you more on about the fact that i'm not carting out out and about?

the toothbrush is a great idea, i'll get one put in the bag.

paul, those peli cases look great but just not ideal for me really, space is of short supply really
Click to expand...

You should be ok, but it won't come back in the minty condition you took it out in ;)

Rob used to be an army photographer until very recently, hence he knows the specifics of your situation :P
 
yeah i realised that i just didn't realise the camp photog section could lend out equpment etc.
 
Just to clarify you can't pop along and sign a lens out as such as they will be on the 1157's and therefore classed as personal kit. However, there is probably a good chance if you ask nicely and they are not using them, they'll let you have a play for a couple of hours as long as they can tag along to keep an eye on you (well their posh glass!)
 
Ah right, cheers for that, think I might pop into my photog section on camp and have a chat, I have a sneaky suspicion they have canon gear at odiham, might be wrong though.
 
No probs - to be honest, and I forgot to mention as typed it when out, that info came from Rob (Arkady) whilst he couldn't access this site.
 
Alan, all MOD camera kit is Nikon (DSlR anyway) they get it all via calumet.
And you won't get any main lenses off them on loan, as Linton said they are personal issue to the phots. However, some of them may have odd lenses 'laying around' one section in Iraq had a 80-400 just sat about doing nothing!
 
ah thats a shame, thought i may have got to have a little pla, oh well!
 
i gather now (in the raf at least) that you are no longer allowed to do photography on the side? is that true?
 
I should get advice on that, from RAF legal maybe- I have official permission to run a business from my CO, on tour may be different, I know that all my images went to media ops to be vetted, but that was a few years back now. They may just be covering themselves to stop someone breaking opsec by posting images with something gucci in or TTP's. I would seek clarification
 
Unofficial photography in theatre is indeed embargo'd, but try enforcing that with every man and his dog taking cameras out on patrol.
Mobile phones are banned outright for OPSEC reasons and you'll be AGAI'd if caught using one.
A full-screw in Iraq in 2008 was busted to Private, sent home and also did a month in 'Colli' - loss of pay, loss of theatre allowance and loss of rank (and more money) his missus (who he'd been talking to) wasn't too impressed when he blamed her for pressuring him to stay in touch for more than the allotted 30 minutes per week available on Paradigm.

'Proper' cameras are a bit easier. Just get a written OK from your CO to act as 'Unit Photographer': that way you can possibly arrange some form of insurance or a written agreement from him so that if your kit gets trashed, the unit will stump up for replacements...

As to all of MoD using Nikon - that's no longer true: RN uses Canon for certain tasks, though PR is still Nikon.
SF use some Fuji cameras for low-light surveillance work (still Nikon-fit, so lenses are all Nikkors).
Canon are making a huge effort to convince the Army Operational Stream to come over and have been wooing us endlessly.
Our week-long ****-up...err fact-finding tour of Photokina in September was all paid for by Canon UK.

The Ground Section at Odiham will be able to offer better advice as to what's available and you may indeed be able to sign kit from them (assuming they have Canon kit) if you get the go-ahead to act as Unit Phot by your CO.
If need be he can even indent for new kit on your behalf on the Squadron's Operational UIN - my old lot at 11x purchased £15k worth of kit for me on the Ops MPC card(which was subsequently stolen by thieving gyppos while we were deployed, but hey ho, not my fault they didn't lock it away...), so it's definitely do-able.
 
bloody hell we cant get money for a new tv in the tbar never mind buying me camera equipment! lol will talk to my co though.

cheers
 
You would be suprised alan, my old CO offered to pay for a lens I had delivered on tour (I was doing the unit phot thing though)
 
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