d3 sensor cleaning

alexkidd

alexkidd

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Right, seeing as it comes everywhere with me and doesn't have the vibrate thing that the d300 does :'(

Which is the weapon of choice for sensor cleaning? is there a definitive kit that does it all? with all the swabs and brushes and vacuums i'm not really sure which is the best

Ideally i'd like something that'll do both the s5/d300/d3 but d3 being the most important obviously

Advice gratefully received :)
 
there's two that i know of that will work with both cameras

the arctic butterfly: a small brush that is statically charged to attract dust from the sensor by sweeping it across the surface of the sensor.


rocket blower: a rocket shaped puffer with a long nozzle, just place the nozzle inside the lens mount of the camera after raising the mirror, then give it a couple of puffs with the lens opening facing down.

:)
 
And if it gets to the point where it needs a wet clean FITP does a kit.
 
Personaly i would not use a artic butterfly as they are known for getting grease onto the sensor, you could try a sensorklear but once your senor gets to a certain point only a wet clean will do. Makesure you get FF swabs for a wet clean or the crap stays in the corners.
 
I got oil ALL OVER my sensor with my Arctic Butterfly, a waste of £80 + £30 for the pro clean afterwards.

I use swabs and sensor cleaning fluid, in out, maybe three or four times, job done in less than five minutes. You don't have to be as delicate as some make out - I can apply firm pressure, with a fairly wet swab, and it really shifts everything.

G.
 
I'd avoid an Arctic Butterfly, heard from a few people they end up dragging oil into the body somehow.

Tried and trusted Pec-pad + lollipop stick + Ecslipe has worked for years - I have a Nikon cleaning video (can't share it, its Copyright showing how cleaning should be done)
 
It depends on how much dust/dirt is on the sensor. First of all I would invest in a " loupe "
to me it is one of the best bits of kit one can get and invaluable with working on a sensor. infact I would go as far as to say you can't clean a sensor properly without one, or at least it defiantely makes the job so much easier.

This is the kit I have


http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy...erfly-724-brite-vue-sensor-loupe-7x-/p1028072

Great for light dust but for stuck on dirt then you need to go for swabs and cleaning fluid. Personally I am not in favour of blowers as they could disturb dust elsewhere within the camera body and make things much worse. If in doubt as to how to swab a sensor there are plenty of tutorials on u-tube showing how to do it.

There seems to be a big mistique about how to clean a sensor but with the right kit and watching a few videos it isn't that hard. Just remember its not a job to rush and care must be taken when working on a sensor, don't expect hard stuck on dirt to be removed on the first wipe, it may take several attempts removing a bit at a time irrespective of what is claimed. Gently does it and providing care is taken its easy.

Other on here are saying they have heard , but not got experience of, artic butterfly gets oil/grease onto the sensor, I can't understand how. They must be doing something wrong, either trying to remove stubborn dirt with it or letting it spin whilst in the camera body or letting the butterfly go to part of the internal workings of the camera body its not intended to go. There is no way there should be oil/grease on or around the sensor to that extent in the first place, if there is then there is something wrong in the camera.

The butterfly is great for removing "and dust/hair only" I have used mine on many occasions so know it works, for anything else wet wipes is the way to go.

As Puddleduck says quote " Tried and trusted Pec-pad + lollipop stick + Ecslipe has worked for years"
unquote, have to totally agree with him as thats what I use as well for stubborn dirt.
Realspeed
 
realspeed said:
Other on here are saying artic butterfly gets oil/grease onto the sensor, I can't understand how. They must be doing something wrong, either trying to remove stubborn dirt with it or letting it spin whilst in the camera body. The butterfly is great for removing "and dust/hair only" for anything else wet wipes is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Apparently a lot of OIL in the chamber of certain camera's, and on the D3 in particular, I believe the extreme edges of the area around the sensor are grease laden, one tiny slip, and you have an oil slick of dramatic proportions to deal with :) I was warned via several posts on various sites about the D3 and arctic, basically it said be absolutely critically careful or you WILL get oil on the sensor. I was as careful as I could have possibly been, I do NOT recall touching anything other than the sensor area and I had a zebra pattern of black streaky smears the entire length of the sensor after my first attempt. Have never tried to use it since!

G.
 
Pec pad, eclipse fluid, cut up credit card. Job done. It's how I did my D3.

The Nikon video is on youtube IIRC.
 
realspeed said:
Other on here are saying artic butterfly gets oil/grease onto the sensor, I can't understand how. They must be doing something wrong, either trying to remove stubborn dirt with it or letting it spin whilst in the camera body or letting the butterfly go to part of the internal workings of the camera body its not intended to go. There is no way there should be oil/grease on or around the sensor in the first place, if there is then there is something wrong in the camera.

The butterfly is great for removing "and dust/hair only" for anything else wet wipes is the way to go.

Realspeed
Click to expand...

Its that well known theres a page on the makers website about it.
 
Never had any problems with it on my Nikon D300.

the article referred to is for quote "

Important: if you own Canon 1D Mark II, Canon 1Ds, Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 5D or Nikon D3/D3x/D700, read this first to PREVENT SMEARING your sensor!!! Unquote

Not for any other make or version of cameras . So you may be correct just as much as myself. The answer is not to buy one of the above

Realspeed
 
I did the Arctic butterfly and it's fine, though I alsso got the oil-slick the first time I used it...I then did a wet-clean three times, which got it all off...
Washed the brush and tried again on my other D3 body this time being careful not to let the filaments go beyond where you can see. No problems this time.

It helps having cameras that didn't belong to me to practice on...

I would recommend them but you need to watch where those filaments go...

Gary - if you don't want yours, post it to the Combat Camera Team at Camp Bastion - I know they'll be short of kit...
 
For all the camera here at work I use an Arctic Butterfly (Just be careful that you don't touch the chamber walls when inserting or retracting the brush), and if the dirt is really stubborn I use swabs and VDust Plus. Seems to work fine so far. :)
 
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