Dirt

[Inchiquin]

Over time, dirt will accumulate inside a camera, not just on the sensor but elsewhere. Could this eventually affect some of the camera operations, for example auto-focus and metering?

 

Alan

 

[John Allison J]

If my Nikon SLR film cameras are anything to go by not for a very long time [under "normal" use] They just keep going

Regards

John

[IanGibson]

I guess if you are just talking about normal atmospheric dust, then you should be OK. I think your camera will be obsolete or die from other problems before a dust build up will kill it.

 

On the other hand, if you habitually change lenses in a sandstorm, you will only have yourself to blame if things stop working

[Martin P Wilson]

Which is why I guess professionals get their equipment serviced from time to time?

[Inchiquin]

The reason I asked is that when I bought my X-T1, in expectation of selling my 5D2 soon I left it with the dealer for sensor cleaning. He asked if I wanted the rest of the inside cleaned for an extra £15 and I said yes. The whole reason for buying the Fuji was because I had become dissatisfied with the performance of the 5D2 which I felt was not always focussing or metering as accurately as it had done in the past. But since the cleaning it seems to be back to the performance levels I expected from it.

 

Edit: I've never used it in a sandstorm and one lens remains permanently on it 95% of the time. On the vast majority of outings I never change the lens at all.

 

Alan

[IanGibson]

The reason I asked is that when I bought my X-T1, in expectation of selling my 5D2 soon I left it with the dealer for sensor cleaning. He asked if I wanted the rest of the inside cleaned for an extra £15 and I said yes. The whole reason for buying the Fuji was because I had become dissatisfied with the performance of the 5D2 which I felt was not always focussing or metering as accurately as it had done in the past. But since the cleaning it seems to be back to the performance levels I expected from it.

 

 

Martin was quite correct.  Professionals do have their equipment serviced regularly.  I guess over time, the lubricant dries out a bit, but on Canon lenses, the autofocus drive is in the lens, so maybe a very thin layer of corrosion on the contacts would be enough to reduced focussing speed or accuracy.

 

Please note, I am not speaking from the point of view of an expert, just an experienced camera user.