Mustard Bottle Saves the Day! Sensor

[Crosby]

For some of you, you will probably say, 'no big deal' or 'well duh'... But, I haven't had my camera for too long and my kids and I went fishing, and took the camera along, etc. Well, somehow I got dust on my sensor.

I was very nervous about cleaning it, checked out all types of cleaning kits online and read the manual on how to clean it, etc. We don't have a real camera store here in town, and the local W~M didn't have anything but canned air. I've seen some threads about canned air where some say 'they use it' and some that say, 'NEVER', which only added to my nervousness.

I used some canned air, with much care, making sure no liquid would come out while spraying, etc. But being that careful, I couldn't get the force of air necessary to blow the dust off. So, referring to the manual once again, I started looking around the house for what could be used in the place of the blower bulb shown in the manual...

A Mustard Bottle! :thumbup: Clean, obviously, never been used, but none the less, a mustard bottle saved the day!

Below, you can see the dust on the picture and then the Mustard Bottle :hail:

 

[jg123]

I have read the canned air can freeze and damage the sensor. Glad the mustard bottle worked for you.

 

[JimmyO]

Geez, just paint it black and write sensor cleaner on it and you got a million dollar product idea!

 

[Crosby]

Yes, that was my big fear. I will probably get me a kit of some kind pretty soon just in case blowing air doesn't do the trick, but I think the mustard bottle will stay with me for a while.

 

[Crosby]

Geez, just paint it black and write sensor cleaner on it and you got a million dollar product idea!

:thumbup: Good thinkin' Jimmy! I just hope it helps some newb, like myself, some day.

 

[Senor Hound]

IMO, this is the FIRST thing mustard has ever done that was a good thing.

Boo mustard
Yay mustard bottle

Seriously, I've heard that use compressed air shouldn't be done unless you bounce it off another surface. But the mustard bottle is easier and better.

And if the bottle doesn't work, there's always the air compressor out back... :er: nevermind.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

I've sworn off cleaning my own camera because it just gets too dusty in my apartment to use a blower of any type. I end up with 4 times as many dust spots after.

 

[Josh66]

One more reason mustard is awesome (I love mustard).


I use a large syringe (about 1" diameter) for this. It's real easy to adjust how hard it blows. I can give it a gentle breeze, or a short burst.

The only thing I'm worried about is that one day I'll push too hard and jam it into the camera...I always have to hands on it to avoid that (I just set the camera on the desk, I know - you're supposed to point it down, but it's been working good so far).

 

[Miaow]

Never thought of a mustard bottle I use a hand pump for bicycle tyres etc lol

I tried a few things but that was the best i found you could be pretty gentle and still get a good puff of air

The only thing I'm worried about is that one day I'll push too hard and jam it into the camera...I always have to hands on it to avoid that (I just set the camera on the desk, I know - you're supposed to point it down, but it's been working good so far).

Try putting it on a tripod to keep it still and it gives you both hands free

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Lol, just goes to show that you don't need top-of-the-range equipment to take care of your camera, in fact, you don't need any at all!

 

[Alex_B]

I think, on the long run one cannot do without any wet cleaning or sticky cleaning (e.g. with a speck grabber), at least when you often go beyond f/8. I did my last sensor cleaning at a restaurant recently. So it is really not too hard and certainly no rocket science.

Blowing works for some sorts of dust, but not for all. And it only works under certain rather dust free environments. Actually I myself got so frustrated at f/22 that I don't give my camera any more blow jobs



BTW, I like mustard

 

[JerryPH]

Meh... I'm a ketchup man myself. I would have went for the ketchup bottle. I hear it is a better cleaner. :lmao:

Just kidding of course... but I like that idea. However, there are some advantages to using a proper product like a Giotto Rocket Blaster:

- Its smaller, easier to carry
- it filters the air coming in (won't blow dust back into the camera)
- the nozzle is longer so it is easier to get deeper into the recesses of the camera body.
- face it... it's cooler looking... lol.

11 months and hundreds of lens changes with my D200 and my sensor is still dust free. I took a pic at F/16 just to check. Good lens changing technique and keeping your equipment clean and dust free goes a long way.

Of course ALL dSLRs will eventually need cleaning, and when that happens, I will be looking exclusively for Eclipse products, they are the ones known for consistantly excellent results. Others may work, but thats where I will place my money.

 

[mrodgers]

Below, you can see the dust on the picture and then the Mustard Bottle :hail:

Indeed, I see the dust on the picture, but I do not see any dust on that mustard bottle. That is a very clean mustard bottle, which is what you want for usage of cleaning the sensor .

I'm with Jerry, I would have used ketchup. Then again, the ketchup bottle would probably be full of ketchup to be used on hotdogs and hamburgers, but a mustard bottle would never be filled.

 

[Socrates]

Then again, the ketchup bottle would probably be full of ketchup to be used on hotdogs and hamburgers, but a mustard bottle would never be filled.

I just got a mental image of ketchup all over the sensor!

 

[julie32]

Damn Jerry! You took the words right out of my mouth, I was writing this whole post on Ketchup thinking I would be innovative and make people laugh....and you beat me to it
I think I want a hotdog now.