I gently vacuum out the mirror box area with an attachment I got a while back to clean computer and small electronic parts - just a very small version of the cleaning tools that come with most vacuums these days (crevice tool and brush tool) just to get any loose crud out of the mirror box area. I almost threw it away after I bought it because it reduces the suction of a vacuum so much it didn't seem to do much on really dusty computer gear, but it's just right on camera gear innards.
I'm a firm believer that when if you want to REMOVE crud (as opposed to just MOVING crud) from the depths of delicate gear it is much better to suck than to blow.
Then I use the same e-wipes we've been using on our MF back for four years (alcohol based optical cleaning pads). We learned from cleaning the MF back that they work great as long as you only wipe the surface only once - covering the entire chip in one smooth motion.
To clean the 10D chip, I cut a piece of regular matte board to the same width as the chip and about 5 inches long, fold an e-wipe over the end of the matte board stick and give it a single, good wipe. The matte board seems to have the right amount of 'give' to it so the pressure is great enough to remove the crud, but not so great as to cause and damage.
It beats paying about $12.00 a pop for the glorified swabs they're selling for the same purpose.
It's low-tech, and works well for us...
Jay Busse wrote:
I see a lot of compressors on ebay - do you
know how to tell which are oil-less?
Generally, if it's a piston compressor, oil is required, although I recently purchased at portable compressor to run construction tools that uses Teflon piston rings and is oiless. Diaphragm compressors are oiless. Buying at auction you'd probably have to ask.
That said, any air compressor with a tank will eventually collect condensation in the tank. This water can eventually get blown out along with the air. You either need to be scrupulous about draining the tank or put a separator on the outlet. Probably both.
US equivalent of Blu-Tack would be Duco's Stik-Tack, aka the product photographer's friend. Find it in with the art supplies or stationery. There's some a white version by Borden that I tried once that stuck to absolutely nothing.
Jay Busse
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-- Jeff Smith
Smith/Walker Design and Photography
P. O. Box 58630 Seattle, WA 98138 ph: 253-872-2111 fx: 253-872-21400
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