Photography Thailand Forum

[Marc Schultz]

This link might be interesting. It is written by a company for purposes of promoting a number of their self cleaning sensor products, but from a technical standpoint it explains a lot about the nature of dust getting onto sensors, the different types of dust, and the different sources of where the dust comes from. It might be interesting reading if you want a more technical understanding of the actual issues you are dealing with when it comes to dust spots on your digital camera sensor:

http://www.visibledust.com/nature_of_dust.html

I just want to add though that I know nothing about the products myself. I have had thoughts about buying these products and cleaning the sensor myself, but have always been hesitant about it, worried I might possibly cause some damage to the sensor in the process.

I always believe to a certain degree that you can hold the service center responsible if they damage your camera while cleaning the sensor so better to let them do it, plus for the cost of one of these kits you can get quite a few sensor cleanings done over a period of 2-3 years before spending as much as you would for one of their professional kits.

Incidentally, if anyone has any first hand experience with any of these home cleaning devices I would be very interested to hear.

[David Salmanowitz]

Mark--Michael Reichmann of the wonderful site www.luminous-landscape.com gave a real good review a few years ago to the sensor cleaners by Visible Dust. Since that review they have come out with a compact sensor cleaner called Arctic Butterfly. I have bought one but it is still in my camera bag and I have not needed to use it yet, but when I do I will let you know the results.

[AmazingThailand]

I have been using the Visible Dust sensor brushes (and the new spinner device) for cleaning my sensors, and I can attest to the fact that they do work as advertized.  The only time I have to use a wet cleaning method is if I get a bit of stubborn dust that the Visible Dust brush just cannot remove.
*** Highly Recommended***

[Marc Schultz]

Thank you for the feedback on using that product. So you would only recommend buying the basic brushes and not the whole kit with all the wet cleaning solutions it sounds like since it is not often needed it sounds?

I am already weary about touching the sensor with anything myself though. I think if I were confident enough to touch it with one of these dust brushes to try and clean it, I would definitely still want to send it in for a service center cleaning if it reached a point where I felt it required any sort of wet cleaning method to get rid of a dust spot on the sensor, but that is just me.

Thanks again for your feedback though, it is certainly helpful.

If anyone else has any other experience on this would be nice to hear too.

[David Salmanowitz]

Mark--With the Arctic Butterfly by Visible Dust you do not need the fluid. Also one brush covers the different size sensors, where with their fluid sysytem one needed different size brushes for different size sensors. Perhaps in an extreme case fluid would still be needed, but the Butterfly would cover most situations.

 http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/arctic-butterfly.shtml

I see Reichmann just posted a review of his Namibia trip (sand dunes, not Brad and Angelina) and used the Arctic Butterfly with no problem.

[Marc Schultz]

Thank you David. What I found confusing about this when I looked at the Artic Butterfly before on the www.visibledust.com web site was that it says the following about the Artic Butterfly:

"Ideal for Travel and for Light Dusting of sensor - does not replace regular brush which has more filaments and is better suited for heavier dusting"

So I was believing that the Artic Butterfly was not enough. But after reading what you wrote, and what Michael Reichmann wrote about, it I am pretty convinced now it works well. In fact, his article is very good because he also addresses the concerns I had about possibly damaging the sensor in the process, which as he explains is not so easy considering their seems to be a fairly durable piece of glass covering the sensor which wont scratch that easily, especially if touched by a cleaning brush designed to be used with it.

[AmazingThailand]

Thank you for the feedback on using that product. So you would only recommend buying the basic brushes and not the whole kit with all the wet cleaning solutions it sounds like since it is not often needed it sounds?

I am already weary about touching the sensor with anything myself though. I think if I were confident enough to touch it with one of these dust brushes to try and clean it, I would definitely still want to send it in for a service center cleaning if it reached a point where I felt it required any sort of wet cleaning method to get rid of a dust spot on the sensor, but that is just me.


Under most circumstances, the visible dust brush is enough.   However, there may be times when a bit of dust gets vert stubborn and will just not come off with the use of the brush alone.  That is when one must resort to a wet cleaning method.

I have had to use a wet method to get some stubborn dust off the sensor on occasion.  Most of the time the brush is quite sufficient.

The VD package I bought came with their fluid and a set of 'clean' Q tip like applicators.  I would definately recommend NOT using those Q tip applicators, as they will leave cotton (or whatever they are made from) threads on the sensor, and worse at the edges of the sensor.  These are a real pain to get rid of.  Use the PEC-PAD method instead.

[Marc Schultz]

Thank you, at this point I was considering to order the Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly from Adorama:

http://www.adorama.com/CPVAB.html

But then I also read somewhere on the www.visibledust.com web site that sometimes the brushes can push oil and mirror mechanism type residue onto the sensor while cleaning. So it recommended that you should get the compartment cleaner as well and clean the compartment first or you could end up making things worse. It seemed that it also was especially important for any of the 1D full framed sensor Canon DSLR bodies, which is what I have.

I can't seem to find that bit of information now because they have just redone their web site and it is ever worsely laid out than before in terms of being able to find things, but I would certainly appreciate any more thoughts on the possibility of grease or artifacts from the sensor compartment getting onto the sensor as well and if anyone has any experience with this added issue.

Many thanks.

