Cleaning your M9 Sensor

[Duane Pandorf]

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I shoot at f/1.4 and never see any dust spots.

[friedeye]

From what I've read - and my experience has been - Solms is not a dust free environment. Many M9s arrived loaded with dust - my sensor was filthy after a couple of weeks shooting, I believe because the dirt in my camera was moved around and settled -- I was not changing lenses outside, often, or in the wind.

 

So… I learned how to clean it. Using a blower - which did a fair job, then by wet cleaning - which worked well. Over the course of the next year, I'd clean the sensor once a month -- usually having to resort to wet cleaning. Gradually, the dust spots disappeared to a point where I just use the blower and only check once every few months.

 

I'm guessing that my camera isn't an outlier; that this is pretty common. If I were to have sent it off to Leica, or had it professionally cleaned that first year, it would have been very frustrating to find more dust after a month and have to send it back in. Only to find more dust a month later. If you use the Leica store - which is a great service - be prepared to go back a few times.

 

In the long run, I think sensor cleaning is a good thing to learn how to do. Over time, unless you shoot and change lenses in the wild, your sensor will look cleaner and cleaner. It's nerve wracking at first, but if you're gentle and patient, it's a skill every M9 owner should have.

[Philjh]

If you watch this very interesting video taken at the Solms works it shows how Leica clean the sensor. Assembling The Leica M9 on Vimeo , 13 mins 26 sec into video.

They use the Pentax sensor cleaning kit also cotton buds with some liquid, probably isopropyl alcohol.

 

I bought this kit very cheaply recently and it is so easy and really works. I've also got the visibly dust sensor clean kit, an illuminated loupe and blower.

 

The visible dust kit is for any oily deposits.

Normally I just use the blower and Pentax sticky pad.

 

Take a tip from Leica.

[Jean-Michel]

Hi,

I am not sure why, but now that my M9 is about two year old (and in daily use) it seems that it now rarely requires any cleaning. For the first few months I had to clean the sensor quite frequently.

When needed, I use Visible Dust lighted loupe, which is most useful, a large bulb blower, occasionally a pass or two with my Artic Brush. I have not used any swabs ever since my sensor was replaced by Leica.

Jean-Michel

[250swb]

An interesting point about the sensor swap that mirrors my own experience.

 

Before my M9 sensor cracked it needed regular cleaning for dust and oil. Using an Arctic Butterfly was nerve wracking because just going over the edge of the sensor even a little bit would drag oil back onto it, even after a wet clean. But after the sensor was changed the camera came back dry inside, and the bristles of the Arctic Butterfly could go well around the edge of the sensor and not pick up any oil at all. It also needed much less cleaning generally afterwards. My MM sensor is equally dry around the edges and that hasn't been changed, so maybe Leica improved their production techniques along the way?

 

Steve

[BrendanD]

There's no real difference with the M sensor that any other wrt to cleaning...

I've been doing this for years, same routine.

Blower holding camera upside down. Inspect with an illuminated sensor loupe.

Check by shooting a wall stopped down.

If not clear, repeat twice.

If not clear, single swipe wet clean (pec pad and eclipse fluid)

Check, repeat if necessary.

Usually the blower works, sometimes a couple of wet swabs needed.

The key is to be methodical and GENTLE.

[PhilippeP]

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I will N E V E R wet clean any sensor anymore... too costly.

Every time I change a lens, I blow air with a very large manual air blower (no spray duster anymore as well...) that is it. If I still get spots ... I send the camera to the workshop.

 

Philippe

[250swb]

For anybody thinking about 'wet' cleaning it should be stressed that 'wet' means very slightly damp, hardly damp even, just ever so slightly moist, hardly moist, just half a teardrop of solution on a swab that's all.

 

Nobody should get the impression it is scary, anybody with the ability to shave without cutting themselves can do it.

 

Steve

[rscheffler]

I found this video at Lens Rentals to be informative:

 

LensRentals.com - How to Clean a Camera Sensor

 

I balked at the high prices of some of the wet cleaning kits, especially after watching techs from Canon and Nikon cleaning sensors... so I finally asked a Nikon tech what they used and was informed it's methyl hydrate/methanol on something like Pec Pads, but thinner... But I haven't gotten up the nerve to go to the hardware store and buy some for a test. Instead I bought the Dust-Aid Dust Wand wet cleaning kit and also their Platinum dry cleaning 'sticky' pad. The latter, IIRC, is part of the Lens Rentals cleaning routine and I opted for their wet kit since the price was fairly reasonable compared to some other cleaning brands.

