Tonight as Iwent through the NEFs from yesterday's trip to the coast and
then to the botanic garden, the spot is not on the beach photos but
shows up about half way through our walk at the botanic garden so I am
pretty sure it is something that got in the lens in the garden.
I tried the percussive maneuver that Edmund suggested and the speck
moved a bit but did not fall out. <G>I seriously thought about opening
the lens up all the way and putting a vacuum to the back of the lens...
but I'm too chicken to do it! The lens is still under warranty but
there is no Nikon repair in Hawaii so it will have to be shipped to the
mainland. I will call B&H to see what they recommend.
Edmund: I would be very interested in your Bentonite research - the
silica packets that I have been getting are $4.00 a piece and are not
reusable.
Aloha,
Pam
See the world through AuntyFrog's eyes:
http://www.pbase.com/afrogie
Edmund F Leavitt wrote:
> A. F.,
>
> ...Have you tried "percussive maintenance", meaning thumping the lens
>; judiciously? If it is debris that is not firmly attached you might be
> able to dislodge it/them and hope that they lodge in some less important
> part of the housing. Just a thought.
>
>; Regarding desiccants, I just looked at B&H's stock. It seemed to be
> mostly silica gel based. That stuff can be reactivated, but only with
>; rather carefully controlled heat. Bentonite, which I prefer, is simpler
> to reactivate. You can't hurt it. If you are not able to reuse your
>; desiccant I submit that you are paying too much, especially considering
> the usurious shipping fees to Hawaii.
>
> Give me a little while to experiment. In the past I dabbled with finding
> a "dirt cheap"; source of Bentonite. It is only clay, so it should be
> dirt cheap. The stuff I've been reusing came from bags of MIL-SPEC
> desiccant where I overheated the bags while reactivating them. So I
> put the material in a steel pan and use it that way.
> Bentonite never wears out. I was using about two pounds in a shallow
> metal pan to keep my gun safe below 40% RH. That's where I keep my
> camera gear and other toys. Every few weeks when the humidity started to
> climb I'd pop the pan of Bentonite in a toaster oven at 450°F for a
> couple hours.
>
>
>
.
