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Sensors cleaning day
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:23 pm    Post subject: Sensors cleaning day Reply with quote
A dirty job (ad litteram), but somebody has to make it.
Rolling Eyes
to clean the M9 = 1 pass
the 5D MkII = 2 passes
the 5D = 6-7 passes (and still isn't perfect but I got tired)


PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the reminder! I noticed a spot the other day at f/8...took a picture at f/22 just now...wow Shocked One very big black chunk of dust, lots of smaller ones.

Luckily, between the sensor shake on startup and the anti-dust coating on the sensor, it only took 10 seconds with a rocket blower to get back to good as new Cool I don't know how 5D users deal with the dust Laughing


PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:24 pm    Post subject: Re: Sensors cleaning day Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
A dirty job (ad litteram), but somebody has to make it.
Rolling Eyes
to clean the M9 = 1 pass
the 5D MkII = 2 passes
the 5D = 6-7 passes (and still isn't perfect but I got tired)


Have you tried the lens Pen?
Very Good for me Wink


PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm also using this stuff, not lens pen ,but sensor pen, quite similar.
Very efficent with the 5D sensor.

manual focus lenses deserve manual cleaning Wink


PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
These are the steps that I go, if necessary:

1. Rocket blower - if still dirty then:
2. Arctic Butterfly - if still dirty then:
3. Dust-Aid - if still dirty then:
4. Eclipse with Sensor Swabs - if still dirty then again. Wink

Get good results with that.

I do have DiscoFilm here as well, but have never used it. I'm too afraid. Wink


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've only had to clean the 400D sensor once in 4 years but it probably needs dong asain now. I'd use Eclipse only if there were any signs of greasy marks, but for simply removing dust particles I use a very soft artist's water-colour brush and a mini-nozzle that fits on the end of the vacuum cleaner hose. This removes all the other bits of dust collecting somewhere in the camera which were shaken off in the self-cleaing process.

This is the nozzle (from Kleen-eze for anyone in UK):


And this is the kind of brush:
http://www.winsornewton.com/products/brushes/for-water-colour--gouache/series-7-kolinsky-sable/


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi,

LucisPictor wrote:
These are the steps that I go, if necessary:

1. Rocket blower - if still dirty then:
2. Arctic Butterfly - if still dirty then:
3. Dust-Aid - if still dirty then:
4. Eclipse with Sensor Swabs - if still dirty then again. Wink

Get good results with that.

I do have DiscoFilm here as well, but have never used it. I'm too afraid. Wink


I actually perform the same steps 1 and 4 as you ... What do you think about the Arctic Butterfly ? Is it worth its price (quite expensive here, a bit more than 100 euros) ?


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
indianadinos wrote:
Hi,

LucisPictor wrote:
These are the steps that I go, if necessary:

1. Rocket blower - if still dirty then:
2. Arctic Butterfly - if still dirty then:
3. Dust-Aid - if still dirty then:
4. Eclipse with Sensor Swabs - if still dirty then again. Wink

Get good results with that.

I do have DiscoFilm here as well, but have never used it. I'm too afraid. Wink


I actually perform the same steps 1 and 4 as you ... What do you think about the Arctic Butterfly ? Is it worth its price (quite expensive here, a bit more than 100 euros) ?


That's a very good question. I think it's too expensive for everybody who owns a cam with a sensor cleaning function. It's a great thing for 5D users, though, and for the NEX.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rocket blower only for me these days.

I know that it's the filter above the sensor that one cleans, but it's not possible to replace just these unless in a dust-free atmosphere, so unless you want to pay 900gbp for a new sensor, do not clean them.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have the rocket blower, but only use it on lenses. Why anyone would use it on a sensor is beyond me, as the only thing it does is move the dust particles inside the camera.

For me, the Arctic Butterfly is the best solution; I have never done a wet cleaning on any of my cameras.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sensor dust and cleaning divides photographers, I belong to the school who relies on an Arctic Butterfly and I clean my camera sensors even in the field (jungle, mountain, tent, wherever I have to). 2 minute procedure with an Arctic Butterfly, I do wet cleans only in the cases where the static brush doesn't help (perhaps twice a year).

I've never managed to scratch the low pass filter, but I believe you should not clean a sensor unless you feel comfortable with the procedure; I've also seen wheel bolts go round because car owner used tire iron of wrong size.

Sensor cleaning function on DSLR is in my opinion 90% marketing trick and 10% functionality. I just cleaned a friend's DSLR which had never been cleaned in 18 months, the amount of dust particles shaken to the bottom of the camera by the "sensor cleaning" function was horrible.

If you swiped the sand and dust under your carpet, would you call it cleaning? Me neither.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I avoid >f8, it's probably not the best strategy.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
William wrote:
I avoid >f8, it's probably not the best strategy.

on your K-x, you should avoid >f5.6 for diffraction issues


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spotmatic wrote:
I have the rocket blower, but only use it on lenses. Why anyone would use it on a sensor is beyond me, as the only thing it does is move the dust particles inside the camera.


That'S why you should hold the camera with the open mount downwards.

Has nobody apart from me tried Dust-Aid?
It works well and you have to be very clumsy to scratch a sensor with that. Wink

With the blower, the Arctic Butterfly and Dust-Aid, I wet-clean my sensors perhaps once a year.


PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Apologies for derailing the thread but poilu, why is this? I think this might be why most of my photos don't quite seem as sharp as with the Canon. It explains why I only get sharp images at f5.6 with my 75-150 as f4 is soft. Maybe the SMC-M lenses are a lot sharper than I thought!


PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spotmatic wrote:
I have the rocket blower, but only use it on lenses. Why anyone would use it on a sensor is beyond me, as the only thing it does is move the dust particles inside the camera.

For me, the Arctic Butterfly is the best solution; I have never done a wet cleaning on any of my cameras.

There is dust inside the camera anyway, unless your camera is airtight and you only change lenses in an airtight environment. My only concern would be getting it off the sensor.

Artic butterfly is probably a good tool. I'm just not keen on prodding around with foreign objects inside the camera.


PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
I'm just not keen on prodding around with foreign objects inside the camera.

Understandable. But as long as the shutter doesn't close with the brush inside, nothing bad can happen with the Butterfly (unless you really want it to happen or your hands are tremendously shaky).


PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:37 am    Post subject: Re: Sensors cleaning day Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
A dirty job (ad litteram), but somebody has to make it.
Rolling Eyes
to clean the M9 = 1 pass
the 5D MkII = 2 passes
the 5D = 6-7 passes (and still isn't perfect but I got tired)


Hi Orio, what do you use for cleaning the M9's sensor? Please share Dry&Wet options - in case you do both.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:40 pm    Post subject: Re: Sensors cleaning day Reply with quote
Hari wrote:
Hi Orio, what do you use for cleaning the M9's sensor? Please share Dry&Wet options - in case you do both.
I don't know what Orio is using, but I'm sold on absolute Ethanol, an old cut-up credit card as spatula wrapped with lint-free wipes (http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm). Alternatively one can use Methanol (e.g. Eclipse) or Isopropanol, as long as it is residue free. Don't use Aceton, as it may attack the plastics - for example it easily dissolves polyurethane.
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