The value of equipment maintenance
We understand the major investments you have made toward the timeless skill of photography. Photography equipment, however delicate, is bound to find its way into harsh terrains, and we are here to help you maintain their condition through all your cherished experiences. There are two regularly overlooked simple services that can dramatically improve your image quality—cleaning your camera’s sensor and fine-tuning your autofocus system.
Keeping your sensor dust-free
You have a lineup of fine lenses to supplement your imagery with beautiful bokeh, wide landscape scenery, fine macro detail, telephoto shots of animals in their natural habitats, and much more. As you shuffle through your roster of lenses, your mirror and sensor become exposed to minute particles of debris that can emerge as spots or streaks in your photos. Your camera sensor is very delicate and is covered by a filter that scratches easily—even by dust, so there are many precautions we observe when carefully handling your equipment. Sensor cleaning services should be done when spots appear on photos, or after lens exchanges have been handled in dusty environments. Do not use lens cleaning cloths to try to remove debris from your sensor. Dragging dust along the sensor with a cloth may scratch it.
Fine-tuning your AF system
BEFORE AFTER
The complex autofocus system in your camera is completed by communication between a body and a lens. Because the two are manufactured separately, they often do not perform optimally straight out of the box. You may have experienced disappointment after emptying your piggy bank on a well-reviewed lens, only to find that your images are turning out hazy. Don’t call it a loss—it’s likely that your new lens has the potential to be your sharpest lens yet. Your camera could be communicating with it in a way that causes it to focus in front of or behind your subject, even if it indicates that you are in focus.
At Pictureline, we use professional calibration equipment to ensure the most accurate focus possible from your camera body and lens combinations. When we utilize the Lensalign calibration system in conjunction with Focustune software, precise adjustments, and focus diagnoses can be made. These services only take minutes, are done with precision, and will leave you taking noticeably sharper images. Most Canon and Nikon cameras are capable of fine tune AF adjustments. After focus compensation values are saved to the camera, the body will have an electronic memory of the adjusted lens. As you interchange lenses, the focus of other lenses will not be affected.