Hi all,
First, I want to compliment Nicholas for being proactive, forthright and up front, for staying in touch with his customers and potential customers, and for providing useful and helpful information. Far too many companies just take the "screw the customer" tack these days, with little or no customer service or concern before, during or after the sale. Great PR to keep in touch like this, yes. But it also demonstrates a good, sensible and honest approach to doing business. Kudos!
Personally, I think this whole issue about sensor cleaning has gotten blown way out of proportion. Until someone comes up with some sort of real, anti-dust device it's something we simply need to learn to deal with, if we're going to be shooting photos with digital cameras. (Note: I'm personally pretty skeptical about the "dust shaker" vibrators now being built into some cameras. We'll see! Early reports aren't very encouraging.)
It's really no different from another thing we have all been doing from our first week as photographers: cleaning our lenses. Almost the same products and cleaning methods apply, as well as many of the same concerns and issues. Some lenses are pricier than our D-SLRs, plus their front and rear elements are more exposed to possible damage during use and when cleaning them.
In this case, I suspect and hope the OP just got some "goo", such as a stray kernel of mirror foam, onto the sensor filter. Perhaps that just dissolved and smeared when the cleaning solution was applied. If so, further cleaning or other cleaners might remove it effectively, no real harm done. But even if it's a real scratch on the filter, as regretable as that is, it's repairable and should serve to remind us how important it is to remove grit from the filter surface before attempting to clean it, and/or how critical it is to maintain really pristine cleaning materials and working station... No different from cleaning the front and back glass surfaces of my 300/2.8!
Overall, I think our cameras are more in danger from people unwittingly using cotton swabs in there or if they also try to clean the much more delicate surfaces of the mirror and focus screen. There are special cotton swabs available, but run of the mill Q-Tips are notorious for shedding tiny, tough fibers that can jam a shutter in a heartbeat. I couldn't even guess how many SLR mirrors I've seen ruined by improper cleaning. Cheap "lens tissues" are the biggest culprit, made from paper with wood pulp (and thus minerals) in it. These are also the source of "cleaning marks" on used lenses, fine scratches in the lens surface, or it's coatings.
With respect to the Canon 5D in particular, I hadn't heard of early copies having a problem. But, I do see in the Curt Fargo article (www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com
) that they recommend *not* using original Eclipse (methanol) on some D-SLRs that have certain types of coatings on their AA filters or particular materials making up the sensors themselves. Curt states that they might be damaged by this particular cleaner (and presumably any other methanol-based cleaner). *Please note* that the Canon 5D and XTi/400D *are* on this list, along with all Sony D-SLRs and Pentax K10D.
Eclipse E2 was developed specifically for use with the Sony cameras and is used the same way as original Eclipse. (P.S. I've met Curt a few times and have long been a customer of his. He and his organization are all certified camera repair techs and part of a large network that exchange info about the profession. I consider his info reliable, just as the Copperhill info, products and recommendations have gone a notch higher in my opinion as a result of this thread.)
Also note in Curt's article that Canon's own cleaning method is described as using a "home brew" of 90% isopropyl alcohol or a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and Windex. (Which I find interestingly similar to an optical and mirror cleaning solution recommended by Thomas Tomosy, one of the legendary gurus of camera repair. Another lens cleaning solution I've often seen recommended, but haven't personally used and so can't really recommend: cheap vodka.)
I hope the original poster will keep us updated what the repair shop finds and recommends. One of the problems with the Internet is that issues are raised, getting a lot of attention and raising concerns, but the resolution is never shared. Keep us informed, please!
. lol infact my mother said it was, she said "god punished you for not going to church"!!!!! lol, mother knows best.
(see my signature for details) but I did have it long enough to do some poking, prodding, scraping etc. and to show some of our local POTN'rs what it takes to scratch it.
