Digital cameras are among the expensive portables you carry. Why not insure that your camera will last longer by taking a few precautions?

Tips for taking care of your digital (or any) camera

1. Always put the camera strap around your neck whenever taking pictures. If the camera slips, it does not drop onto the ground. If your camera comes only with a short strap, buy a longer one and hook it on.

2. Never set the camera on a surface when there is a lower surface below that one. If you set a camera on the Examples: Never set a camera (or anything breakable) on the back seat of a car where it can FALL down onto the floor; set it on the floor to begin with.

3. In a restaurant, set the camera on the floor and stick your leg through the strap to avoid theft. Never hang it on the back of the chair or leave it on the edge of the table.

4. Always use a padded camera bag with a big shoulder strap. The padding will protect the camera when, inevitably, you drop it.

5. To ensure against theft in a crowd, wear the camera's big shoulder strap across your chest; not merely hanging off one shoulder. Thieves love seeing cameras like that.

6. Get an etching stylus pen and etch your contact info onto the camera, or, just have your jeweler do it for a few well-spent bucks.

7. Although it is a pain in the neck to do, keep your lens covered when the camera is not in use. One scratch and your camera is no good, or, you’ll pay dearly for a repair.

8. At your office, never ever leave your digital camera (or other electronic devices, like laptops) sitting out on your desk. Buy a piece of furniture that locks or have a locksmith put a lock on a desk drawer for you. The world's greatest thief is the one that you would least expect.

   Travel tips

9. In a bus or plane, never put the camera by itself in the overhead storage compartment. Never put it under the seat by itself unless you want to watch it the entire flight. Keep it with you, out of sight, in your carry on, or with its strap wrapped around your leg.

10. Never put your digital camera into checked luggage. Checked luggage is often X-rayed, workers can see the camera, and not everyone in baggage handling is honest.

11. Never ask someone at a resort or beach to take the camera from you and take a picture of you. If you do, just be sure it is someone smaller than you that you can easily outrun in case they take off with your camera.

12. Put a return address/phone number sticker on your camera (and camera bag) so in case you lose the camera and an honest person finds it, they know how to contact you. If you are on a trip, be sure to also put the contact info for where you are staying.

13. When on vacation, always check under your table, or under the bus, van or airline seat you were sitting on as soon as you get up. We are not used to carrying things when we are home, so on vacation, in the heat of a discussion, it is very easy to forget that we were carrying a camera in the first place.

Published: July 23, 2001

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Bill Koelzer is a Web marketing consultant to web-proficient agents nationwide. He is co-author, with Barbara Cox, Ph.D., of the Prentice-Hall books, Internet Marketing in Real Estate and Internet Marketing. Bill is also webmaster of Orange County Real Estate, among the most-awarded known Realtor® sites. Visit his website, Koelzer.com or e-mail him at .