Typ 240 sensor cleaning

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About to do my 1st wet clean - 4 yrs.

 

Why?  Was inspecting the sensor and inadvertently coughed all over it! 

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I bought swab kit, tried it and had streaks.  Darn!

 

Why?  Swabs were for a smaller sensor - d'oh!  After a short learning curve brought in full frame swabs a few days later which worked well edge to edge.

 

I noticed some imperfections on the sensor with a lighted sensor magnifier and also on 'Dust Detection'.  Then took a shot of a newly painted well lit wall at f:5.6.  On the computer enlarged the image to 100%, inspected every inch carefully. Looks perfect - which is all I care about.

 

The fear is gone, just be careful and follow the instructions.  Glad I can comfortably clean it on trips, in the field etc if necessary.  Its a max 10 minute job.  (For touch ups - gel stick & fresh adhesive strips are great.)

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[Peter K]

Sorry to revive this old thread. But I'm about to clean the sensor on my M 240 for the first time. And my plan was to use VisibleDust swabs mentioned several times above.

But then I saw this video with a guy strongly advising not to use sensor swabs. As I understand it, it's because of a slight curve of the lens (he mentions it at around #02:20): 

 

Does anyone know if that's true? I have never heard about it before.

Thanks.

[jaapv]

Disregard Internet Vlogger BS. Just follow the protocol as set out in our FAQ (top of this subforum) With an M 240 it is likely that you won't need to swab.

[jdlaing]

2 hours ago, Peter K said:

Sorry to revive this old thread. But I'm about to clean the sensor on my M 240 for the first time. And my plan was to use VisibleDust swabs mentioned several times above.

But then I saw this video with a guy strongly advising not to use sensor swabs. As I understand it, it's because of a slight curve of the lens (he mentions it at around #02:20): 

 

Does anyone know if that's true? I have never heard about it before.

Thanks.

There is a flat cover glass over the top of the sensor and micro lenses. There is no problem whatsoever using a sensor swab. Just be careful and follow instructions.

[lct]

After having broken a sensor cover glass with a LensPen kit, i now use a Visible Dust Zeeion Blower on all my sensors including M240's. Suffices in most cases. Otherwise i use Eclipse Sensor Swabs but only when the blower is not efficient enough to remove visible dirts. Otherwise the simple idea that "a slight curve of the lens" might pose the least cleaning problem did dissuade me to follow the video sorry. 

[jaapv]

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The curvature thing is pure fantasy -probably inspired by the shifted microlenses- and if you manage to create a pool you are using massively too much fluid.

[Peter K]

Thanks to you all for replying. Much appreciated.

Reviewing my original question, I notice that I misquoted the guy in the video for saying, that he adviced against the use of  swabs because of a curve of the lens.

That should have been a curve of the sensor.

My mistake. Sorry!

Nonetheless, your answers were very helpfull. I will be carefull, follow the instructions and clean the sensor with a swab.

[jaapv]

Curve of the sensor is baloney.

Don't start with using a swab. Normally that is only needed in extreme cases when the dust won't be removed by less invasive means.

 

Quote

Question: There are spots on my images, especially at small apertures.

 

 

This is sensor dirt. All digital cameras with interchangable lenses have this problem, but an M camera is particularly prone, because there is no mirror as extra barrier and the lack of an AA filter makes the dirt more visible.

 

One should prevent dust from entering the camera as much as possible. There are a number of strategies.

1. Avoid changing lenses more than necessary.

2. Change lenses in as much of a dust-free environment as possible

3. Keep the rear end of the lens as clean as possible

4. Change the lens with the camera mouth facing downwards

5. (This may be a myth) Switch off the camera before changing lenses.

 

But dust will come on the sensor anyway.

Consult the manual to find the sensor cleaning item in the menu and use a FULLY charged battery. Before opening the shutter blow out the camera (using a bulb blower, not compressed air or your mouth!) to dislodge any loose dust.

 

If the dust on the sensor is loose one can blow off the sensor using a good bulb blower, (Rocket Blower by Giotto for instance) with the camera mouth facing downwards.

 

If that does not clear the problem there are sensor brushes like the Arctic Butterfly by Visible Dust that are quite effective or the little vacuum cleaner by Green Clean. At this stage the use of a Sensor Loupe can be very helpful.

