Camera Kit Spring Clean - Preparing Your Gear For Summer

If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably been itching for the weather to improve so that you can get outside and take some photos, and that means it’s time for a camera kit spring clean!

Making sure your gear is primed and ready for the summer is the best way to ensure that it doesn’t let you down and you’re ready for the perfect shot – you never know, it could be the one you print to canvas and give pride of place on your wall!

To perform a camera kit spring clean effectively, it’s best to set aside an afternoon when you’re free to spread everything out and do the job properly. It’s not a task to be undertaken surrounded by the family and pets because you’ll be surprised how much gear you have tucked away in that bag, and some of it might be easy to lose… or prove irresistible to inquisitive kids and pets!

Be prepared with trays and plastic tubs to put everything smaller than your lenses in, so that your clean-up is efficient… and you don’t end up losing filters and memory cards under the sofa!

Follow this simple process and your bag will be ready to go as soon as the sun starts shining:

Once everything is out of your camera bag, it’s time to vacuum it out and put to one side. Make sure there’s no mould or mouldy junk in the bag because this will ruin your lenses. If there is, it’s best to consign the bag to the bin and buy a new one – a new bag is cheaper than a ruined lens!

Charge and check all of your batteries and recycle any that fail to hold a decent charge.

Check your memory cards and discard any that don’t work properly – a corrupt card is so frustrating to find while you’re out and about.

Make sure the contacts in your flashguns and camera are clean and free of toxic battery leak – this can happen if you leave batteries sitting in them for a while, so always remove them after use.

Throw away old lens cleaning cloths and replace with new lint-free ones.

Clean all of your lenses and filters with new lint-free or microfiber cloths, but avoid lens cleaning solutions as they can easily remove expensive lens coatings.

Check your camera sensor by taking a photo of a plain surface at f/22 – if there are ‘dust bunnies’ (little smudges) on the image, use a rocket blower to gentle blow them off the sensor. If the marks don’t disappear, get your sensor professionally cleaned because it’s not worth risking doing it at home unless you’re confident of doing it properly.

Once you’ve cleaned everything it’s time to repack your camera bag and put the kettle on. Take your time and enjoy this process and it won’t feel like a chore at all – after all, a camera kit spring clean means that it’s almost time for long walks in the sunshine to take photos!