welcome.
good wedding tip...
I use that trick to set up my outdoor fill flash shot (on the user mode) on my way into the church.
so when I'm hurrying out of the church, (indoor low light...sv mode) I can switch to user and grab the couple leaving the church, without having to waste time.

one easy is to set your "User" mode with continuos mode and go thru the menu to save it..then anytime you want to use it quickly switch the dial to "User"

better explain in more detail...

if you shoot in av mode (for example) and you do landscapes more than birds, then you may want to set your camera up for birds (continuos) and save that as your "USER" mode....then set your camera up the way you use it for landscapes and use it in "AV" mode.

then switching from single to continous is simply a matter of turning the dial from "AV" to "USER"

a peice of debris that big should be visible if you remove the lens and lockup the mirror ....

I'm with Stevejco on this one!

I find whether it's the kids or me, (you can tell us apart easily...I'm taller)...
Christmas goes a lot smoother with less frustration, less broken toys, and more play time, if the toys are pre tested, pre-assembled, and powered up.
(Also a benifit in that the sooner I'M done with the toys, the sooner the kids can play with them...)
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set your white balance for incandecent (indoors)

shoot with a tripod.

shoot manual.

shoot 1/2 hour before sunset (watch the light, when the ambient light brightness balances with the xmas lights, you'll get about ten minutes worth of PRIME shooting time.).

true, if that's what you're doing, but if you hold your camera upside down, while cleaning or whenever you remove the lens, gravity helps you out.

as a working pro....

Careful handling is the first line of defence. (ok not everybody has multiple cameras and can avoid swapping lens in the feild, or grab a canon g5/pro 1 to go where my beloved Pentax's may perish).

I consider a rocket blower to be the second line of defence.

anything that needs more than that (hasn't happened yet) I'd take to the repair shop for a cleaning.

the price is reasonable. they're insured. I can write it off.

I like it.
I wonder if you've tried turning the brightness down a touch....on my laptop, when I view it from a bad angle, it truns the brightness down and ups to contrast, and I like the effect....

alien bees has the cheapest "PRO" ringflash around to my knowlege.

http://www.alienbees.com/abr800.html