It is often said you should look after someone else’s equipment as if it was your own.

That’s not true. You need to look after it better than your own. Let’s face it, we can all be a bit cavalier about our own gear, like putting a camera on the back seat of the car for example. You may be prepared to take some risks with your own gear. Do not do this with anyone else’s on mykitplace.com

Some particular things to note:

Lenses

Check if a lens has a protective filter at the front. If not, suggest to the owner they install one. You may at some point want to remove it, but in general use a filter will greatly reduce the risk of you doing something to the expensive front element.

If the filter becomes dirty, make sure you know how to clean it without scratching. Carry a lens rocket blower to remove dust, and lens tissue and fluid to gently swab.

Sensors

Never try and clean a sensor yourself. You should check a sensor when picking up a camera and if there are any issues the owner should arrange for cleaning. If you handle the camera carefully you should not need to clean the sensor in a normal shoot, outside of any built-in cleaning mechanism.

Dangerous environments

Avoid lasers. Nightclubs and pop-concerts can have lasers that will burn permanent damage into a sensor that cannot be repaired, only replaced. Using a camera in a situation where lasers are present is regarded as negligent. Yes, you may have done it before and got lucky. Don’t risk it with someone else’s camera unless you are prepared to pay for the sensor replacement.

Sandy environments. Fine grains of sand, say from a beach, can easily work their way into the inside of a lens and damage it or make zoom and focus rough. A lens may need a complete teardown, clean and relubrication. If you are going anywhere near a beach or a sandy environment you need to seal the camera and lens in a splash bag or similar protection with a screw in protection filter at the front. It goes without saying that water including rain and spray from waves also requires proper protection.

If in doubt, don’t pull the camera out.