Regarding the cleaning and safekeeping of Lumix G7

I bought my camera(Lumix G7 and kit lens) around one year ago. I have actually two questions to shoot.

1) How can I clean my camera body and lens from dust and fingerprints? Are there specific types of equipment for doing that?

2) Actually I live in Kerala, which is a state in India. So here, from June to November is the rainy season. Now I am putting my camera in the arrived package itself. I didn't use the camera for three weeks. Now the camera's rubber is slightly sticking.                             How can I safely keep the camera from the rainy season and also the winter season?

dark_matter wrote:

I bought my camera(Lumix G7 and kit lens) around one year ago. I have actually two questions to shoot.

1) How can I clean my camera body and lens from dust and fingerprints? Are there specific types of equipment for doing that?

If you have a lens pen, use it for the lens front element. The fine carbon dust used by the Lens Pen will clean most dirt, including some sticky one, and smudge/finger print etc well. Followed by a few rocket blower to take care of any fine carbon dust left behind will do.

Otherwise, might:

• apply a few drops of Lens cleaning liquid (alcohol) on the tip of Q Tip to clean the front element of the lens, then
• used microfiber or Lens paper to dry the moisture.

(* In case of Lens paper be better to fold it into triangular shape and only use the tips to wipe dry the lens. This is to avoid direct force that if too strong might scratch the coating of the lens).

First use a rocket blower to blow away any hard particle (e.g. sand) on the body, specially the gaps, spaces around buttons and keys etc. Followed by a soft bush making sure no hard particles on the camera. Then a slightly damp soft cloth could clean the camera body well.

2) Actually I live in Kerala, which is a state in India. So here, from June to November is the rainy season. Now I am putting my camera in the arrived package itself. I didn't use the camera for three weeks.

Humidity control will be the easiest thing we can do.

The best is to use an Auto Dry Cabinet for a peace of mind.

Or, might consider below (I used the following in last 30+ years before moving onto Auto Dry Cabinet):

1. Clean the camera and lens, making sure they are dried.
2. Place the gear inside air-tight food bag.
3. Put in silica gel (or any other desiccant agent) to keep the humidity inside the food bag low.

* the silica gel must be replaced periodically while they are saturated (usually would turn from blue to pink color).

Indeed I store the camera body and lens separately each on their own food bag. Then the bags of gear will be stored inside an air-tight box which having more silica gel inside. Doing this the other bags of gear will leave untouched when I open the bags of gear I needed. This could prolong the life of the silica gel.

Now the camera's rubber is slightly sticking.

Aah... IIRC some good members suggested to use body powder (not sure).

There were a lot of similar discussion from time to time on this, Open or Beginner Forum. A lot of good information there.

It also happen to my retired FZ5, FZ30 and G1. I found that if their plastic coating starts to feel sticky, take them out and use/play with them for a week or so the situation might improve.

How can I safely keep the camera from the rainy season and also the winter season?

dark_matter wrote:

....... Now the camera's rubber is slightly sticking....

Sticky plastic is caused by the camera coming in contact with minute amounts of DEET, which is a plasticizer (a chemical compound industrially used to make hard plastics soft). It does exactly what it is supposed to do. It only affects the soft-to-feel plastics, not the hard plastic shells which are made of Polycarbonate.

The most common contamination path is via spray-on insect repellants, because all of them use as main active component DEET. Keep those personal on-skin insect sprays well away. Do not touch the camera if there is deet on your fingers.

Another contamination path is storing the camera inside a bag or box made of soft plastic. Because to be soft, this plastic has been saturated with DEET and gives of DEET fumes during it's entire life. The concentration can over time become very high inside a closed bag or box (if it smells plasticky it's no good).

The interior of brand new cars also has very high concentrations of DEET, given off by plastics made soft with DEET (the smell of a new car )

Once the softening is advanced beyond the surface, there is no remedy, the affected part will keep getting worse and ultimately perishes, no matter what you do or try.

If you live in a part of the world where you must use personal mosquito repellants, avoid buying long living goods like cameras that use soft plastics on their surface. Because they likely won't have a long life.