Sooner or later we all confront the dreaded corrosion problem when your camera fails to turn on, and you open the battery compartment thinking it’s time for a charge—only to discover a mess of leaked battery acid and corrosion. Unfortunately this is rather common occurrence, not only with cameras, flash units, and other photocentric gear, but with other battery-operated devices you rely upon daily in your home.

The initial temptation is to dispose of the “ruined” equipment because of an assumption that the offending corrosion has seeped deeper into the device—permanently turning it into an expensive paperweight. But that’s not always the case, and a good cleaning with a few household items can make the battery compartment look almost like new, while getting your devices running like nothing ever happened.

The Handyman Hertz YouTube channel is devoted to quick DIY repairs around the home. This episode demonstrates an effective two-minute corrosion cleaning procedure uses a small label printer to demonstrate the quick fix. But the simple supplies and procedures work equally well for cameras, electronic flash units, and just about any device with user-replaceable batteries—not only the AA variety, but proprietary batteries that power most modern cameras.

Here’s what you’ll need: Vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, a few Q-Tips, a small screwdriver, safety glasses to protect your eyes, and a pair of gloves to protect your pretty hands. Sometimes corrosion is so bad that you can barely remove the faulty batteries and the device appears virtually unredeemable.

That’s when it’s time to take a deep breaths and proceed with the step-by-step procedure outline below. The process is so simple that it takes barely two minutes to explain, so the time you invest in watching this lesson will pay big dividends the next time your gear gets gunked up and appears lost.

Because this cleaning trick has such wide applications, you may want to bookmark the video for the next time your label printer or LED light goes on the fritz. Handyman Herzt provides a wealth of DIY solutions, so you may also want to subscribe to this informative YouTube channel.

And for another quick repair of particular importance to photographers, be sure to check out our recent tutorial explaining an editing trick for fixing perspective and skewed lines during the image-editing process.

Bad light is the bane of wildlife, nature, and landscape photographers, especially if you want to get things right in the camera without struggling to fix a poorly exposed shot with Lightroom or Photoshop. Problematic light typically means bright, contrasty conditions or situations when things are really dark.

We addressed the first problem in an earlier tutorial and today you’ll learn how to cope with the latter. Instructor Simon d’Entremont is an accomplished Canadian pro, specializing in wildlife imagery, and he walks you through the steps he takes to capture great images when the light is far from ideal.

Simon describes the concern like this: “Light is our most precious resource because its quality and quantity dictate our equipment choices and camera settings while impacting our results.” Because we often require the precise amount of illumination, too much light can be a big challenge and too little is problematic as well.”

There’s an important warning all this; namely, not to become a “light snob” who only goes out to shoot when conditions are perfect. A better approach is to follow Simon’s advice, and learn how to make the most of whatever Mother Nature provides. And it only takes him 14 minute to explain how to do that.

Along the way you’ll see how Simon captured an amazing low-light photograph with a $400 camera. He also makes a surprising observation, especially coming from a top pro, that “great photos don’t have to be all about image quality.”

Simon’s tips not only pertain to shooting outdoors under dim, gloomy conditions. As you’ll see, his method also works wonders when shooting indoors, like at a dimly-lit music venue. Before jumping into specific techniques, Simon discusses several reasons why low light is problematic for image quality and leads to poor results—even for experienced professional photographers.

First of all, low light typically requires high ISO settings that can introduce ugly noise artifacts that that rob images of sharpness and contrast. Another common concern is that dim conditions can result in photos with unnatural, muted colors that don’t accurately portray what we saw through the viewfinder.

So what can you do to avoid all these concerns? Watch the video to find out. That way you won’t be tempted to stay home when the light isn’t right. Simon’s instructional YouTube Channel is a great source of information for anyone who shoots in the field, so make sure to pay a visit and see what he has to offer.

And don’t forget to watch the tutorial mentioned above, so you’ll also understand how to shoot stunning outdoor photos under excessively bright, contrasty conditions.