Posted by Sean Bolton on October 8, 2006 at 5:27 PM
Hi All
Currently I use Eclipse Fluid and the Sensor swabs for cleaning my 20D and 5D cameras. The 20D is easy but I find the larger sensor in the 5D tricky to clean fully due to the lack of room in the mirror box.
I am thinking of trying some other methods of sensor cleaning such as a blower type brush or something like the 'Arctic Butterfly'.
I wondered what other forum members use or would recommend for sensor cleaning, any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
I only use eclipse fluid as a last resort, I know someone who got eclipse behind the low pass filter and made a mess of his sensor. Similarly, I don't like blowers; there can be all sorts of residues inside and, depending on the environment you are working in, the air you are blowing in there may not be particularly particle-free.
I use CO2 to blow with and most times use the felt pad of a lenspen mini to clean the filter. Using a lenspen, you must clean off the graphite powder first. The expensive brushes are no better than cheap brushes and do not remove the sticky residues that come from within the camera.
Posted by Rob Ashton on October 9, 2006 at 6:24 AM
I do the same as Phil Shaw. Lenpen SensorKlear and CO2. I had a bad experience with Eclipse fluid getting under my 300d filter and removing the coating. Turned my 300d into a good IR camera with a 72R filter but no use for normal photography now.
Rob
Posted by Sean Bolton on October 9, 2006 at 4:24 PM
Thanks for your responses Tom, Phil, Rob
After doing some further research on the Internet I have just stumped up the ridiculous amount of £65 for an Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaning brush. It better work!! It seems to be well liked judging by some independent reviews I found.
I hope this will relegate the sensor swabs to a last resort cleaning method, especially after Phil and Rob's warnings about potential damage to the sensor, I guess you shouldn't get carried away putting fluid onto the swab.
Hopefully this sensor cleaning lark will be a thing of the past once Canon (I bet Nikon will follow too....) introduce auto sensor cleaning throughout their DSLR range.
Discussion
4 repliesCurrently I use Eclipse Fluid and the Sensor swabs for cleaning my 20D and 5D cameras. The 20D is easy but I find the larger sensor in the 5D tricky to clean fully due to the lack of room in the mirror box.
I am thinking of trying some other methods of sensor cleaning such as a blower type brush or something like the 'Arctic Butterfly'.
I wondered what other forum members use or would recommend for sensor cleaning, any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
cheers
Sean
I use CO2 to blow with and most times use the felt pad of a lenspen mini to clean the filter. Using a lenspen, you must clean off the graphite powder first. The expensive brushes are no better than cheap brushes and do not remove the sticky residues that come from within the camera.
Rob
After doing some further research on the Internet I have just stumped up the ridiculous amount of £65 for an Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaning brush. It better work!! It seems to be well liked judging by some independent reviews I found.
I hope this will relegate the sensor swabs to a last resort cleaning method, especially after Phil and Rob's warnings about potential damage to the sensor, I guess you shouldn't get carried away putting fluid onto the swab.
Hopefully this sensor cleaning lark will be a thing of the past once Canon (I bet Nikon will follow too....) introduce auto sensor cleaning throughout their DSLR range.
cheers
Sean