Caring for your lenses: try it yourself
This is the practical for the lesson. Work through it in order. Nothing here is a test of memory. Keep the lesson open if you need it and check the instructions as often as you like.
Aim
You should be able to clean and change a lens without turning routine maintenance into a risky operation.
What you need
Your own camera or phone, enough battery power to complete the exercise, and a memory card or free storage space where your equipment requires it. You do not need to buy anything specially for this practical.
Do this step by step
- Inspect the front and rear of a lens under ordinary light.
- If there is only a little loose dust, use a blower and inspect again.
- Practise fitting the front and rear caps without touching the glass.
- With the camera switched off, practise a calm lens change indoors in a clean room.
- Take a photograph of an evenly lit plain surface and check whether any obvious marks are actually affecting the image.
What should happen
You should be able to clean and change a lens without turning routine maintenance into a risky operation.
If it does not work
Stop rather than changing lots of things at once. Check that the camera is switched on, the battery has charge and the card or storage is available. Then return to the last step that definitely worked. If a named control is missing, your camera may use a different name or menu location. Check the manual for your exact model. Never force a card, battery, lens, door or control.
Before you finish
Explain out loud, or in one sentence on paper, what you changed and what happened. If you can explain the result in your own words, you have understood the exercise. If you cannot, repeat the part that was unclear.