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Sensor cleaning issue?? {merged}


marcg

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Get out your credit card. You can try sensor gel stick from the auction site for $9.28. That is how Leica cleans sensors.

 

The only safe way, and not 100%, is to keep the can vertical and expel a small amount before using it on the camera to clear any propellent. Spray short blasts at low flow rate as this stuff will be cold.

 

 

Sensor Gel Stick: Safely Clean Your Sensor Like They Do at the Service Center

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Sticky sensor pads only get rid of dust and it's pretty pointless using them on stains.

 

It is quite simple, you need some swabs and firstly a sensor cleaning solution that removes oily deposits,such as Visible Dust 'Smear Away', and to remove the slight stain Smear Away can leave some Visible Dust 'Plus' or Eclipse fluid. It is not uncommon to need two different cleaning solutions, one strong, then a mild one to finish off.

 

Of course if wet cleaning doesn't work, which it does 99.9% of the time, then it is time to run around waving your arms in the air having a panic.

 

But you should never use compressed air unless the shutter is closed, and even then do as Tobey suggests and clear the pipe first.

 

Steve

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Could be a hard - and expensive - lesson to learn about the inherent dangers of using compressed propellant to clean digital sensors.

 

Yes, it can be done... but used with extreme caution.

 

Compressed air or any of the canned air products can cause damage to sensors by too much air pressure, and the various forms of canned air can sometimes spit out frozen liquid randomly, depending on which the way a can is held.

 

For the above reasons certainly I wouldn't put canned, compressed air anywhere near a digital sensor. It is just too risky.

 

I have no knowledge of how one can correct the marks you now have on your sensor, marcg, others with more experience here might be able to help.

 

I hope you have a good outcome. Do let us know.

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Don’t fart around with DIY. Get it to Leica! If you try it yourself you will damage the sensor further. Canned air is an absolute no-no for sensor cleaning for just this reason.

Edited by jaapv
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Don’t fart around with DIY. Get it to Leica! If you try it yourself you will damage the sensor further. Canned air is an absolute no-no for sensor cleaning for just this reason.

 

I am now comfortable cleaning sensors, but I couldn't agree more with JAAPV on this. It sounds like the mess is big enough that you should go the Leica route. It is inconvenient and will probably be costly, but a lot less costly than replacing the sensor.

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Ta everyone for your interest and advice.

I called Leica in Mayfair. Spoke with their tech-guy there. What a knowledgeable guy and very very pleasant as well.

 

I described what had happened and he wasn't fazed at all and said that he expected that it was completely fixable.

I had forgotten that I still have a passport - until he asked me - and so that made me feel a lot better about it.

 

Anyway, after a bit of a chat I decided to tackle the stain myself - with alcohol and a cotton bud.

I'm pleased to say that the stain went but I then had new problems with smearing as the alcohol dried. I was able to remove the smears particularly if I could get the dry end of the bud in before the alcohol had evaporated - you have to be quick.

 

I must say that I was very frightened about touching the sensor. I had no idea how fragile it might be. In fact - you have to be careful. of course - but you can be thorough - if you understand my meaning.

 

Of course the cotton bud created its own problems - leaving tiny pieces of lint around. I tried the blower again and managed to remove them. I left one more stain with the blower which I now cleaned up with confidence.

I learned a lesson about using the blower. Very often as you start to use it, it picks up a gob of propellant and spits it out on the sensor. That is what you have to avoid.

The way to do it is to start the blower away from the sensor and then move the air stream over the sensor and try to blow any dust away. It is absolutely essential not to press the blower button down while you are pointing at the sensor.

Secondly, you should keep the air cannister straight up and ideally move the camera through the air stream. If you move the cannister around, you risk picking up another gob of propellant and another stain.

Frankly, I don't think that these air cannisters are fit for purpose. I think that maybe a tank of breathable compressed air would be a much safer bet - but should probably only be used when it is down to about 10 bar.

 

At the end of the day, I think that the lesson I have learned is that if you have dust or smudges on the sensor - then live with it until you can get it professionally cleaned.

 

I still have the spots on my sensor - not quite as many, but they are still there and I'll be taking it to Mayfair very soon.

 

Hope this helps.

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Ummm…There is an elaborate post on sensor cleaning in the FAQ…..

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/130720-leica-m8-m8-2-m9-m9p.html#post1382788

 

And buy a blower bulb and throw that compressed air aerosol in the bin….

Edited by jaapv
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At the end of the day, I think that the lesson I have learned is that if you have dust or smudges on the sensor - then live with it until you can get it professionally cleaned.

 

I hope you learn a different lesson by the time your Passport expires. Jaap points to the FAQ for a start, and there are dozens of related threads and other sources available for proper instruction.

 

Jeff

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I didn't say that I recommended it - I really don't - and I won't be trying it again.

I gave myself a bad shock with the whole thing.

But at least I can go out and take some pictures now until I get to London in a few weeks time.

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If you can clean your sensor with all the wrong things just think what you could do with all the correct cleaning tools!

 

Anyway, it shows not to panic, if you had sent your camera away you may have been without it unnecessarily for a long time. How many days, months, years of photography have been wasted by Leica users by not simply having a go, especially when anybody with a Canon or Nikon just gets on with it and does a wet clean?

 

Steve

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Following on from my other thread about the near death experience of my MM sensor, where there are spots appearing in the top right quadrant of the on-screen image - I think that this means that the marks are actually on the bottom left quadrant of the sensor - mirror-image reversed. Is that right?

 

And as a supplementary question - how do you see the damn things when they are invisible?

