camera from a smoking household?

gilpen123 said:
Put inside a plastic container with lid, open the bottom plate and back take out the lens then put in charcoal let it stay for a week or two replacing the charcoal every 2 days. Charcoal will absorb the foul odor. Btw, you need to use real charcoal.
Click to expand...

Not the presoaked ready-light kind?
 
I work in a camera store in a pretty hippy-esque town. We had a used Canon AE-1 come in smelling like Patchouli. it stunk up the whole used camera case.
 
The simplest alternative of course is for you to take up smoking. It is after all a Leica we are talking about here!
A friend once brought me a Leica III with the Mooly Motor on it. The whole thing was brown, covering, chrome - everything. At least the previous owner was a man of taste - it was some decent Cuban Cigar's that had done it.
I cleaned it with alcohol - was going for single Malt - but figured that was better in me than on the camera. The baking soda trick does help too - after the initial clean with "rubbing alcohol". The inside was unaffected, though there was some fog in the viewfinder, but that was simply age - not smoking related.
As for Pipe's, Tobacco etc - just as with cameras - I am keeping it simple. Leica M2's, Three Nun's Tobacco (None Nicer!) and Petersen pipes (meerschaum and briar). Only problem is that Three Nuns is no longer available in Canada/Us. Japan, yes - Europe,yes. It is not the cost of the tobacco that is a killer - it is the transportation.
 
I've also had this experience -- smoky camera. Considered sending it back, never used it. Sometime later, more than 1 yr, I was cataloging cameras, noticed the smell was gone. Have not checked for deposit on the lens.

Just in case you are reluctant to use some of the more active methods.
 
"It is not the cost of the tobacco that is a killer - it is the transportation."

Opportunity here for some dark humour.;)
 
I've cleaned my used cameras, some with cigarette smell, with lemon lysol direct, sprayed on a white terry cloth. Then clean all the surfaces, careful of the glass. Then come back with lens cleaner on the opticals. Seems to work ok to get rid of the smell.

I know the isopropyl works well because I used it to clean a pipe out. Called "Pipe sweetner". It also has a minty flavor, and perhaps you could try that. Takes the tar, nicotine and all the finish off the pipe if you are not careful.

Tom...

Perhaps Cornell & Diehl "Three Friars" from pipesandcigars.com would be close and the shipping is priority mail. Although I am still waiting now one week for my Troost and Acadiana Perique. Their prices on Petersons doesn't seem too bad.
 
I think a few weeks in a closed container w/ a an open box of baking soda will remove the odor.
 
I asked this question of RFF some years ago. The solution that worked for me (and was super-easy and already on hand) was baby wipes.

Scary what we put against our baby's skin.
 
I recently received a Nikon F4 that smelled strongly of smoke. Wiped it down with a fresh dryer sheet and the smell disappear instantly. Also wiped the outside of the Domke bag in came in and then put the dryer sheet in the bag and closed it up for a week. No smell in the bag.
 
I bought a lens from someone in the USA and he posted it to me in Australia in excellent packing which included a padded lens bag. The shipment was delayed in customs for quite a few days (unusual) and when I received it there was customs tape all over the box and the lens case had the unmistakable aroma of marijuana. They use sniffer dogs to identify suspicious parcels.

If using aroma absorbing chemicals don't allow any fine dust to get on the camera, because they can promote corrosion. Maybe one of those Tupperware salad containers could be used, with the powder under the insert that is used to keep the salad above the condensation in the bottom of the container.
 
So far I have put it in a cooler with baking soda, but that didn't do too terribly much. I did notice a slight difference, but not much at all. Then I got the kitty litter and filled up the cooler so there was only enough space to put the camera, and because it's not pure powder, I gently placed the camera on top of the litter without a piece of plastic which I'd been using for the baking soda. It might be the proximity or that there is less open air in the container, but the kitty litter seems to be working better and faster. When I take the camera out I remove it ever so gently and use a clean dry brush to wipe off the litter or dust on the camera. It is getting noticeably better pretty quick. Just to be safe I think I'll leave it in there for a week or two, and then I think problem will be solved.

Thanks for all the responses. Much help, and now I've got a cherry (and clean smelling) near mint camera. Only problem is now my wife says she wants to get a cat.
 
Last edited:
Test your shutter speeds.

Test your shutter speeds.

Also check your aperture for free movement.

I have worked on computers for numerous years. Over that time I have seen more than one (but probably less than a half dozen) computers where the "tars" from cigarette smoke have invaded the electrical contacts and broken connections, requiring simply taking the computer apart at all the electrical connections and using a cleaner spray made for such a purpose.

In all cases, such a dismantling, cleaning contacts and re-assembly have put those computers back in service.

I don't know about cameras, but I can surely imagine that the clockworks in shutters and fine tolerances in apertures could be affected by residues of cigarette smoke. (ie. somewhat like lungs)
 
northeast16th said:
Thanks for all the responses. Much help, and now I've got a cherry (and clean smelling) near mint camera. Only problem is now my wife says she wants to get a cat.
Click to expand...

Now be sure to get the litter smell off the camera! If she gets a cat - you could end up wishing for a smoke smelling camera!
 
I know this is an old thread but...

I know this is an old thread but...

I use dryer sheets. I sat the camera on top for a few days, and the smell went away.
 
andredossantos said:
Super high proof liquor, preferably something distilled many times so that the spirit is neutral in odor and flavor (think vodka or "white lightning"). Isopropyl alcohol also works.

Fill a bottle cap with a bit of the liquor then dip a q-tip and swab down the camera, all over. You never want to put enough where it's dripping. Also, be sure get it into the viewfinder or the rangefinder window.

I've cleaned several really dirty yard sale cameras and lenses this way to great result. Smoke Odors were never a problem but the cameras smelled of must and mildew for sure. In some cases I had to swab the camera down 3 or 4 times but eventually they got clean.
Click to expand...

I use Everclear or Golden Grain 190 proof alcohol to clean lenses and camera bodies. Some of the denaturing ingredents in rubbing alcohol can attack plastic or lens coatings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom