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How to replace light seals in old film cameras for less than $5 with stuff you can find at Walmart

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With the rise in popularity of film over the last few years, it’s no surprise that a lot of old (really old) cameras are making their way back into the used market. Some of these cameras can be 50+ years old and they’re wonderful cameras to go out and run some film through. The problem, though, is that when they get that old (and sometimes not even that old) the seals that prevent light from leaking into your camera can disintegrate and need replacing.

You can, of course, get your old camera cleaned and sealed at a local camera shop (assuming there’s one still left near you that knows what they’re doing) but you can also do it yourself. In this video, Jonathan Paragas of KingJvpes walks us through swapping out the light seals in one of his old Nikomat FTn cameras using nothing but stuff he found in the local craft aisle at his local Walmart.

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The Nitecore BB Mini is a pocket-sized blower for cleaning your lenses with wind output of 40mph

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Nitecore has announced the BB Mini, a smaller variant of the recently released Nitecore BB2 (review here). The BB Mini ($39.95) is a little less powerful than its larger sibling, but not by all that much. The BB2 puts out air at up to 80km/h (49.8mph), while the BB Mini still puts out an impressive 65km/h (40.4mph). The company claims that’s 185% of that put out by a more traditional rocket blower.

The other touted benefit of a powered blower such as the BB Mini over the standard rocket blower is that it puts out its air continuously in 10-second bursts instead of having to keep stopping every second or two to fill the thing back up with air and then giving it another squeeze. A built-in battery provides 150 cleaning cycles, which they say covers about 30 lenses on a full charge.

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Nitecore BB2 – The best fan for your sensor

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When I made the move from Nikon to Sony, dust became an issue for me. I was not only moving from one brand to another but also from a DSLR to a mirrorless system. While my Nikons were not immune to sensor dust, it was never a big issue. I suspect that the mirror protected the sensor from stray particles. With the mirror gone1, dust seemed to be magically attracted to the sensor every time I swapped a lens.

I used to fight dust with a Rocket Blower. But recently, I also started carrying a small Nitecore BlowerBaby BB2 fan. It’s about the same size as the Rocket but can do a bit more. Actually, I like it so much that I think it’s the number one sensor fan in the world2.

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Nitecore’s new BB2 camera cleaning tool really blows – with speeds up to 80km/h

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Nitecore has announced the BB2, their new electronic photographer blower. No longer do you need to expend energy constantly squeezing the bulb of a rocket blower, now you just need to flick a switch to get air with speeds of up to 80km/h to blow the dust and other debris off your camera gear. It also features a built-in brush to help you dislodge that stubborn dirt.

It’s powered by an internal 11.1v 650mAh (7.2Wh) battery that charges up over USB-C that pushes a 33.6W motor for blowing away dust on your lens, camera body or other pieces of gear. Nitecore says this is a 51% increase in motor power over the previous generation. It slots into your camera bag so it’s always at the ready when you need it and features a lock mode to prevent it accidentally turning on when you don’t want it to.

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Watch: The best and worst ways to clean your camera sensor

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When I first started shooting DSLRs back in 2002 there were really only two options for cleaning my sensor. Either I had to box everything up, ship it to Nikon, pay like a $80 fee (plus shipping both ways) and in three or four weeks I’d get my camera back with a maybe clean sensor or I had to learn to do it myself. Back then, we didn’t have the array of sensor cleaning tools available today, either. Oh no, we used a sawn-off Wendy’s knife with Pec-Pads and Eclipse fluid!

Now, we have far more options available to us when it comes to cleaning our sensors. But for many photographers, cleaning one’s own sensor can still feel pretty intimidating if you’ve never done it before. So, in this video, Chris Niccolls at DPReview TV shows us several ways to clean our sensors and a few methods we most definitely absolutely shouldn’t be using to clean our sensors!

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PSA: Not shooting for a while during lockdown? Check on your gear’s batteries!

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So many of the tools we utilise in our photography and filmmaking adventures these days are battery-powered. Many of those batteries, whether they’re removable or built-in, are based on lithium-ion technology, which generally doesn’t do well when left for a long time at a near-full or empty charge. Other devices may also use alkaline batteries which can leak when unused for long periods.

For the latter, just go and remove them from the devices. Flash triggers, speedlights, intervalometers and other devices which utilise AA, AAA or other non-rechargeable batteries. Just take them out, and you’re good. For the lithium-ion devices, there’s a little more to it.

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How to thoroughly disinfect your camera and workspace

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The coronavirus pandemic has made us wash our hands a gazillion times a day and taught us to (finally) stop touching our faces. But our cameras are in contact with both our faces and our hands. So, it’s important to keep them clean and disinfected, too.

DIYP’s Dave Williams wrote about it in a recent article, and our friends from Lensrentals are sharing a few more tips that you’ll find useful. Other than disinfecting your camera, they also teach you how to do it with your workspace, and make sure to take their advice and keep your gear and space clean.

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How and why to “quaranclean” your your camera gear during the coronavirus pandemic

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I made a silly video a few days ago about cleaning your camera for Covid-19. It really was silly – I washed a camera in a sink full of soapy water. It went down well, but there’s a serious message behind it.

We’ve been given the advice to wash our hands for twenty seconds with warm, soapy water, and to not touch our face. What we need to remember as photographers, is that we bring our camera to our face all the time. It’s imperative that we keep our camera clean to prevent the transmission of this disease.
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This handy guide offers five tips to extend the life of your Godox and other Lithium-Ion batteries

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Godox has been getting an unfair, I think, hard time lately about its batteries. With reports of them spontaneously catching on fire or just dying completely. But as I’ve said before, this isn’t something that’s unique to Godox. The fact of the matter is that lithium-ion battery technology can be dangerous when not respected. Lack of proper care can also cause them to become useless fairly quickly, too.

In this video, photographer Wes Perry, who has a background in engineering and alternative energies, walks us through five simple tips to prevent our lithium-ion batteries from catching fire or exploding and to extend their life for as long as possible.

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How to show your camera some love this Valentine’s Day

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It’s that time of year again. That time where we show those nearest to us how much we love them. Perhaps you’ve been neglecting them a little recently? Maybe it’s time to show them a little affection and give them a good scrub?

This video from the folks at COOPH offers up some good care and maintenance tips for keeping our cameras running in tip-top condition. While we can’t always protect them the way we’d like – after all, gear’s for using – there are things we can do to help reduce the chances of early death.

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