Wash your hands before you grab the gear!
On every safari, there’s a lot of spraying, rubbing, and slathering – but far too little soap and water involved. Insect repellents and sunscreen may protect your skin, but they’re absolutely brutal on camera bodies and binoculars.
I’ve felt genuine heartbreak seeing rubber grips peel off or sticky grime eating its way into my gear like some kind of chemical attack.
So here’s the golden rule: spray, apply, get ready – and then wash your hands before touching your camera or binoculars.
Your equipment will thank you – and stay with you much longer.
It’s Sunday… time for a little cleaning!
We’ve all been there: a few days into your Namibia adventure and your binoculars are dusty, your lens has mysterious smudges – and then it happens…
That dreadful moment every piece of fine glass fears: out comes the glasses cleaning cloth – or worse… the infamous tissue!
A little huff of breath, a quick puff of air, and a bold swipe across the glass…
As I always say: “Nothing like using dust as sandpaper!”
That’s how the first tiny, invisible scratches sneak into your precious coatings.
I see it happen on every safari.
And honestly? It hurts my soul a little.
I still remember the Swarovski rep like it was yesterday – the way he described their lenses, layer by delicate layer, crafted to bring that stunning clarity and rich colour straight to your retina. He spoke about eyepieces the way others speak of fine porcelain – something to be handled with reverence and care.
So, if you want your optics to sparkle just as brilliantly years from now, here are a few friendly tips:
🔹 Don’t rush the cleaning – or better yet, clean preventively.
A bit of patience goes a long way.
🔹 Rinse your binoculars and tripod with water – yes, really! A little soap or even dishwashing liquid works wonders.
🔹 Only use microfiber or glasses-cleaning cloths after rinsing.
No dry wiping, please – that’s the fast lane to scratch city.
🔹 Camera lenses love a gentle blow of air more than a brush.
Only then, gently wipe with a damp cloth, and then you can finish off with the microfiber.
And yes… we’ve all done it: the ol’ lens-lick.
No shame in that. Better a bit of dust on your tongue than a smear on your glass, right?
Besides, licking your fingers at lunch is worse 😉
Binoculars – and how to get the most out of them
If you’re using binoculars without glasses, chances are (actually, it’s pretty likely) that your eyes don’t have the exact same strength. That’s totally normal – and thankfully, most binoculars are built to help with that.
Many models have a diopter adjustment ring you can unlock and tweak. Here’s a quick guide on how to set it up properly:
1. Close your right eye and use the big central focus wheel to get a sharp image of something – a tree, a bird, a rock, whatever works.
2. Now close your left eye, and this time use the smaller diopter ring (usually on the right barrel) to focus the same object just for your right eye.
3. Once everything’s crisp, you can lock the diopter ring in place – and you’re good to go!
For glasses wearers, things are usually simpler – both eyes are already corrected by the glasses, so no need to adjust the diopter.
Just one thing to watch out for: because glasses push your eyes a bit further from the lenses, you’ll need to twist the eyecups all the way in. But sometimes this makes your glasses bump into the binoculars. Good news: quality binoculars let you twist the eyecups out just a tiny bit, to create that sweet spot – no bumping, no black edges in your view.
Is it worth paying double for just 10% more performance?
A pretty decent pair of binoculars can easily cost around €1,000 – and that’s perfectly fine. Some might say that going beyond that is overkill, and that ultra-expensive binoculars just aren’t necessary.
But here’s the reality: those top-tier binoculars that give you maybe just 10% better performance often cost twice or even three times as much. Yep, we’re talking several thousand euros.
And yet – time and time again – we see that guests with high-end optics have a noticeably better time. They enjoy birding more, they miss fewer details, and they’re spared the frustration of almost seeing something special but not quite making it out.
I always compare buying binoculars to buying a mattress:
If you sleep well, you live better.
And if your binoculars deliver crystal-clear images straight to your brain with less effort, the whole experience becomes more enjoyable. You’ll notice more, remember more, and simply have more fun.
So yes – if you love observing, and you want your gear to help you fall in love with nature all over again… it’s an investment that truly pays off.
A Little Heads-Up:
Namibia’s dunes are made of incredibly fine quartz grains – and here’s the cool part: they’re coated with a thin layer of iron oxide, which gives the older dune landscapes that beautiful reddish-orange glow. Mixed into the sand you’ll also find minerals like ilmenite, garnet, magnetite, and both types of mica: muscovite and biotite.
Now… mica.
If you’ve ever met it on a windy day, you probably remember it well – and not fondly! Those tiny, glittering flakes love to sneak into anything – especially small, extendable camera lenses. On a breezy dune walk, they settle in, you power off your all-in-one compact camera, the lens retracts… crunch. The particles jam the mechanism, and suddenly your brand-new holiday camera is out of action.
Heartbroken, the poor little camera ends up wrapped in guilt and bubble wrap, tucked back into the suitcase before the trip has even begun.
So here’s my tip: bring some sturdy zip-lock bags to protect your smaller cameras when you’re not using them – especially on windy dune days.
Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday – and to some of you…
See you soon in Namibia!
— Albert
Last Updated on 29. March 2025 by Albert Voigts von Schütz
