Sensor Cleaners?

dpolston · Dec 13, 2007

I just throw this out there. What are the best sensor cleaners that you've used? I try to keep mine relatively clean but I have heard of sonic cleaners and everything else under the sun. I have to say that I'm kinda old school in that I blow the dust off with a bulb air thing or sometimes a squirt of compressed air but I know this can't be the preferred method.

Product links would be great.

Alex_B · Dec 13, 2007

i use a speck grabber ... tedious if you want to clean the whole area though. takes me about 10 minutes to get the whole sensor clean ... that is about 4 to 5 times touching the whole sensor area with the speck grabber and cleaning the grabber in between.

if you just have a few well located dust bunnies, it only takes seconds ...

http://www.kinetronics.com/cgi-loca...ct.html?L+scstore+dtbf3171ff43b743+1200445603

Chris of Arabia · Dec 13, 2007

Where did you pick yours up from Alex? I could do with one of those but the website seems to be shipping from the US - not beyond the wit of man I know, but I'd rather see if I could see one first hand.

Alex_B · Dec 13, 2007

Chris of Arabia said:
Where did you pick yours up from Alex? I could do with one of those but the website seems to be shipping from the US - not beyond the wit of man I know, but I'd rather see if I could see one first hand.

Actually, I am quite lucky as in Germany there are many online shops and also my local photography shop who sell them.

Big Mike · Dec 13, 2007

There is a Company that is based out of Edmonton, where I live....Visible Dust. They make the Arctic Butterfly and other products. http://www.visibledust.com/
The basic idea is that you use a wispy 'brush' and static electricity to pull the dust off of the sensor.

Personally, I have some cheap brand of 'swabs' with some cleaning solution (Eclipse, I think). It works well for wet cleaning...but I do a dry cleaning with a bulb blower more often.

dbrandon · Dec 13, 2007

Sensor swabs (http://www.photosol.com/swabproduct.htm) did a great job of cleaning my cameras extremely dirty sensor.

Few swipes and it was perfect. The product is very pricey, but there are some 'introductory kits' which are better value in some situations. The kits include a 'blower' and a few little extras too. :thumbup:

Josh66 · Dec 13, 2007

This is what I use. Works great, way better than just blowing the dust off.

Joves · Dec 16, 2007

O|||||||O said:
This is what I use. Works great, way better than just blowing the dust off.

Yeah me too. There are also static brushes that lift the dut off. you might try going to www.nikonians.org I believe they have some systems in their store.

THORHAMMER · Dec 16, 2007

I dunno, I just drive to canon HQ, about 10 miles form me and drop it off.

They clean it for free... !!! yey !!

dpolston · Dec 16, 2007

lol... Nikon HQ might be a bit far for me to drive!

leopardforest · Dec 23, 2007

What if you want to drop it off your camera off at a camera shop to get the sensor cleaned, is it worth it? Or would i be better off spending the money on something mentioned above (I am capable of doing it myself)? Also how much do some shops charge to clean sensors?