Taking Care of A Digital Camera - 14 Tips You Can’t Live Without
By Bill Koelzer
These digital camera tips apply to taking care of virtually any camera. Mostly
they are just common sense. Nonetheless, see how many of them you routinely
apply.
1. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, put the camera strap around your neck WHENEVER taking
pictures so if the camera slips, it does not drop onto the ground. If it comes
only with a short strap, hook a longer one to it. Immediately!
2. NEVER, NEVER set the camera on a surface when there is a lower surface below
that one. Examples: Never set a camera (or anything breakable) on the back seat
of a car where it can FALL down onto the floor; set it on the floor to begin
with.
3. In a restaurant, set the camera in the center of the table. Never hang it on
the back of the chair or leave it on the edge of the table.
4. With a big SLR-type digital camera, always use a padded camera bag with a big
shoulder strap. The padding will protect the camera when, inevitably, you drop
it.
5. To ensure against theft in a crowd, wear the camera's big shoulder strap
across your chest; not merely hanging off one shoulder. Thieves love seeing
cameras they can grab.
6. In a bus or plane, never put the camera by itself in the overhead
storage compartment. Never put it under the seat by itself unless you
want to watch it the entire flight. Keep it with you, out of sight, in your
carry on, or with its strap wrapped around your leg.
7. Never put your digital camera into checked luggage. Checked luggage is often
X-rayed, workers can see the camera, and not everyone in baggage handling is
honest.
8. Never ask someone at a resort or beach to take the camera from you and take a
picture of you. If you do, just be sure it is someone that you can easily outrun
in case they take off with your camera.
9. Put a return address/phone number sticker on your camera (and camera bag) so
in case you lose the camera and an HONEST person finds it, they know how to
contact you. If you are on a trip, be sure to also put the contact info for
where you are staying. Those contact info stickers that people put on
golf club shafts work great on cameras, PDAs, etc.
10. Better yet, get an etching stylus pen and etch your contact info onto the
camera, or, just have your jeweler do it for a few well-spent bucks.
12. Although it is a pain in the neck to do, keep your lens covered when the
camera is not in use. One scratch and your camera is no good, or, you’ll pay
dearly for a repair.
13. When on vacation, always check under your table, or under the bus, van or
airline seat you were sitting on as soon as you get up. We are not used to
“carrying things” when we are home, so on vacation, in the heat of a discussion,
it is very easy to forget that we were carrying a camera in the first place.
After 21 trips to China, wherein I led large groups of tourists all over that
country, I can tell you how frustrating it is for a passenger to lose a camera
simply because s/he forgot about it when leaving a bus or taxi.
14. At your office, never ever leave your digital camera (or other electronic
devices, like laptops) sitting out on your desk. Buy a piece of furniture that
locks or have a locksmith put a lock on a desk drawer for you. Not everyone you
work with is honest. Moreover, the world’s greatest thief is the one that you
would least expect.
Welcome to the world of digital imagery. Now, get your money’s worth by learning
how to keep your digital camera safe and ready to use always.
Bill Koelzer is a Web marketing
consultant to Web-proficient agents nationwide. He is co-author, with Barbara
Cox, Ph.D., of the Prentice-Hall books, "Internet
Marketing in Real Estate" and
Internet Marketing. Koelzer is also webmaster of
Orange County Real Estate - Search MLS, among the most-awarded known Realtor
® sites. Contact info:
www.koelzer.com or e-mail him at
Bill@Koelzer.com
(800) 335-1563 | 
