S 006 sensor cleaning

[Pieter12]

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I know this has probably been covered a multitude of times, I may even have posted about it. The sensor on my 006 needs cleaning, and it scares the hell out of me to touch it, given the history of problems with this model's sensor surface. I bought the camera used, and Leica service has told me the sensor has been replaced. I am also under the impression that the replacement sensors do not suffer from the corrosion issues of the previous ones. But I am still very leery of exposing and cleaning the sensor. Last time, I had a local service technician do it but he hasn't returned my calls, so I think he is quite busy. If I were to clean the sensor, any tips, techniques, tools anyone would recommend? I know I am going overboard with caution here, but it would be a major disaster iff I made things worse.

[Sailronin]

Start with a good blower to remove any "chunks" and then use an "Arctic Butterfly" brush to clean.  Hopefully this will remove 90% of your problems.  If you must wet clean use the swabs and solution recommended on the Arctic Butterfly web site.  I've used this combination on my (006) since 2017 when the sensor was replaced. That site has good direction on how to use their products (I'm not affiliated in any way) but have used this method on my Leicas and medium format digital backs for years with good results.

 

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[Pieter12]

I had one of the original Arctic Butterly brushes years ago. I wasn't careful and it somehow picked up some grease inside the camera (a Nikon D3) and smeared the sensor. It has been sitting long enough that the rubber coating is now sticky and when I emailed their support I got no answer. So I am a little soured on their product. And skittish about doing more harm than good trying to clean the sensor. I have picked up one of those sticky pads on a stick for sensor cleaning, but still I hesitate.

[david strachan]

2 hours ago, Pieter12 said:

I had one of the original Arctic Butterly brushes years ago. I wasn't careful and it somehow...

Not sure about being "...wasn't careful..."

Always thought the Arctic Butterfly method was very suspect; never went near it.

...

[david strachan]

Buy the recommendation of Leica for swabs and cleaner, and instructions.

Do it, be brave, and be very satisfied.

...

[davidmknoble]

I have cleaned my M sensors and the S007 and S3.  There are clearly situations where you can cause damage if not careful.  Sand grains on the sensor surface should not be dragged across the glass, for example.

I agree that a good blower can help first. I turn the camera upside down to blow the dust out and let gravity help.  I also use an eye lead blower that has a filter on the intake in the back.  Thus, I am not drawing the dust back into the blower and blowing it back on the sensor.

I have used the artic butterfly and it works well.  Ultimately, the best second step I have found is the eye lead sensor cleaning stick.  It is easy to clean the surface with alcohol and there are disposable sticker pads so that you press down lightly on the sensor over the dust particle, then press it on the sticker to clean off the dust and repeat.  This is what Leica Camera does to clean sensors.

I have used wet sensor cleaners, but it just seems much more difficult to get just right and I worry about scratching the sensor.  This has not scratched one yet.

Hope this helps.

[Pieter12]

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I was able to get in touch with my local repair technician. I'm very willing to part with some dough for the peace of mind that the job is properly done and not screwed up by me. My mechanical karma has not been very good lately.

[Pieter12]

Now that the sensor has been cleaned, I started to think, how does pick up dust? The S is so well sealed, it seems it can only happen when changing lenses. And then it has to get past the mirror. I will be more careful about changing lenses in the future, especially out in the field. But it strikes me as odd that the sensor could accumulate that much dust just coming through what little gaps there might be inside the mirror box. I feel sorry for mirrorless camera users with the entire sensor exposed. My Fuji XPro2 never has dust that I can detect, but it does have a sensor cleaning function when I shut the camera down. I wonder why Leica did not implement something similar?

[davidmknoble]

@Pieter12, the dust does typically enter when changing lenses.  Remember that the sensor is charged.  If it has been on awhile, or is on when changing lenses (which I don’t do), it will attract dust of an opposite charge.  It also depends on the environment.  I shoot a lot on the coast of South Carolina - sand, salt, wind are not my friend and I never change lenses out there.

Also, the Leica SL2 and SL2-S both occasionally vibrate to ‘shake’ the dust off.  I don’t remember if the SL did that.  But, the SL2/S both also have in camera stabilization.  If Leica went to that for the S system, it might be able to vibrate for dust as well.  I don’t know if they will or if the concept of the SLR will allow it, but would be nice for sure!

[BernardC]

9 hours ago, davidmknoble said:

Also, the Leica SL2 and SL2-S both occasionally vibrate to ‘shake’ the dust off.  I don’t remember if the SL did that.  But, the SL2/S both also have in camera stabilization.  If Leica went to that for the S system, it might be able to vibrate for dust as well.  I don’t know if they will or if the concept of the SLR will allow it, but would be nice for sure!

Yes, the SL has that feature too. Contrary to what seems intuitive, this isn't necessarily linked with sensor IS. In fact it appeared a decade earlier.

The problem with implementing either feature on the S is that Leica would need to build custom hardware for a larger, heavier sensor. Unlike the SL2, they can't split the costs with Panasonic, since Panasonic doesn't use that size of sensor. Also, the S's professional market isn't as enamoured with IBIS as the prosumer market is.