Always use a clean, unused cleaning cloth to polish the smudges off your lens, like in Figure E.

FIGURE E

Carefully polish the smudges off your lens with a cleaning cloth. Click picture for a larger image.

Once you've swabbed the lens with a cloth, toss it and use a fresh one for the next application. By always using a fresh cloth the chances you'll cause any damage to your lens is dramatically decreased. And steer clear of cleaning fluids; they can damage the coating on your lens.

Some people prefer a reusable cloth for cleaning their lenses, but I'd rather trust the safety of my lens to a cloth that's never been used before. You never know when something might be trapped in the fibers and end up scratching your $400 lens.

There's one more tool you may need in order to keep your camera clean, and this one only applies if you use a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex). DSLR Clean from IMS, shown in Figure F, is designed to clean the image sensor of your digital camera.

FIGURE F

DSLR Clean is designed specifically for cleaning your digital camera's image sensor. Click picture for a larger image.

Similar in design to an eye shadow applicator, DSLR Clean is a liquid-free cleaning system that's supposed to lift the dust off your CMOS or CCD sensor as you swipe it across. I've never actually used DSLR Clean, so I can't make any claims regarding its performance, and I don't have a digital SLR, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of how their internal workings are designed. I do advise extreme caution though when it comes to touching the image sensor of your digital camera. If it gets damaged, the camera would essentially be useless.

In the same neighborhood as cleaning a digital sensor is cleaning the inside of a regular SLR camera. Now, most manufacturers will advise against this, but nevertheless, the reflector mirror and prism will occasionally need to be cleaned. They get dust on them just like any other part of the camera. When you do need to clean these parts of your camera, use the gentlest of touches, and sweep the particles out the front of the camera as shown in Figure G.

FIGURE G

Use the lightest of touches to clean the mirror and prism inside your SLR. Click picture for a larger image.

On the flip-side of the mirror and prism is the shutter. Shutters come in different styles, from spring-loaded pieces of plastic or metal with a hole in the center, to cloth curtains, and louvers. Few elements of a camera require more delicate handling than the shutter, like this cloth curtain shutter on my Mamiya 645.

FIGURE H

The shutter is one of the most delicate elements of the camera. Click picture for a larger image.

Basically, you should never touch the shutter if at all possible. If dust or particles do accumulate on the shutter, lightly brush them off with the lipstick brush. Never use compressed air on the shutter; the force of the air can cause serious, if not permanent damage.

Once everything is clean, replace all the caps and covers, load your film or insert your memory card, close all the doors, and your ready for your next photo shoot. Check everything over one more time just before use and you'll get the best pictures possible from your clean and fully functioning camera. In a future installment, I'll address prepping all of your equipment, from camera to flash, in order to prepare for a photo shoot. Good luck and good shooting.

James Booth is the Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and Palm specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.