> I have been using Eclipse Optical Cleaning Fluid and SensorSwabs to clean my > digital > cameras for a couple of years now. > > SensorSwab makes these in several different sizes to match Kodak, Nikon, Fuji > and Canon > cameras.
There are numerous success reports on these chemical cleaning methods, but all should know and be aware of the potential consequences if it does not work out fine. Canon has never endorsed the use of any chemicals for their chips and will not honor any warranty if the sensor has been cleaned that way. Simple.I might guess Nikon would say the same thing. After testing myself different options, I have come the most ordinary yet effective method so far : A small yet potent, battery operated car vacuum cleaner. I just proceed to clean with a moist piece of cloth the table where I will do the cleaning ( in a closed room) as to avoid any potential air currents and dust moving around the atmosphere by the time I open the cameras. I then proceed to open the camera and make the chip visible and ,having everything previously well disposed of, I instantly proceed to apply the vacuum as close as possible to the chip. Vacuum provokes the opposite of blowing so you have to make sure no dust is moving around you, (hence the wet cleaning of the working area) . Last position before removing the vacuum tool from the camera is looking down, so any possible piece of dust is less likely to"fall" on the chip ( just as everyone should be changing lenses in normal work). Last time I had to clean a chip was over a year ago. But it is well known that CMOS Canon chips have a smaller static charge when in cleaning mode than CCD chips , so it makes them easier to clean with this mechanical methods. I have not found any of those pieces of sticky, adhesive junk described by many , that stick to their chip so hard they need manual removal with chemicals. I just can't figure out how in hell that can be there in the first place ,except for a very poor mishandling during lenses changes( under extremely humid conditions) or just using VERY dirty lenses. So, Make sure your lenses are perfectly clean and dust free before loading them on your bodies, I am positive this is one of the most common reason chips get dirty. A simple test to check the status of your chip is to aim the camera, set in a tripod, at a clean blue sky, and adjusting the exposure as to have the f- Stop set at 22 or 32. THis will easily show you all the spots your chip is having. THis image can also be used to remove those spots in other exiting images. While running the chip's cleaning cycles in a clean and closed enviroment, you can also look at the viewfinder without a lens attached and you will be able to see the spots in the ground glass and make as many cycles as necesary of the vacuum cleaning until you have your thing clean and dust free. All of this has to be run in compliance with the specific methods described by each camera manual to open and expose the chip without harming the system, so please be careful with your own equipment. Jorge Parra =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