 

I've used both now on the M9 and they work. The wet cleaning solution seems to evaporate very quickly without residue. It's effective at removing oil spots, but seems a bit less effective against watermarks (or what I assume is one that wouldn't budge).

 

My method of attack is blower brush first, with a loupe, then a sensor pen for dislodging any stubborn dry bits. Blow again, and then the Platinum sticky pad. If there are still what seem to be oily spots, then I'll wet clean and follow up with the sticky pad again if needed.

 

This also works with my Canon cameras.

[willemr]

Depending on the 'contamination' I use a Giotto rocketblower, or the DustAid silicone thingies which lifts the dust of the sensor. I have a VisibleDust swipes kit (wet), but I hardly use it. The silicone stick from DustAid saves me every time. You just need to make sure you store the thing dust/gunk free, and use the intended adhesive strips.

[dkCambridgeshire]

Please have a look at this video and scroll forward to 13.20 where a Leica Solms production line operative cleans the sensor glass on a Leica M9. Note the way she uses the sticky swab (as distinct from the wet clean applicator) with a dabbing i.e. non-wiping action and how any contaminant is removed.

 

Assembling the Leica M9

 

By all accounts when the new Wetzlar factory is operational with 'bubbled' production areas, the risk of dust contamination will be much less.

 

Regarding oil/dust mixtures contaminating Leica digital rangefinder cameras' sensors, any lube would have been applied by Copal in their factory and some of it is bound to migrate to the sensor glass together with friction generated dust after a few thousand shutter actuations.

 

Furthermore, camera users' personal lens hygiene regimes probably contribute to dust transfer - especially if dust is transferred from soiled rear lens caps (after storage in dusty pockets/bags) into the rear of the lens. Some camera users never clean their sensor glasses (or their lens caps, or their bags) and by the time they eventually notice the contaminant (e.g. because a light area of an image is covered in specks) it might have adhered to the cover glass so steadfastly that normal cleaning will not dislodge it.

 

Sensor filter/cover glass examination via an illuminated loupe, and then if necessary cleaning, should be a routine procedure for every interchangeable lens camera so as to avoid paying c.£50 for a professional clean. Sensor cleaning is not just a matter of a quick session with a blower brush and every ILC owner should consider investing in a proper cleaning system and an illuminated sensor loupe. A full set of tools and materials might cost £150 to £200 depending on the system adopted but much of that cost will be for the illuminated loupe which should have a long life and prove to be a worthwhile investment.

 

Far too many camera owners are too shy about sensor cleaning for fear they might damage their cameras but it's not so difficult that they cannot learn … especially as there are numerous demonstrations available on You Tube.

 

Regards

 

dunk

[willemr]

Please have a look at this video and scroll forward to 13.20 where a Leica Solms production line operative cleans the sensor glass on a Leica M9. Note the way she uses the sticky swab (as distinct from the wet clean applicator) with a dabbing i.e. non-wiping action and how any contaminant is removed.

 

Assembling the Leica M9

Regards

 

dunk

That video made me buy those DustAid sticks.

[tobey bilek]

That video made me buy those DustAid sticks.[/quote

 

I don`t have the nerve to try them. To me , less pressure is better. I really don`t care how Leica does it as long as it comes to me clean and not broken.

[david strachan]

I use a rocket blower fairly often, upside down and really blast the sensor as close as possible. And the camera chamber.

If you really want to see how dirty your sensor is...then use a pinhole. 0.2 mm, on an old body cap and coke can. Move the camera on the exposure to smear the focus completely, download and the dirty bits POP. It's scary though...you will really see your dirty sensor.

I used to vacuum my M8, now just blower, and "Sensorklear II" by Lenspen. Gently.

cheers Dave S

[AnakChan]

I tried to clean my M9 sensor with the Arctic Butterfly sensor brush, then with wet cleaning but left my sensor in a really worrying & dodgy state. Just 1 hr ago I just came back from Leica Ginza and the bad news is that yes it is scratched and will take 3 months to replace.

 

But the good news is that they're going to replace the sensor for free! This is a 3 year old M9 and I'm absolutely shocked that they replacing it for free!

 

This is why I love Leica.