Caring For Your Equipment

[Shadowman]

One thing I enjoy about this forum is that all information is provided with the best of intentions and scrutinized before acceptance by forum members. I do a lot of reading on the subject of photography and the following published information caught my attention.

"A common problem when shooting on the surface of water is that you can get water drops on the lens and these cause blurry areas on the photo. These can be avoided simply by licking the lens because the water drops can’t adhere to saliva., Kevin Meredith 2008"

Hot Shots : Tips and Tricks for Taking Better Pictures by Kevin Meredith
Chronicle Books LLC 2008
Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-8118-6640-8

[Colin Southern]

For starters I wouldn't be putting an SLR lens into the water (I did that once with a video camera wide-angle adaptor, that only just lived to tell the tale!)

I think I know what he's getting at though ... in a previous life as a SCUBA diving instructor, one of the tricks we taught, to stop masks fogging up was (gross warning) ... spit on the inside of the mask - rub it all around - and then give it a quick rinse. Sounds like something similar, although I won't be trying it anytime soon I can assure you!

[Dave Humphries]

~ to stop masks fogging up was (gross warning) ~~~

Sounds like one to reserve for use on zoo visits; you know, for when you go from a cool outside to a heated, moist building (e.g. a walk-through tropical monkey enclosure, etc.) and the UV filter instantly fogs up.

Not sure I could bring myself to do it though

Recently I just made a hasty escape as the light was too low inside anyway, even at high iso. (and I didn't want the camera to get too cosy)

Cheers,

[Shadowman]

Visiting Niagara Falls or has to be the most cautious trip for a photographer. When I first purchased my DSLR I took it to the falls and had to make a lens change to get a wider angle. At the time I had my trusty cloth to wipe off the lens and the LCD.

[Dave Humphries]

Visiting Niagara Falls or has to be the most cautious trip for a photographer. When I first purchased my DSLR I took it to the falls and had to make a lens change to get a wider angle.~

Yeah, they are big up close, I assume this was from one of the boats?

My trip was so long ago ('77) I have forgotten all but the noise and sheer size of the falls by now
I think I must have been shooting film SLR back then though, but I just don't remember the details anymore.

Cheers,

[Shadowman]

Dave,

There is also a walkway that leads to the boats. You can get a good load of mist just standing near the waters.

Yeah, they are big up close, I assume this was from one of the boats?

My trip was so long ago ('77) I have forgotten all but the noise and sheer size of the falls by now
I think I must have been shooting film SLR back then though, but I just don't remember the details anymore.

Cheers,

[rick55]

Wouldn't the layer of saliva have an effect on the behavior of the lens? A thin film of oil can have interesting prismatic effects on light reflection, and of course, some elements in a lens are coated: I imagine the coating is no thicker than a layer of dried saliva.

Perhaps, in practice, the effect is less than that of water droplets.

Cheers,
Rick

[Shadowman]

Rick,
One thing is for sure, you will never hear or read a camera manufacturer giving that advice to customers.

Wouldn't the layer of saliva have an effect on the behavior of the lens? A thin film of oil can have interesting prismatic effects on light reflection, and of course, some elements in a lens are coated: I imagine the coating is no thicker than a layer of dried saliva.

Perhaps, in practice, the effect is less than that of water droplets.

Cheers,
Rick