Keeping Your Digital Camera Healthy
Fixing a problem when you’re out taking pictures is not always possible. There’s a better way however! Think about this, “The best defense is a good offense.” And the best offense here is to avoid problems with your digital camera in the first place.
That’s not to say things aren’t going to happen that are unexpected and unavoidable. However, many of the common problems photographers have when out shooting pictures are easily remedied with just a little prior planning.
There’s nothing worse than missing that great picture because the camera battery died. Keep extra batteries in your camera case to avoid this problem. It’s not an issue of whether you use regular or rechargeable batteries, it’s a matter of needing to always keep at least one spare.
Also, bear in mind that if you’re outside shooting in cold weather, your batteries will die a lot quicker. Since digital camera batteries die quickly at cold temperatures, it might be a smart idea to keep more than one spare on hand to keep your camera going.
Yes, batteries are expensive, but it’s worth the spending a little extra money to keep from beating your head against the wall because a dead battery made you miss that once in a lifetime shot.
A while back I went on vacation and took all my pictures on one card. I thought I had lots of wonderful pictures from my trip. I was sure the card had been filled with loads of great pictures. The scenery was indeed breathtaking, but what really took my breath away was when I tried to load the pictures onto my computer and got one of those dreaded “ERROR” messages. The files were corrupted as the memory card was bad. Since there was no way to access the pictures, I might as well have never taken them.
While it doesn’t happen often, cards can and do go bad. Keeping this from being a total disaster is why it’s smarter to have smaller cards than great big memory cards for your digital camera. Don’t buy a 2-GB card, for example, get a couple of 1-GB cards instead.
Yes, it’s cheaper to buy a huge bunch of gigabytes on one card. Using just one card means NO pictures if it goes bad.Be smart and don’t make that mistake.It’s better to have some of your pictures than not a one of your pictures. Remember, two cards are better than one.
The weather isn’t cooperating, or maybe you just like pictures of rain. Maybe you’re on a boat. Maybe you’re walking on the seashore. But you’re somewhere with a lot of moisture in the air. Picture taking is on your mind, but you don’t want to ruin your camera in the process. How can you keep your camera dry?
Well, you can buy protective gear to keep in your camera case for such times. If you only have the rare run in with a wet environment, you might not want to spend that much money on waterproof casing however.
For a make-do solution, carry a clear plastic bag in your camera case to keep water off your camera. Forgot to put a plastic bag in your camera case? If you’re traveling, try looking in your motel room for a clear disposable shower cap to use.
If planning ahead doesn’t save your sanity, it will at least improve your chances for good pictures with your digital camera.A dry camera, charged batteries and extra memory cards will at least give you the opportunity to try for good shots.
Isn’t that why you bought a digital camera in the first place?
