Cleaning with compressed air? Do it the smart way?

[MadMesh]

Is it REALLY that bad to use a can on compressed air on a camera? I mean, as long as you make sure you dont tilt the can to make the cold liquid gas shoot out... Should that be ok?

Also not applying too much air pressure,...

What negative affects can this have on the camera? Long term or short term?

[Curtis N]

I wouldn't.
A Rocket Blower or similar device is generally effective and much safer.

[Tom W]

Are you talking about cleaning the sensor with it? The answer is no for a number of reasons. One I can think of off the bat is that you will get vapors to escape with the air on occasion - they may or may not be visible, but they will certainly leave their mark on the the sensor-filter. Second, the freezing action of the canned air can damage electronics, possibly cracking the sensor.

Also, the velocity of the air coming out of the can can damage fragile shutter curtains. Even though they are open, they aren't totally stowed away.

You could be very controlled in the application of canned air, but one slip-up and you're going to need repairs.

[MadMesh]

When i got the camera i cleaned it with compressed air carefully. Even tho i know i wasnt supposed to. And i dont think i will again.

I have used the camera for about 1000+ shots after i used compressed air and i do not see any/feel and problems for functionality issues.

Althought it does smell a little inside the camera from using compressed air... Im guessing it was a stupid move on my part. Hopefully i dont see any short or long term damage.

Thanks

[MadMesh]

I also dust off my lenses once in a while with a can of compressed air... is that also a NO NO ?

[Tom W]

Well, what's done is done, and if you were very careful, you probably didn't get any propellant spatter in there. That would be a bit harder to clean out. Its just better to use the lower pressure of a hand blower so that there's no chance of making a mistake.

For the lenses, I prefer a hand blower/brush as well to get rid of all the loose stuff. I don't think gentle application of compressed air will damage the lens very easily - it's less fragile than the sensor, shutter, and other stuff in the mirror box. Plus, you can easily get at it to clean up any spatter that might occur. Any fingerprints will require cleaning techniques beyond blowing and/or brushing, but it's still wise to blow all the loose stuff off the lens before you actually use a lens tissue, lenspen, or microfiber cloth on the glass. Otherwise, any little piece of grit becomes a potential scratch.

[SkipD]

MadMesh - ABSOLUTELY NONE of those cans of "compressed air" that you refer to contain air. They contain chemicals that should never be used on or in cameras. I have a can in front of me that says specifically that contact with the product in liquid form may cause plastics to permanently discolor. In addition, it says DO NOT USE ON CAMERA MIRRORS (caps are theirs). There's no guarantee that, even if you keep the can upright, you won't ever get liquid mist coming out of the nozzle.

Like others have said, use only a squeeze bulb to blow out the innards of your camera. I also use one for cleaning my lenses. 95% of the time, that's all the lenses need.

[kenyc]

If you are talking about cleaning the sensor, what skip said! Use a rocket blower or clean it with the "copperhill" method.

KAC

[rgravel]

I beleive compressed air cans contain oils...I could be wrong.

I purchased this one : http://americanrecorder.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=152

Way to expensive, but I had no choice as my sensor was realy dirty, as can be seen here :(
http://www.pbase.com/rgravel/image/45532019.jpg

[1goodshot]

I use compressed nitrogen regulated tp 2-3 psi,but I guess most people dont have a tank of nitrogen laying around the house.

[Bob_A]

I beleive compressed air cans contain oils...I could be wrong.

I purchased this one : http://americanrecorder.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=152

Way to expensive, but I had no choice as my sensor was realy dirty, as can be seen here :(
http://www.pbase.com/rgravel/image/45532019.jpg

The stuff I use in the darkroom (Optex Dust Away) doesn't contain any oil or leave any residue. I use it to blow dust off of my negatives before placing them in my enlarger and have never seen a trace of anything left behind. As others have said, it is not air. These products used to be Freon, but has been replaced by a different propellant that is CFC free.

