Edward Louis Marit Posted June 29, 2014 Share #1 Posted June 29, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone I will be in Berlin next Saturday, and I wonder if anyone knows where I can get my MM sensor cleaned while I wait. There are a couple of oily blobs I was unable to remove despite several sensor swabs and eclipse. I live in a city in North America with no reputable camera service , so I am unable to get it done here before I go. I need to use the camera on Sunday so I don't want to leave it for more than the afternoon on Saturday. Monday morning I fly to Warsaw. Thank you for your help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 29, 2014 Posted June 29, 2014 Hi Edward Louis Marit, Take a look here Sensor cleaning in Berlin on Saturday?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
k_g_wolf ✝ Posted June 29, 2014 Share #2 Posted June 29, 2014 (edited) Call the local LEICA STORE (Fasanenstraße 71, 10719 Berlin- Charlottenburg), when you are around, they might know: phone # 0049 30 503616- 66. Actually they ought to be able to offer a sensor cleaning service. If not, this address is still worthwhile a visit. Regards GEORG Edited June 29, 2014 by k_g_wolf Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted July 2, 2014 Many thanks Georg, I will do as you suggest. Regards, 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted July 5, 2014 Bad News. Just left the Leica store in Berlin. The clerk cleaned the sensor thoroughly, but he showed me that I managed to scratch it when I tried to do it myself. Very small scratch, but showed up when we photographed a piece of paper stopped down. Anyone have any idea how much a new sensor is going to cost me? - last time I will try to attempt this myself..., Fantastic and friendly service however from the Leica store in Berlin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 5, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 5, 2014 The first thing I would do is get a second opinion, and check back to see if you can see the scratch appearing in previous photographs and when, before or after your attempt. It is difficult to scratch glass, try rubbing a drinking glass with your swabs and see if you can scratch it, even if it has dust on it, I bet you won't. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_g_wolf ✝ Posted July 5, 2014 Share #6 Posted July 5, 2014 On 90% of your shots you might not even see it, leave it as it is. For the disturbing rest find a workaround within LIGHTROOM. It´s actually easy, just takes a bit of your time ... Best GEORG Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 5, 2014 Share #7 Posted July 5, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well a scratch can appear across, say, somebody's face, which unlike a small spot makes it difficult to clone out. But I'd want to check it is actually a scratch and not just some other crap the 'clerk' couldn't remove. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted July 5, 2014 That's good advice guys. I will see how my shots turn out on this trip, and also check some older shots in my catalogue to see if it's there. Agreed unless it's in a very inconvenient place and f16 it's likely not going to appear. I was dead careful when I cleaned it , I blew the dust out first and used eclipse on visible dust green swabs so I am not really sure how I could have scratched it. The guy in the store this afternoon applied a lot more pressure than I did. But the mark was there before he started. I could see it on the sensor and in the test shot. , and I noticed it after my failed cleaning attempt last week. So he certainly didn't do it, but if it's not a scratch and some kind of crud he wasn't able to remove it either. To my eye it looks like a scratch.Was hoping it was oil or something but seems not . Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 5, 2014 Share #9 Posted July 5, 2014 Oil spread on the sensor can look very much like a scratch, and impossible to remove with the conventional cleaning fluids. So you need some solution like Visible Dust 'Smear Away' to get rid of it. Eclipse won't necessarily do it on its own, although you may need Eclipse to remove the haze that Smear Away can leave, and this is often the big mistake, before blaming something or giving up you need two different wet cleaning fluids used one after the other, first a specialist for oil, the second the final 'rinse' (not to be taken literally). Steve 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Posted July 5, 2014 Share #10 Posted July 5, 2014 Why in the world people can not learn to clean their own sensor is totally beyond me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 5, 2014 Share #11 Posted July 5, 2014 Bad News.Just left the Leica store in Berlin. The clerk cleaned the sensor thoroughly, but he showed me that I managed to scratch it when I tried to do it myself. Very small scratch, but showed up when we photographed a piece of paper stopped down. Anyone have any idea how much a new sensor is going to cost me? - last time I will try to attempt this myself..., Fantastic and friendly service however from the Leica store in Berlin. If it is indeed a scratch insurance should cover the cost. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted September 23, 2014 Update: I took my camera in to my dealer last week of August so Leica could investigate. Just got a call that it is ready to pick up. It went to NJ, who sent it to Wetzlar. They discovered the sensor coating was defective. They replaced the sensor, the circuit board, calibrated the rangefinder, and did a complete CLA. All under warranty, N/C. I am just on my way to go pick it up. Fantastic service from Leica, I am very impressed. I bought it in October 2012 so it is almost out of warranty. It is the first one in our local area and one of the first in Canada so it is an early production model. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted September 23, 2014 Share #13 Posted September 23, 2014 Great news! Kudos to Leica too. Now it's time to get a Visible dust loupe + Arctic Butterfly...(made in Canada too ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted September 24, 2014 I am loath to touch the sensor . Apparently the coating was defective however I am not going to attempt to clean it other than dry methods. I understand that there is a device called firefly which works through static discharge and blown air. Arctic butterfly is I believe a brush? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albireo_double Posted September 24, 2014 Share #15 Posted September 24, 2014 I don't know what you did to scratch your sensor but I have cleaned the sensors in an M8, several M9s, an M240 and an S2 dozens of times, over the past five years, using Eclipse and sensor swabs and have never scratched anything. The oil droplets occur very often in the initial stage of a new camera being used, in my experience, and gradually become less of a problem. But they can reappear very shortly after cleaning a sensor, so - at least for myself - I can't imagine running to a store / service centre every time the sensor needs cleaning. I know a lot of people have a different opinion from mine, but that's ok. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-Mount Posted September 24, 2014 Share #16 Posted September 24, 2014 Here is an old video how assembling and sensor cleaning is done at the factory Assembling The Leica M9 on Vimeo Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Louis Marit Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share #17 Posted September 24, 2014 Apparently the coating had a defect. Not a scratch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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