 

If spots on the sensor persist you are dealing with stuck dirt like pollen or oil spots and need to revert to wet cleaning. There are numerous threads on the subject. The Visible Dust products are highly recommended or the Green Clean wet-and-dry method.

Use a proper solvent for grease if you think you are dealing with oil etc. (Visible Dust Smear Away or Dust-Aid Sensor Clean (my preference)

 

Open the shutter for cleaning and blow it once again with a bulb blower or vacuum clean it, to remove any loose particles which might be dragged across the sensor and cause scratches.

 

Although the M is full frame and there are size 1 sensor swabs on the market, I prefer using the swabs for 1.3 sensors (and APS-C swabs for the M8)

Take a clean swab, put on three small drops of Sensor Cleaning Fluid and in two sweeps, top and bottom go to one side - do not over-press!!- and sweep back again, using the other side of the swab automatically.

Or, using the wet-and-dry system, swab with the wet sponge and dry with a couple of sweeps with the dry swab. Don't let the fluid spill over the edge of the sensor too much - there are electronic connections there.

 

That is all - close the shutter and test the camera by taking an unfocused image of an evenly lit surface at the smallest aperture.

 

In the unlikely case it is needed, repeat.

 

There are other cleaning systems, such as stamping tools. I find them quite effective, as long as there are no greasy spots on the sensor.

Just stamp, don't rub. They are a bit scary as one pulls the cover glass. Leica Customer Service seem to be quite happy using them, so they should be safe.

.

There are also sensor cleaning services or Leica Customer Service, but those are expensive and will keep the camera for a while. They may also not be readily available if one is travelling. Sensor cleaning is something any owner should be able to do himself.

 

If you are fairly certain your spots are oil or grease, it may be wise to omit the step with the Arctic Butterfly, as it may become contaminated by the grease. In case that happens it can be cleaned with the special fluid provided.

 

[lct]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Don't start with using a swab. Normally that is only needed in extreme cases when the dust won't be removed by less invasive means.

+1

[haroldc]

After trying to only use a blower to remove the dust, I had to finally give up after the dust/dirt did not get cleaned off. I used a VSGO full frame cleaning swab and took my time and followed the directions. One drop on the swab and then 10 sec to soak was plenty to clean the sensor. There are a couple of spots still left on the edge of the sensor, but I will leave those as they can be easily removed via post in LR. 

[andybarton]

And don't forget that your Leica dealer will probably clean the sensor for you professionally, while you wait, for free.

They do in the UK.

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

Not all of them Andy.  My local in Dursley said they'd have to send my M8 back to Leica!  Did it myself

[Peter K]

I guess the service level varies from place to place. I also contacted my local dealer here in Denmark for a cleaning advise. But his only 'advice' was, that he would do it for a (relatively high) fee.

So I ended up trying to blow away the dust myself as a first solution. When that didn't help, I did two gentle sweeps with two separate Vswabs from VisibleDust. That did the trick, and the sensor is now clean from edge to edge.

[jaapv]

I've got a handful of free sensor cleaning vouchers from my dealer; they send one with every order, no matter how small. I always clean my sensors myself.

[Jean-Michel]

To add what Jaap and some others mention, cleaning the sensor is really not a big deal. I have a kit fro Visible Dust with a Butterfly brush, lighted loupe, some Eclipse cleaning fluid and some swabs, that and a rubber bulb blower. Most dust comes of with one or two puffs of the blower, if that doesn't work, then a couple passes of the Butterfly brush usually does the trick. I may have used a swab (dry) once or twice. The only times that I used swabs and fluid more often was in the first few months of my M9, it seems that some persistent dust was deposited onto the sensor of the new camera, after that, it just became a simple occasional matter of using the blower or Butterfly to keep the sensor clean. 

[roydonian]

For more than a decade a Giotto blower and Arctic Butterfly Brush have kept my camera sensors clean, but last week I spotted a streak on my M-D sensor that this treatment could not remove. So this morning I did my first-ever wet clean with Eclipse fluid and a Sensorswab. I'd already watched a couple of videos showing how to do it, so got to work. It was quick and easy, and the smear is gone.

The only surprise was that the swab was less flexible than I expected, so I'd advise anyone doing this procedure for the first time to sacrifice a swab by practicing the swabbing movement on a convenient smooth hard surface such as a lens filter or hand mirror.

The Arctic Butterfly brush has now been washed in 99.95% isopropyl alcohol in order to remove any contamination it might have picked up from the sensor smear.