Dust vs. cameras: Dust wins

Dust is devasting to camera gear, both lenses and camera bodies, and when you travel -- or even at home if you live in a dry area -- you should carry in your camera backpack a neatly folded piece of plastic wrap (the type you use to seal food in the refrigerator).  It has no weight and no volume, and it can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars if you go through a dust storm unprepared.  The plastic can protect the delicate movements and electronics in your gear from flying dust, and it also helps protect the front glass element of the lens from getting scratched (you should also use a lens hood for this).  I took the picture you see here in a dust storm in Kenya in a Maasai village.  The camera settings for this picture were 1/800, f/5.6, 200 ISO, and I used a 70-200mm lens set to 200mm.