Even though I'm pretty sure the product I'm using won't leave anything behind, there is no way that I would use it to clean my sensor. It is difficult to control the force of the blast, and it's possible to either do damage to a sensitive part or to scratch something with a bit of debris zinging around.

I also don't like using this product for lenses since I worry that I could blow some particles into the lens barrel. I do use it very gently on the front element to get the bulk of the dust off before cleaning it, but that's about it.

By the way, any time you use a propellant you need to make sure you hold the can upright (and don't shake it) to ensure that you don't spit any liquid droplets out. The liquid droplets will really drop the temperature of the surface they are evaporating from (due to its heat of vaporization :D ) and may cause some damage.

[tim]

Why risk a $1500 camera when a proper cleaning kit (http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning) costs $30-$50? Don't use compressed air, it's not air, and it contains impurities - even a tiny dust particle can scratch your sensor.

[Bob_A]

Why risk a $1500 camera when a proper cleaning kit (http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning) costs $30-$50? Don't use compressed air, it's not air, and it contains impurities - even a tiny dust particle can scratch your sensor.

I agree with what you are saying except for the statement that the propellants contain impurities. This is not necessarily the case as there are propellants that are designed for darkroom use that are certainly pure ... or at least as pure as fluids like the high purity methanol supplied by Photosol (Eclipse).

Even using a good propellant the issue is with the the high velocity of the vapour escaping the can and the potential problems due to low temperatures. It's just not a good tool for the sensor cleaning job.

[kenyc]

I use compressed nitrogen regulated tp 2-3 psi,but I guess most people dont have a tank of nitrogen laying around the house.

It's not good to freeze you sensor to -324 F either.
Oh wait you said "compressed" not liquid. :)
KAC

[Bob_A]

It's not good to freeze you sensor to -324 F either.
Oh wait you said "compressed" not liquid. :)
KAC

LOL!

[rklepper]

You can use compressed air, but you want to be careful. Not all compressed air is compressed air. Some contains other things that may damage your equipment. Make sure it is pure compressed air and is rated for photographic equipment. It will state this right on the can.

[Bob_A]

These are the "canned air" products I've been able to find:


Beseler Dust Gun or Duster - ultra-filtered compressed air
Falcon Dust Off - non flammable, ozone safe propellant
Century Duster - compressed air? (can't find any info)
Optex Dust Away - The company selling it says compressed air. I have a can that is about a year old and it is definitely a propellant. Pretty easy to tell ... if there is liquid in the can it's not compressed air :D
Leland Power Clean - high pressure CO2 cartridges
For darkroom work, the advantages I see for the propellant type products is that you will get much more capacity per can and the can will stay at the same pressure until all of the liquid is used up. If you blast away though the can will get pretty cold and the pressure will drop ... however the pressure returns when you let the can sit and come back to room temperature.

Again, I personally wouldn't use any of these for sensor cleaning for the reasons already mentioned.

[Lotto]

What about shop air, the kind out of air compressor? I have unlimited supply of those. After the dryer/filter + pressure regulator, I could have 'clean air' anywhere between 5 - 125 PSI.

[Mitcon]

I wouldn't use commpressed air ever. To be honest I don't understand why anyone would even if it was safe. It has to be more costly, take more time, and be far more hassle than just a squeeze bulb blower ? A good squeeze bulb costs around $10, if you want cheap I've seen them for less than a dollar. They are simple and last forever pretty much, also more environmentally friendly and the safest bet for sensor/lens cleaning.

Would you use a sledge hammer to drive a half inch nail just because you might be able to do it ? IMO save your money, save the waste and environment and use the best tool for the job :D

[SkipD]

These are the "canned air" products I've been able to find:
Beseler Dust Gun or Duster - ultra-filtered compressed air
Century Duster - compressed air? (can't find any info)
While the Beseler product is "ultra filtered", it is definitely NOT air. Read the writeup here: http://www.penncamera.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=5267&DEPARTMENT_ID=245 I even went so far as to find a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the product. Read this thoroughly, and you will be surprised for sure: http://msds.ogden.disa.mil/msds/owa/web_msds.display?imsdsnr=148698

Century Duster is diflouroethane (right off the can in front of me). Definitely not "air".

