microview Posted June 23, 2014 Share #1 Posted June 23, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) A couple of boxes of Green Clean wet/dry cleaning swabs which I bought recently (and which I have preferred to use in the past) cost £32. As there were four sealed packs rather than the three advertised per box it nonetheless meant that a DIY sensor clean costs about £4. The wet Lens Wipes for spectacle glasses (Boots UK brand) are about 20p per tissue. Wouldn't they do just as well, wrapped over a suitable plastic spatula? The solvent is denatured alcohol in water. Any thoughts on this – apart from "Spot Removal tool in LR5" ? (Actually this was my first sensor clean since buying the M240 in mid-Oct 2013.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 23, 2014 Posted June 23, 2014 Hi microview, Take a look here cost of M sensor cleaning. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Fgcm Posted June 23, 2014 Share #2 Posted June 23, 2014 Actually I wet clean the sensor less than once a year. Most of the time the air blower removes all the spots. I purchased a kit in 2009 and I think it will last 4 or 5 years from now. the cost is negligible, so I prefer the best quality instead of scratching the sensor to save 3 pounds and 80 p. Franco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJWhite Posted June 23, 2014 Share #3 Posted June 23, 2014 Have you tried just blowing the dust out? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdannn Posted June 23, 2014 Share #4 Posted June 23, 2014 My experience: The air blower blows the dust from inside the chamber onto the sensor. Hence making the dust even worse on the sensor. So after blowing out the chamber, I use the swabs to finalize the sensor cleaning. I use "Sensor Swab" pre-moistened packets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted June 23, 2014 Share #5 Posted June 23, 2014 There are plenty of alternative swabs out there ....... and most are a lot cheaper. The critical ingredient is the fluid ....... I've (like most) found Eclipse to be far and away the best ..... and my bottle is now 4 years old and still 2/3 full...... The sticky lollipops in my hands just seem to rearrange the dust rather than remove it and can't get to the sides/corners...... Blowing is OK, but that again removes 80% .... and either recycles 20% or just rearranges it. Fancy electrostatic brushes work fine at the start ..... but are impossible to keep 100% free of grease and crud so end up causing smears .... So it all come back to wet cleaning .... and I've found using much more than the recommended drop or two of fluid is the key to a good clean .... without resorting to scrubbing or multiple passes..... WIth the M you can choose your level of slovenliness ..... as I hardly go above f8 I use dust detection set at f11 and clean to that .... if you try to get 100% clean at f22 you will be doing it forever .... ps ...... I have a big box of Zeiss lens cleaning wipes which are probably better than the boots ... but they don't leave a smear free finish and the tissues seem a bit rough to me .... I'm always very careful with them on lenses. The advantage of the swabs is that the material is a lot thicker, softer and has more give ..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted June 23, 2014 Share #6 Posted June 23, 2014 If your in or near London leica Mayfair will sensor clean for free Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nick932 Posted June 24, 2014 Share #7 Posted June 24, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) If your in or near London leica Mayfair will sensor clean for free They will give you coffee too; freshly brewed... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nick932 Posted June 24, 2014 Share #8 Posted June 24, 2014 At Leica they are using really strong air blower/air hose. They hold the camera upside down and if needed they use the sticky gel and then they might use the wet swab. For cleaning fluid they use just pure alcohol. They also use a magnifier to exam the lens. Then they test using a 50mm lens to perform the in camera dust detection. They will also recommend taking an image and reviewing in LR. Wide lenses might not work with the in camera test. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted June 24, 2014 Share #9 Posted June 24, 2014 They will give you coffee too; freshly brewed... ... and pull the sensor cover off ......... (see the thread about it .....) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted June 24, 2014 Share #10 Posted June 24, 2014 It's a £180 return ticket on British Rail to get a cup of coffee at Leica Mayfair. I think my time is more valuable than even walking for ten minutes to get a cup of coffee and hanging around until my sensor has been cleaned/ripped apart. So I clean it myself, it's amazing how quickly £80 spent on cleaning kit pays itself back compared with arranging for a stranger to do it for 'free'. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted June 24, 2014 Share #11 Posted June 24, 2014 Cost of sensor cleaning = Priceless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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