New A2!

[carrot]

I err... got some Progold on the inside window of my A2 a few weeks ago, even though I stuffed the holes to block the spray from getting in (no idea what happened). Cleaned it out using 70% isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab. It worked for me, but YMMV, so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[chmsam]

Yes, I know this is off topic, but here's some advice form a very old amateur photographer --

Dust-off, compressed air, and the like should not be used on silvered surfaces like camera mirrors since they might destroy the mirroring. Could also happen with reflectors, I suppose. Probably due to the cold blast of air causing the surface to degrade or even come off. Moisture from the propellant can also cause problems.

Never use paper of any kind on optics, glass, or mirrors. No paper towels, no facial tissues, no bath tissue, no paper, period! Lens cleaning tissue should only be used if dampened with a quality lens cleaning solution and make sure it is right for the surface you are cleaning, since the wrong type can remove lens coatings. Clean and lint-free cloth should be used only if it really is clean and lint-free. A lens cleaning chamois ("shammie") is better by far.

How much money did you really save if you didn't use another cleaning tissue or a few drops more lens cleaning fluid and you then scratched the lens?

Lens cleaning supplies are meant for cleaning lenses. They might not work on reflectors and mirrors. Liquid of any type on a mirror or reflector can be a very, very bad thing.

Be careful even with q-tips. Never use too much force and keep changing them to make sure that they are clean.

Try going to a camera store or to the optics counter in a sporting goods store to find a lens cleaning brush. This is a very soft bristle brush that usually has a squeeze-bulb "puffer" with it. These are used to very delicately brush the dust away or blow ("puff") it away with no moisture. Use the puffer, don't blow on it yourself.

Keep the cleaning gizmos clean.

Avoid touching anything with your bare hands -- use cotton gloves. The oil from your hands even after you have just washed them will be a pain to remove.

Less really is more. Try the least effort, least chemical cleaning methods first and then work upwards.

Go to an art supply store and spend a few bucks on some high quality extra soft brushes. Use them with as light a touch as is possible.

Spend as much money as you can on your cleaning and maintenance supplies. Still way cheaper than new cameras, lenses, reflectors, or lights.

Keep the area you are working in as clean as possible. Why throw more dirt and grime into the equation?

Time spent cleaning and maintaining is much cheaper than buying new equipment. Wanna know how I learned that? Wanna know how much it cost me? Learn from others' mistakes -- it is much less expensive that way.

Also, remember, if this sounds like a common sense approach to all of this, common sense isn't really all that common.

(Egads! This is post #1000!)

 

[OldGreyGuy]

Yes, I know this is off topic, but here's some advice form a very old amateur photographer --

Try going to a camera store or to the optics counter in a sporting goods store to find a lens cleaning brush. This is a very soft bristle brush that usually has a squeeze-bulb "puffer" with it. These are used to very delicately brush the dust away or blow ("puff") it away with no moisture. Use the puffer, don't blow on it yourself.
.....
Less really is more. Try the least effort, least chemical cleaning methods first and then work upwards.
.....
Go to an art supply store and spend a few bucks on some high quality extra soft brushes. Use them with as light a touch as is possible.

Shortened the quote for readability.

Couldn't agree more, those of us who are photographers are used to dealing with dust problems on delicate equipment.

Certainly on delicate surfaces using cloths can create scratch marks that cause more problems that the dust you were trying to remove. It all depends on what you are trying to clean. An old light with a plastic lens which is already scratched probably couldn't get much worse, using a cloth on a delicate reflector or on an AR (anti-reflective) coating inside a sapphire lens CAN cause more damage. Liquid based compressed air products can sometimes allow liquid onto the surface which can mark coatings and any droplets which touch the surface will eventually evaporate at which time they can mark the surface.

I use a very fine brush (from an art store) that I have blown with a can of compressed air to remove any 'held' dust on the brush and allow this to dry, this is all that I use on stubborn dust particles and only if blowing does not work first.

For a blower I use a Giottos Rocket, this doesn't have a brush merely a nozzle which I can get close to the dust and a one way valve which means that it blows only and never sucks dust back to the surface. I usually have a pec pad (or some other clean filter) over the inlet valve and just held in place with a rubber band, effectively preventing the majority of dust particle from entering the blower. This is the problem with most puffer brushes, they tend to both blow and suck, dragging dust back into the brush.