Sensor cleaning (type 2 camera) recomendations

I have a couple of spots I have noticed on my 1D3, there are quite a few kits available, any pros/cons or recommendation?

My brother cleaned my 1D Mark III with the Sensor Gel Stick. It's simple and easy to use. Look it up. Prior to that product, the thought of having to clean the sensor seemed rather scary, but with that product it makes it very easy and less stressful of damaging the sensor.

Here's a good introduction to sensor cleaning:
http://cleaningdigital​cameras.com/

And here's a good tutorial:
http://www.copperhilli​mages.com/index.php?pr​=tutorials

I use the Copperhill kit for wet cleaning, as do lots of other POTNers.

-js

Not sure what you mean by (Type 2 camera). If you're referring to the belief that some sensors are damaged by Eclipse cleaning fluid then that was all a storm in a teacup. Eclipse is safe with all sensors.

javapop wrote in post #16780009
I have a couple of spots I have noticed on my 1D3, there are quite a few kits available, any pros/cons or recommendation?

David,

Are you referring to the number system for SensorSwabs? If you are, the 1D3 is a 1.3 crop sensor and requires Type #1 SensorSwabs. Type #2 will work, but #1 will cover more area per swipe.

Nicholas

@Nicholas: What's your company's website? I'm in the market for one (not urgently, since my 1Ds was just professionally cleaned), but certainly soon.


I do not recommend the Sensor Swabs, as they have a terrible resistance to bending, which in my experience has led to Eclipse fluid residue being left on the sensor. The CopperHill tool is much more rigid and in my opinion works significantly better than the Sensor Swabs, and it uses the same Eclipse fluid.

I use swabs and eclipse fluid from Amazon

garciarf wrote in post #16784009
@Nicholas: What's your company's website? I'm in the market for one (not urgently, since my 1Ds was just professionally cleaned), but certainly soon.

I do not recommend the Sensor Swabs, as they have a terrible resistance to bending, which in my experience has led to Eclipse fluid residue being left on the sensor. The CopperHill tool is much more rigid and in my opinion works significantly better than the Sensor Swabs, and it uses the same Eclipse fluid.

Here you go:

www.copperhillimages.c​om

Nicholas

The key to using swabs is to dampen them, not wet them. The main cause of problems is fluid drying on the front filter that sits in front of the sensor, or worse seeping into the pack in front of the sensor.
The other issue that can cause problems is transferring grease from the surrounds of the sensor. The Canon 5D was prone to putting grease from the shutter over the sensor area, and Nikon600 even worse.

Nicholas R. wrote in post #16784468
Here you go:

www.copperhillimages.c​om

Nicholas

Didn't realize you were with Copperhill, as I had no recollection of them selling those gel sticks.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll order one soon.

garciarf wrote in post #16786268
Didn't realize you were with Copperhill, as I had no recollection of them selling those gel sticks.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll order one soon.

Felipe,

This is a great adjunct to a wet-cleaning kit and it's very simple to use. The reaction from our customers has been positive. The manufacturer states that the gel will last 2 to 3 years making it a good bang-for-the-buck.

Regards,
Nicholas

I honestly just use Qtips. Had no problems.

Nicholas R. wrote in post #16786495
A couple of things to be aware of -
There is a gel with a white tip being sold for a few dollars, try to save a buck and you will probably get that aforementioned residue on your sensor.
The Eyelead Gel Stick will work on almost every sensor except for the latest SONY models which are listed on our product page. People who shoot the original 5D can use it except for bodies with serial numbers starting with a 0 (zero). This is the batch that had defective coatings, not all units in that run were affected, but you don't want to risk it.

Like I said above, this is a great adjunct to a wet-cleaning kit and it's very simple to use. The reaction from our customers has been outstanding and confirms our decision to carry it. The manufacturer states that the gel will last approximately 3 years making it a good bang-for-the-buck.

Regards,
Nicholas

The white one... no thanks. I wouldn't want to go cheap on something that will touch the sensor. Considering that I just paid $25 for a professional sensor cleaning, the gel stick will pay itself off after cleaning 2 sensors.

I will order my kit soon. I already have CopperHill's wet cleaning kit (and what has to be a decade's supply of Eclipse), but I don't have any dry cleaning product other than a Giotto's blower, and I do know that Canon makes a very similar product, but they sell it only in Japan, so that does speak about the validity of this product.

BluePhoton wrote in post #16786505
I honestly just use Qtips. Had no problems.

Did that once, and I then had to fish all these cotton hairs out of my camera. Will never do that again.

Nicholas R. wrote in post #16786495
Felipe,

We've been in business for almost 12 years and people here who know of our company know that we rarely recommend sensor cleaning products other than our own. But the Gel Stick is the real deal for two reasons: 1) the adhesive is stronger than any previous product enabling it to pick up almost all dust and debris, and 2) when used according to the directions it will leave no residue.

A couple of things to be aware of -
There is a gel with a white tip being sold for a few dollars, try to save a buck and you will probably get that aforementioned residue on your sensor.
The Eyelead Gel Stick will work on almost every sensor except for the latest SONY models which are listed on our product page. People who shoot the original 5D can use it except for bodies with serial numbers starting with a 0 (zero). This is the batch that had defective coatings, not all units in that run were affected, but you don't want to risk it.

Like I said above, this is a great adjunct to a wet-cleaning kit and it's very simple to use. The reaction from our customers has been outstanding and confirms our decision to carry it. The manufacturer states that the gel will last approximately 3 years making it a good bang-for-the-buck.

Regards,
Nicholas

Nicholas do they have kits for the 1/3rd crop cameras?

javapop wrote in post #16792241
Nicholas do they have kits for the 1/3rd crop cameras?

David,

I see you shoot a 1DM3, our 18mm swab and strips will work beautifully on that sensor which is around 19mm tall. You will actually get full coverage with it like you get with a 24mm on a full-frame. Here is a video showing the process which will demonstrate precisely how it will work on your sensor:

http://www.moosepeters​on.com …cleaning-with-copperhill/

And I must say again that a good wet/dry combination kit is like the state-of-the-art sensor maintenance nowadays. You use the dry tool like the Sensor GelStick maybe once or twice a week and you'll always have the wet tools on hand for whatever the gel can't remove, particularly lubricant.

I need to amend my post above regarding the 5D-Classic. The batch that had defective coatings had serial numbers with a 0 (zero) in the first and sixth digits, so it will look like this - 0xxxx0xxx. Not all units were affected in this run but you don't want to risk the coating being pulled off with the gel or swabbing.

Nicholas