• 
• 
• 

Gear

The Accessories That Matter

Tripods, filters and other handy extras for enhancing your photography

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Buck Knives 730 X-Tract

Leatherman Charge ALX

Multi-Tools
When you’re out in the field, it’s always nice—and sometimes vital—to have just the right tool for a needed task. Buck Knives (www.buckknives.com), Gerber Tools (www.gerbertools.com) and Leatherman (www.leatherman.com) provide useful outdoor tools in a single compact unit that’s easy to carry around. Tools include smooth and serrated knife blades, wire cutters, scissors, screwdrivers, saws, files, bottle and can openers, pliers and more.

Cleaning Gear
Photo gear gets dusty and dirty in the field, so you need some means of cleaning it. A good start is an air blower such as the Giottos Rocket-Air (www.hpmarketingcorp.com) or VisibleDust Zeeion blower (www.visibledust.com).

Copper Hill Sensor Sweep

Dust-Aid

Giottos Rocket-Air

A microfiber cloth is good for cleaning lenses, LCD monitors and viewfinder eyepieces. Be sure to blow dust off the surface before using the cloth. If there’s more than just dust on the lens, use lens-cleaning fluid to remove it. Don’t rub it around with the dry cloth.

Many newer D-SLRs have self-cleaning image sensor units, very practical for interchangeable-lens cameras used outdoors. But even these cameras can acquire sensor dust when you change lenses frequently in the field. Should dust get on the sensor, there are sensor-cleaning kits like those from Copper Hill Images (www.copperhillimages.com), Dust-Aid (www.dust-aid.com) and VisibleDust (www.visibledust.com). Follow the instructions carefully if you choose to clean your own sensor. If you scratch it, the repair is expensive. It’s best to have the camera manufacturer’s official repair station, or other qualified pro, clean your sensor if possible.

Add Comment