Compressed air??

[pjflan7]

I saw a post with one member suggesting to another that they use compressed air to clean their sensor. My manual says to never do this as it can baste your sensor with slick propellant. Does anybody out there use compressed air or have had issues with the propellant?

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by pjflan7

I saw a post with one member suggesting to another that they use compressed air to clean their sensor. My manual says to never do this as it can baste your sensor with slick propellant. Does anybody out there use compressed air or have had issues with the propellant?

I prefer a blower bulb, but have used compressed air in the past.

You have to be careful how you hold the can, but many camera shops, and even Nikon according to rumor, use compressed air.

[Eastree]

*Some* compressed air companies use certain propellants which can leave a residue. Some don't. I forget what exactly to look for, but the absolute best bet I hear, if you feel you must use compressed air, is a CO2 blower. It's more expensive, but there's much less chance of the can having some suspended oils or other residue-leaving something in it.

Either way, beware the distance from the sensor. Rapid decompression will drastically lower the temperature of the gas, which can potentially harm the sensor by freezing it.

[zona5101]

ACKK! Between the potential for residue or flash freezing something, I'd go with a blower, no brush, just air. I have had to clean sticky dust off and used the swabs from Photographic Solutions with excellent results.

[Murtasma]

It's not worth the risk of making your sensor even more difficult to clean I would only use a hand held blower like a rocket blower or a professional level sensor cleaning kit where you swipe with the swab once and throw it out.

[Eastree]

One tip I've heard, that I find a bit interesting, is using a foot pump blower (like the pumps to fill air mattresses). They're easy to control for light or heavy pressure, can have a much stronger force than a rocket blower, and don't have any risk such as with canned air.

[Jim Bryant]

I normally use a rocket blower brush and for those stubborn dust bunnies I use a product called DUST-AID and then to make ure I got them all, a CO2 blower is the last resort.
But you can save yourselves a lot of grief by turning off your camera before changing lenses.
Those sensors are electronically charged and once you take the lens off, it's like a black hole, sucking every bit of dust it can.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

I normally use a rocket blower brush and for those stubborn dust bunnies I use a product called DUST-AID and then to make ure I got them all, a CO2 blower is the last resort.
But you can save yourselves a lot of grief by turning off your camera before changing lenses.
Those sensors are electronically charged and once you take the lens off, it's like a black hole, sucking every bit of dust it can.

Actually, most "sensor dust" isn't dust at all, but rather bits and pieces - tiny as they may be of the lens mount, etc that wear off.

For the life of me, I still can't fathom why anyone would NOT turn the camera off to change lenses though. Seems pretty silly to disconnect an electrical / computer controlled component without powering down first. This isn't USB we're talking about after all.

[BigFuzzy]

I use the Arctic Butterfly.. works great.
Products ? DSLR sensor cleaning

DO NOT spin it while it's IN your camera body!

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Eastree

One tip I've heard, that I find a bit interesting, is using a foot pump blower (like the pumps to fill air mattresses). They're easy to control for light or heavy pressure, can have a much stronger force than a rocket blower, and don't have any risk such as with canned air.

Where I live it's not uncommon to get water out of those pumps. Relative humidity is quite high here, and if you run hot air through the pump, then take it inside somewhere cooler the moisture in the air condenses giving you water droplets the next time you use it. I would be very hesitant to use such a device on my camera, unless it were kept in an air conditioned building at all times.