[Marc Schultz]

They just announced a new and improved Artic Butterfly sensor cleaning brush called the Artic Butterfly 724, which is about 40% higher priced than the original Artic Butterfly being sold on that link I provided earlier. It seems though for the improvements they made it might be worth the extra money:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7894-8331

[David Salmanowitz]

Mark--Reichmann on Luminous-Landscape gave high praise to the new Arctic Butterfly 724. Commented how it is much sturdier than the older model--always sort of cringe thinking I might bend the older Arctic Butterfly when zipping up a heavily loaded photo backpack--as it sits in one of the pockets that can get compressed. I was in NYC last December and went to Adorama to purchase the Butterfly with no luck. One salesman said he never heard of it, and I told him it was on their website. He looked at his computer and insisted they did not sell it. When I informed him I had just seen it the day before on their website he talked with another salesman, and they had a chuckle over the name as if it was a stripper and not a sensor cleaner--then they both told me they never heard of it and they did not sell it. I assured them they were wrong, and a few hours later just ordered it online as it is on their website. So much for employee knowledge. :-)

[AmazingThailand]

Mark, I have the Kodak SLR/n, also a full frame sensor and I have never had the oil problem you mention.  But I also do not use their full size brush for full frame sensors.  I think I have the 1.3x sensor brush.  I find that getting the edges of the sensor particularily problematic, but not impossible.  I also have two of their other brushes, which are smaller again.

When I ordered the 1.3x brush, it came with a smaller brush (~1.5x) in a fan shape.  Plus I also had their original brush which is probably about 8mm wide.  I use both of these smaller brushes for the edges.

Hope that helps.  And sorry for not replying earlier.  I am back in Florida now busy buying supplies for my return in a few months.

[Chris Savery]

Ok. Here's my dusty sensor story...

I started to get these nasty blobs on my photos in the skies and I really needed to do something.
I read all around on the net and found that a very practical solution for me (since I'm pretty fearless and have good manual dexterity), was the "wet method". Ideally using Eclipse solution and Pec-Pads.
I checked every store I knew around town including Foto-Whatever in MBK. No one had the slightest idea what I was on about and they all went wide eyed and told me I had to take it to Canon to do that.... hmmm.

I checked every pharmacy I ran into for methyl alcohol which is reported to be what Eclipse actually is (though Eclipse is notably more pure they say). Nada - not allowed to sell in Thailand.
So with some grave doubts and hesitation and a real need to get the blobs off so I could take more photos, I decided I'd try the blue isopropyl alcohol that actually is available here in pharmacies everywhere! This wasn't totally off the wall as I had read several reports of successful use from various people on the web - but I don't think anyone would ever suggest using the blue stuff! That sounds crazy!

Anyway - I did it, I went ahead and used a nice fresh Q-tip and blue alcohol and gently swabbed the sensor (yes, with a fully charged battery), and you know what - it worked great with no problems and it didn't even leave any blue behind. I guess the amount of blue you're looking through in a bottle is about 1000 times more than the very tiny amount you actually apply. It was a bit touchy around the edge and I had to repeat it a couple times to get the edges clean too. I was very gentle and careful of course. If the Q-tip left any cotton I didn't see it - I puffed it with my bulb after anyway. Using test shots of my monitor with a full white screen and comparing before and after cleaning and it was a hundred time sbetter - though I did see some very slight shadows still there. Apparently from what I've read it's pretty impossible to get it absolutely perfectly clean, and I was not wanting to fool around in there for too long wanyway.

So if you find that you're stuck in nowhere land and you have nasty blobs ruining your photos then this may make you feel a little better about doing it the bad way. And if you have time then maybe you should take it into Canon - one dealer here told me that Canon do it for free here. I find that hard to believe but hey, who knows.

Chris :)

[hughden]

Chris
I read somewhere that Canon Thailand clean sensors using compressed air; which is not a good idea because chemicals in the propellants can leave your sensor worse than before.
I have also read of the Q tips method being used with great success; but with breath being used to moisten the sensor; apparently the moisture resulting from breathing on the sensor is chemically very suitable (assuming you have not recently been indulging in whiskey and garlic I assume!).
I have a 30D with a some dust on the sensor and have been holding back from cleaning it in absence of suitable tools. But I do have some Qtips and blue alcohol....

[Chris Savery]

Oh, I'm glad I didn't take it in then. That doesn't seem very plausible really as there is lots of info around about how the compressed air can contains oils. Also I did blow mine out first and it wasn't enough to clean it up. There is a really good site out there by a professional repairman who checked many of the factory service centers and said that most of them are using methyl alcohol / eclipse fluid. On the other hand I have many times seen in Thailand how tech people play it hard and fast and it wouldn't entirely surprise me. On the other hand I'm pretty certain I wouldn't breath in and use that. I'm certai my breath has plenty of bacteria squiggling around in it and I wouldn't want that on the sensor.

That web site is www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com and he seems to know what he's talking about. Has good info on making your own swab too. The only thing that held me back from doing all that was not finding any methyl alcohol here. I'm sure it's around somewhere for special uses so if someone here ever finds out where perhaps they can post a note here.

Chris :)

[Ellen Agger]

Hi, everyone. Reviving this thread: I just took an excellent photography workshop in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) covering the more technical aspects of DSLRs and we discussed this issue of dust on sensors. The instructor, a photographer with 20 years experience and fully emersed now in digital photography, explained that he cleans his sensors (carefully) before every shoot. He uses the American Recorder product of compressed air (which doesn't have any oils, etc. in it; just air) and feels quite comfortable with this approach. Since I'll be flying to Thailand soon, I can't travel with this (no aerosol cannisters allowed on planes), so was pleased to hear about the Artic Butterfly 724 option discussed earlier in this thread.

Have any of you used it? Are there any issues in the humid Thai environment that make this less than a good choice? I plan to call Visible Dust, the Canadian company that makes this product, on Tuesday to find out more. (Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving; happy holiday to any other Canadians on this board!) Any other thoughts on this are welcome.

Ellen