Is it ever necessary or advisable to lubricate the moving parts of a monorail ? I have an old Sinar F, which works fine,except that sometimes the standards don't rise, fall or slide along the rail as effortlessly as they could. This camera doesn't have geared movements. I was thinking about using a lubricant like a silicone spray to ease things along. Any suggestions ?

-- gerard bynre (byrnegerard@hotmail.com), October 30, 1999

Answers

when your equipment is regularly exposed to difficult weather and dust conditions like mine is, it is a good idea to periodically perform a thorough disassembly, cleaning, and lubrication. i use dry cotton cloth and a can of compressed air to clean the unit, and then if necessary i use, very sparingly, a high-grade sewing machine oil on appropriate moving parts and the vertical supports - i immediately wipe the oil off, but just enough lubricant remains on the supports to facilitate smooth shifting movements. do not overlubricate - the most important thing is clean, and usually if properly cleaned, the unit should operate smoothly without any additional lubrication.

-- jnorman (jnorman@teleport.com), October 30, 1999.

To lubricate the the rise and fall of the camera (assuming it is a non geared, simple friction type movement), you would want to use a dry lubricant. Using a silicone spray would be a good idea. And then wipe off the excess. Depending on the type of swing you have on your camera body, you may want to match the lube that is already on the body. The important thing is not to overdue the lube.

Jenn.

-- Jennifer Shaw (jennshaw@home.com), October 31, 1999.