camera maintenance

[keithdog]

I have a Nikon D90 with a Nikkor AF-S 18-105 G ED lens. Does anyone in here know the correct way to clean the lens mount and CPU contacts?

[nofearengineer]

Keith,

Some isopropyl alchohol on a Q-tip is great for that. Just make sure and not leave any tiny strands of cotton behind.

[keithdog]

I was thinking about doing that Bryce, but then I read about cleaning the lens and other camera parts in the manual and it mentions not to use alchahol or thinner to clean the camera. BUT, it does not specifically tell you how to clean the CPU contacts, and I'm thinking the alchahol warning probably pertains to other parts of the camera. I called Nikon dirrect and they will not tell me over the phone how to clean the contacts, but said I would have to send the camera in to Nikon for professional cleaning, which of course I'd have to pay big $ for. I'm figuring they also want to stear away from advising how to do maintenance on critical parts to avoid user damage and further issues. One person on a photo website I belong too suggested the professional moistened wipes for camera cleaning. I guess that makes sense.

[nofearengineer]

You definitely don't want to use the alcohol on the other parts of your camera.

My D300 manual is exactly the same, Keith. Nada about cleaning the internals. I just try to give a gentle shot of compressed PC air (nitrogen) once in a while while changing a lens.

[keithdog]

Yep, I do that too. I cleaned the connections earlier with a bit of lens tissue moisted lightly with Kodak lens cleaning solution. Figure that should work and be safe as well.