I seriously doubt than ANY commercially sold sheet-metal can is going to contain compressed air as a product. Sheet-metal cans could not contain the pressure that would be required to deliver any significant quantity of compressed air. Look at throwaway propane cylinders. They are designed to contain a product that may get up to 200 PSI, and are a heck of a lot more rugged than a soldered sheet-metal can.

Even if the container the size of these "canned air" duster products could safely contain the pressure, a little can of compressed air at 200 PSI wouldn't last more than a few seconds before losing most of the pressure. Besides, you'd need a regulator to deliver the air through the nozzle at a safe pressure (without blowing the plastic tube off the nozzle) and to control the delivery pressure throughout the use of the product. Do any of these cans have a regulator on/in them? Of course not. They use a liquid propellant that keeps on vaporizing and keeping the pressure fairly constant in the can (as long as the temperature is constant).

Here's a tip: If you have one of the "canned air" products, try shaking the can. If you feel anything move in the can, you definitely have a liquid that is not air.

I don't know why so many people keep insisting that the duster products like Century Duster actually contain air and are so safe. In reality, even though these products are technically classified as "not flammable", you can actually ignite most of them. I will never use these products on live electrical equipment where I would use actual compressed air.

None of the liquid products are made of anything you would want inside your camera.

What about shop air, the kind out of air compressor? I have unlimited supply of those. After the dryer/filter + pressure regulator, I could have 'clean air' anywhere between 5 - 125 PSI.Most industrial shop compressors use oil. True, many home type compressors are oil free. However, ALL compressors will have water and/or water vapor in them. No home compressor that I have ever seen is equipped with a dryer or even an adequate filter that will take out the water and particulates. Even the very expensive industrial air dryers and filters don't take everything out of the air stream. I keep having to clean pneumatic industrial control equipment for my customers that is run on "dried and filtered" air.

Bottom line - use only a good squeeze bulb to blow dust off lenses or out of camera bodies.

[Simon Spiers]

I use can air but you must make sure that no liquid is discharged onto the ccd.
Use the can on a table ,press the can top down then wait till there is no propelent discharge then move the camera instead of the can to clean the sensor.

[SkipD]

I use can air but you must make sure that no liquid is discharged onto the ccd.
Use the can on a table ,press the can top down then wait till there is no propelent discharge then move the camera instead of the can to clean the sensor.WAY too risky in my book. It's much safer to use a squeeze bulb and only put puffs of real air into the camera. I'll repeat myself - THAT AIN'T AIR IN THEM CANS. (Pardon the rough 'Merican English :-) )

[Bruce Hamilton]

I've been using cans of Dust Off to clean camera lenses for the last 25 years with no problems... I'd never use it inside the camera on mirrors or electronics. I just spray a couple seconds away from the camera lens to clear any liquid that might be in the tube first, then have at it using a light touch on the button. You want a gentle breeze, not a hurricane force wind.

[Bob_A]

WAY too risky in my book. It's much safer to use a squeeze bulb and only put puffs of real air into the camera. I'll repeat myself - THAT AIN'T AIR IN THEM CANS. (Pardon the rough 'Merican English :-) )

Skip, I think most of understand that the "canned air" is actually not air, but instead is a CFC or equivalent type propellant. However, I think it isn't correct to make the claim that the reason to not use the products is because it isn't air.

As I mentioned in my earlier posts the darkroom grade products do not leave any residues, and are as likely to leave something behind as Eclipse fluid.

However, I would never, ever use a propellant inside my camera because of the physical damage that can happen from high pressure blasts and the risk of freezing delicate parts.