 

I went out a bought a proper sensor cleaning kit today. There is some improvement but there are about 4 or 5 spots which are maddeningly persistent and maddeningly invisible.

 

I'll be taking it to Leica in Mayfair in March but I'm impatient and want at least to get a couple of the largest ones myself. I really should be careful but it is becoming a personal issue with some grudge.

 

I've read the cleaning threads - ta - but I haven't noticed anything about those stubborn stains. Should I get myself a Dremel?

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Hi. Your sensor cleaning escapades have made me very nervous. I don't know much about it all as I have never cleaned my sensor beyond using a bulb blower. But with all your disastrous forays into cleaning I would recommend: calming down, take a breath and getting it to a proper Leica repair shop. It isn't worth destroying a sensor because you were too impatient or uninformed.

 

This is friendly advice not a criticism. I have been in your shoes where you want something solved so bad you proceed to make the situation worse.

 

I don't think sensor cleaning is a big problem minus the oil issue that occurs sometimes. For me i get some dust visible in an image every once in a while and I clone it out. I blow the sensor with a bulb blower in between my 2X a year lens changes and call it a day. No issues!

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I know you are right - but I've always been a bit curious (dead cat syndrome).

 

I've had another go today and made good progress. Reduced the number of blemishes and the size of others quite substantially.

 

I found the answer to my orientation question (looks as if I was right):-

Orientation: upside-down, but not reversed right to left. If you see a spot on the upper left corner of your test shot, the dust that caused it is in the lower left corner of the filter of the sensor as you face it from the back of the camera (that would be the right corner from the front of the camera).
Cleaning sensors by Thom Hogan

 

Anyway, it is improved. I have a Smear Away on order so I'll probably give it another go later on this next week and call it a day until Leica in Mayfair in March.

 

Hasn't improved the quality of my photography, though. Can't understand why not.

Edited by marcg
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Anyway, it is improved. I have a Smear Away on order so I'll probably give it another go later on this next week and call it a day until Leica in Mayfair in March.

 

You can do just as good a job as a techie at Leica can, it isn't a skilled job, you just need the right tools for the job, and care and common sense. And it gets easier, especially as over time your camera will on the whole get less dusty and oily.

 

For your full frame sensor swabs for APSC sensors are best, they get into the corners better. For oil you need Smear Away, but that itself can leave a residue, so pure alcohol or Eclipse fluid is good for a final rinse (joke). To finish, and for when your shutter stops spitting oil, an Arctic Butterfly brush will remove the last bits of dust. But the Arctic Butterfly should never be used on an uncleared oily sensor as you will contaminate it, although it can be cleaned with alcohol. All I now use is an Arctic Butterfly, my sensor and shutter have calmed down, but I still need the full kit on the basis of 'never say never'.

 

Steve

Edited by 250swb
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When I purchased my Phase One P30 back it came with a cleaning kit. Pretty much "Eclipse" fluid and some lintless wipes. I figure if good enough for an MF back it's fine for the Leica sensor.

Been using this combination for four years with no issues on either sensor.

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I'm sure there must be a sensor cleaning service around where you live.

Yes - not too far away and I have spoken with them. Firstly -as I remarked in my thread about my 28mm Perar - customer service is France is mostly poisonous and reluctant. That's why I took your suggestion of sending that lens to Will van Manen who was superb and did a superb job.

I spoke to a couple of Leica shops in Paris who wanted a 2 or 3 week turnaround and also wanted to charge €47 or €67 for the privilege - even though I know that sensor cleaning is on Leica's "goodwill list" and gets done for free. When I wanted a lens calibrated, the French Leica centre wanted to send it to Solms with a turnaround of over 6 weeks. Another guy in the South of France couldn't be arsed to call me back.

I don't trust the quality of the work in this country and I don't trust them to accept responsibility if the job goes wrong.

 

I would have sent my camera to Will - although I don't know if he offers the service - but anyway Mayfair came up trumps and speaking to their techie was such an enjoyable experience that I'm happy to wait until March to go there and it will be a good idea to get to know them a little. They do it while you wait.

 

You can do just as good a job as a techie at Leica can, it isn't a skilled job, you just need the right tools for the job, and care and common sense. And it gets easier, especially as over time your camera will on the whole get less dusty and oily.

 

For your full frame sensor swabs for APSC sensors are best, they get into the corners better. For oil you need Smear Away, but that itself can leave a residue, so pure alcohol or Eclipse fluid is good for a final rinse (joke). To finish, and for when your shutter stops spitting oil, an Arctic Butterfly brush will remove the last bits of dust. But the Arctic Butterfly should never be used on an uncleared oily sensor as you will contaminate it, although it can be cleaned with alcohol. All I now use is an Arctic Butterfly, my sensor and shutter have calmed down, but I still need the full kit on the basis of 'never say never'.

 

Steve

Thanks for all of this very useful info. I think that I shall get the kit you suggest and maybe have a little practice with an old D70 which I have lying around. I am growing in confidence and the problem is getting better.

 

What I don't understand is how or why it happened. I can even find the moment that it happened.

I have found images without any problem and then the next day - same lens - nothing changed, - it looks as if someone has splashed the sensor by driving through a muddy puddle.

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I just tried to blow dust off my sensor and now seem to have caused some kind of stain on it - looks as if it could be a mark from the propellant or whatever is used to carry the compressed air.

 

Anyone any ideas please.

 

Thanks

 

Toss the can and get a Rocket Blower.

 

Never used compressed air or any other canned gas - and you now know why.

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