[Mashimaro]

Hey guys,

I was looking at buying that Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaning kit but the dood at Kerrisdale Cam quoted me $190...ouch!

I know the sensor is expensive to replace if i was to FUBAR it but is the AB kit worth the money?

I'm a bit scared to try wet swabs (never done it before)...

Or i could just send it in to Canon once or twice a year...any recommendations for products that work? :)

[moky]

you can buy the wet swabs at Beau's. I went there last year and bought the wet swabs and the liquid (forgot what it's called), and the guy i bought it from was very helpful and showed me how to clean the sensor by doing it himself first! (jason was on vacation when i went there so it was another guy).

also, this is listed at beau's website and i read it twice before thinking of wet swabbing the sensor. http://www.beauphoto.com/cleaning/index.html

[Senna4ever]

First try using a blower, like the Giottos Rocket Blower. If that doesn't work after a few tries, use a wet swab. It's not as daunting as it sounds - it's really quite easy. Come to my work sometime, and I'll show you. Swabs = $3.95 ea. 60ml bottle of cleaning fluid that'll last years = $10. I clean sensors all day, and I haven't fucked up....yet...

It's a long, detailed read:
http://www.beauphoto.com/cleaning/index.html

[Senna4ever]

^^^ LOL, I was on the phone and didn't hit 'submit' for 10 minutes....moky beat me to it. Haha...

[moky]

^ that article helped me out a great deal! i still read (or skim) thru it right before i need to wet swab the cameras (which isn't very often)

[Dangerphoto]

Hey Jason,

Do you guys carry the blower? I wanna pick one up :D

[Senna4ever]

Yup, the small one is $10, the large is $15.

[Mashimaro]

So the wet system is fairly simple? thanks for the link guys, good to read over and over again just incase!

[moky]

yeah it really is quite simple. just ask Jason to demonstrate it for you the first time around :)

[keitaro]

After researching and reading articles online. I went with Rocket Blower, Arctic Butterfly, and Copperhill Cleaning Method (Pec Pads, Eclipse, Sensor Swipe).

First thing that I would do is blow any loose dust off with the rocket blower. Then I would use the brush to clean off any harder items that are stuck on the sensor's AA filter. I am worried that if there was a harder stuck item, a wet clean would drag it across the AA filter, and cause scratches. I then would use the wet clean system. After my first cleaning session, my sensor came out spotless

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4886926428_cd096f7c49_z.jpg

The reason I went with the copperhill method, is that it uses pec pads, instead of swabs. You basically make a swab with a pec-pad. A pack of pec-pads contains 100 sheets. So I can make 100 swabs, which I find to be a better value. The only reason I bought the kit from Copperhill was for their sensor swipe. It's a piece of plastic that has been designed for cleaning sensors. With all the positive reviews I found online, I decided to try it out. Now if I run out of pec-pads or eclipse fluid, I can just buy the stuff locally.

I know Jason does not like to use the Arctic Butterfly (from previous threads), and I do take his suggestions quite seriously. But after reading and reading the internet, there has been little or no complaints about the Arctic Butterfly causing damage. In fact, I even PM'ed Niforpix (from this thread http://www.revscene.net/forums/cleaning-camera-sensor-t560612.html) seeing how he liked it so far. Everything that I have found was positive regarding it. The trick is to keep it clean. There are instructions for cleaning and maintaing the bristles.

Good luck with the cleaning!

[Senna4ever]

Pec Pads aren't guaranteed to be safe with sensors, so be careful!