vacuum a 10d!!!!

[petiot]

a weird idea came to me last night. i was cleaning my keybord with the vacuum cleaner, as i usually do.

and guess what i thought? .... yes, why not sucking dust out off the camera with a vacuum cleaner???

Obviously i wouldnt put the tube of the vacuum cleaner directly in the lens mount, but close enough to create a strong flow of air that would take off most of the dust that is inside the camera. Could even put the camera body into another dust bag to be sure that no other dust will come inside (if you know what i mean). And anyway, dust stuck on the sensor (which is the one that interest us) might not be that easy to unstuck.

Well, i thought about it, even if the solution doesnt seem classy enough for this beautifull and delicate piece of camera, so i decided to ask the wise 10 community what they thought (or if anyone already thought) about that.

IMAO i can imagine looking for the mirror and sensor in the dust bag!!!!

[lightandlife]

The glue that attaches the sensor to the frame may not be strong enough to resist the sucking power of the vacuum cleaner.

Not just the sensor, but some screws that were loosened while the camera was in the overhead compartment of airplanes. All those humming noise and buzzes while you were dozing off would loosen the screws.

The moment you put the air intake of the vauum cleaner to the camera opening, these loose screws that were packed by the Japanese involuntarily and were patiently wating for the chance of a lifetime would gladly jump out, saying "I am free! Free at last!"

We need a dust-free room to change lenses and clean the sensor. Otherwise, the moment you clean the sensor, other dust that were sucked in the camera when you open it will settle down, and will gradually be attracted to the sensor, which is electro-statically charged. Men, we are just recycling the house dust inside the camera (meaning room or chamber)

It would also need some kind of ionizer to suck all the dust in that room. If there are carpets in the house, forget it. A billion particles are anxious to get in there. If you don't have a dust free house, go outdoors. The outdoor fresh air seems far less dangerous to change lenses or clean sensors.

[defordphoto]

Yeah. Be careful doing that or you'll (ahem) suck the life right out of your camera.

[petiot]

hi lightandlife

ahh finally someone who dared answering this (crazy) post!! ;) i see what you mean, and maybe the image i gave of my idea was a bit strong.

the idea was not to stick the end of the vacuum directly in the camera obviously but to suck the air out gently off the inside the camera to remove the dust.

I am not too worried about the glue that link the sensor (do you really think it is glue, it would be difficult to control the position of the sensor fixing it this way) and the loose screws (i sincerely hope there are not in my camera) since my vacuum is not a tornado generator.

i am actually thinking of those small vacuum cleaner for the keybords which could be very handy to remove big dust withtout any contact with the sensor. One more time i am sure i am not the first thinking about this.

damn, i am sure i built myself a bad reputation with this post!! ;)

Dan

[Doug Rowan]

When the sensor is "charged" it will attract dust to it the next time the camera is turned on. While a low powered vaccum might work ok to get dust out of the sensor compartment (providing you don't touch the wand to any parts of the compartment (vacuums create static) & stay back away from it... and if you have that much dust in the compartment, you should look at how, where & when you change lenses.

A great, illustrated image sensor cleaning tutorial can be found here:
http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

[NILOLIGIST]

It might sound crazy or dumb but I use a ball pump and it works really good. Try it!!

It works so well that I don't have to clean it as much, before when I was using the little blower I had to do it once or twice a week. Now, I do it every other week once or depending on need. It really, really works.

NiL,

[ron chappel]

I've used a vacume on both camera bodies and lenses (inside the lens while servicing it) .With lens parts it's usefull for making sure no dust is remaining inside that can fall onto a lens surface later.
I haven't hurt any mirror assy's yet but i can see it would be possible if one is not carefull about it.I would be super reluctant to put a vacume stream anywhere close to the sensor,but i can imagine it would be good for reducing the amount of dust in the mirror box area that can fall onto the sensor.
Someone above mentioned the 'charging' effect it may have on the sensor -look into that and make sure it's not an issue before trying it.

[John_T]

Yeah, I would re-think that one. The lower the volume of air that passes through that cavity, the better. You are most likely only exchanging macro particles for micro particles. Depending on where you live, you will also be sucking air pollutants and humidity through too, which over the long term are worse than a few fibers.

I have often wondered why all these high-tech manufacturers have yet to come up with an optically invisible membrane that can be cleaned like a lens to seal that cavity.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Same here john,. I mean 99% of us will settle for having a $70.00 filter on the front of our $1,500.00 lenses,.. why not one at hte back. When I actually realized there was no glass covering the gaping hole left by a missing lens I was shocked .

(I had just assumed that there would be something??? )

As far as the vacuum cleaner,. it si the shutter that you really have to look out for! It is thin light and flat and very likely to be damaged.

[John_T]

Right.

The mirror is one thing. Though the reflective coating is on the top surface making it realtively easy to scratch or "fog" over time, the DSLR sensor is new in the game, =double trouble. I've generally conscientiously used a body cap, lens caps both ends and tried to limit the exposure to dust and such to the minimum, but you still want to use the damn thing and not display it in a museum case! My pet annoyance with SLR/DSLR. Yes, I know, purity of the light path, but the solution shouldn't be all that difficult! P&S high-end keeps the innersanctum pure. Maybe that is the direction for development.

[Belmondo]

I've developed a little ritual for cleaning my sensor, and it seems to work pretty well. It's extra work, but the extra minute or two each day is saved many times over compared to editing the blobs out of the sky in Photoshop.

1. Use a blower in the manner described in the owner's manual (i.e. mirror locked up, body pointing down, etc.). I've found a squeeze-type blower that seems to have just about double the capacity and force of the typical little squeeze bulb/brush units that are so prevalent. It’s made of black rubber and looks just like a Flash Gordon rocket ship. It’s made by Giottos and is called (appropriately) the ‘Rocket Air Blower.’
2. I clean the sensor at the beginning and end of every use of the camera. That might be overkill for some of you, but I live in the desert and it’s very dusty here.
3. Try to find a clean place to change lenses in the field, and do it as quickly as possible. Never leave the camera ‘open’ longer than absolutely necessary.
4. Consider buying airtight cases to store your camera bodies in when not in use (Zero Halliburton, Pelican, or equivalent).

I don’t think I can get behind the vacuuming concept either. There’s just too much potential peril to the camera’s very delicate innards.