I would give a big NO vote to Q-tips. Don't see how anyone can be anal about lint free rags and then stick Q-tips into housing crevices. And, I'm a bit sqeamish about the alcohol as well. I'd check to make sure whatever squishy parts you're near can withstand that particular solvent. Instead of Q-tips, run out to your local drugstore and get the little foam makeup applicators. MUCH better! I get the little "matchbooks" of them at Target when they go on clearance. In general, I take spare batteries for everything, at least two of each kind of charger I'll need and an extra strobe. Backup camera body as well. Extra O-rings for everything, set of metric and US allen keys, jewelers screwdrivers, a few extra stainless steel bolts in the sizes I need, an extra strobe arm piece or two and at least one extra clamp. Also useful-- spare bulbs for spotting lamp, spare fiber optic strobe cable, O-ring removal tools, O-ring grease, sensor cleaner (though since I got the 40Ds with their internal sensor cleaning, I wonder if this is still necessary), waterproof pens for marking stuff (including failed equipment so you don't accidentally use it again), strap wrenches for getting stuck ports and extension rings apart, extra flash cards, flash card reader, etc. I have managed to remove one item from my list. I used to bring a small soldering iron, but now that I've gone to fiber optic strobe connections, there is nothing left to solder. Truth be told, I only used that thing on other peoples' gear but I felt the need to have it along just in case. No longer. I do still bring a small multimeter but I have no clue what I might use it for anymore (that came in handy for a few other people as well!).
That's what I thought of just sitting here for a couple minutes, at least regarding camera gear.
Mike
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