Why we have weather-sealed cameras & lenses, and use UV filters!

[Colin Southern]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimluu/7453877694/

[JPS]

I’m shocked, totally shocked; Sacrilege.
Can you use a jet-wash to clean it off?

[kdoc856]

GASP!!

[Colin Southern]

I’m shocked, totally shocked; Sacrilege.
Can you use a jet-wash to clean it off?

Yeah - just water-blast it!

[Colin Southern]

If it were me, I'd prob start with a brush on a vacuum cleaner, and move to wet wipes from there.

I really doubt it'll bother the camera too much though.

[Manfred M]

I just keep thinking of the tiny little pieces of grit that are going to remain and over time get into the seals and o-rings, rendering them less resistant to future adventures / abuse.

[Mike Buckley]

If it were me, I'd prob start with a brush on a vacuum cleaner, and move to wet wipes from there.

If it were you, the camera system would probably have never have been exposed to such abuse in the first place.

[Colin Southern]

If it were you, the camera system would probably have never have been exposed to such abuse in the first place.

Nah - I meant me cleaning his system

[terrib]

Thank goodness he had that filter on there to protect his lens!

[Tringa]

That made me cringe.

I want someone to tell me that is just a model and not the real thing.

Dave

[AB26]

Why bother - it is ready for under water shots now!
Will need a bit of a sensor clean, however.

[blakemcguire]

Better to use it and break it than leave it at home.

Or in this case, use it and drop it in a puddle of mud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo61t5fH6Qw

[rpcrowe]

Back in the "Dark Ages", I was a U.S. Navy combat cameraman and spent a lot of time in Vietnam. One of the cameras I used when I would be subjected to rough conditions was the 16mm Bell and Howell Model 70 Filmo.



That camera had been produced in one model or another for 40-years when I used it during the 1960's.

On my first landing with the Marines, in the southern portion of Vietnam (on the last USMC operation in the South). I was negotiating a fallen tree trunk in the jungle I fell from the tree and landed with my left hand and the camera pretty well sunk in the mud.

I used the water from my canteen to wash off the camera and used my t-shirt to clean the lenses and partially dry the camera. The lens tissue I had been carrying had been soaked through and was just a glob of wet paper. The tiny plasic botle of lens cleaner just wasn't up to the task of mud removal. After a bit of a cleaning, the camera and lenses operated just fine.

Since that day, I always carried some soft and dry tee shirt material protected in a plastic bag but, I also respected the absolute durability of that fine camera. We may tout the modern cameras as "weatherproof" but, I doubt if they could take the beating that I gave the old Filmo. Of course, there were no electrical components in that camera and no focusing system. The camera was spring loaded and we focused using the "guestimation" method. We determined the exposure with a hand held meter. However, sometimes the simplest is the best. It was certainly the most rugged...

[jcuknz]

Yes Richard and its big brother the EYMO There was also the copycat Ensign Kinecam made in the UK and an American copycat which I owned but forget the name. Bit like DSLRs today .... variations on a theme but the B&H was best.

Funny story from early TV Days when the roost was ruled by the engineers/technicians .... all equipment purchased was to be inspected by engineering department. A beautiful brand new 70 arrived and duely went to the engineers who took it apart to check there was nothing wrong... REALLY I ask you ... only problem they got the viewfinder lenses back in the wrong ports. Cameraman accepted camera back, the company only had two in those days, Joe and Cyril, and spotted the problem [ I believe ] but went out on a news job and came back with some wonderful images.
Cameraman deadpan "But the engineers had checked it out as AOK!"
Engineers didn't check film cameras from then on ...