M11 Sensor Cleaning at Leica Store

[AndrewK]

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Hello, like to learn if any of the M11 owner ever taken their M11 into Leica Store (local or abroad) for sensor cleaning?  Did you get charged for a service fee? Or was it free?

Curious to find out all your experience from different parts of the world, as the owner of this amazing camera from prestige brand.

 

Thank you

[Gelatino]

Free for me  in the Paris Leica store to which I am faithful; can't speak for other Leica stores, and sometimes ago a non Leica  but well known multi brand dealer used to do it for 49euro.

I plan to get a kit and become independent.

[LocalHero1953]

When I've had it done in the past (not M11; M240 IIRC), it has been free in London. But now I regularly clean my sensors with a rocket blower and hardly ever have to use other methods (which I also do myself). 

[nilsen]

Rocket blower is the best 15 euros/dollars you can spend. I only once in 10+ years had dirt on my sensor that would not go away with a rocket blower.

[dpitt]

1 hour ago, nilsen said:

Rocket blower is the best 15 euros/dollars you can spend. I only once in 10+ years had dirt on my sensor that would not go away with a rocket blower.

Well said. If you take care when switching lenses, it is not a big issue. Avoid changing lenses outside, any dust may blow in. Try to change lenses in upright position. Turn the opening downward if you need to leave your body open for longer than a few seconds. Dust is following gravity laws, so in absence of air current it always falls down.

Turn the camera opening downward and blow with the rocket blower to clear all dust if you have an issue.

Edited April 13, 2023 by dpitt

[algrove]

Ditto, to dpitt.

[kinetic]

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I bought my M11 used, and it came with a good amount of sensor dust somehow. I tried a blower (filtered) and a sensor stick. It got rid of a lot, but there's still plenty. There's a Leica Store near me, but on their website it seems to just be a retailer? (Leica San Francisco / Camera West).

[AndrewK]

Thank you all for the comments/suggestion. 

I do use a blower, but maybe i need to get a bigger one as there is still few dust left on the sensor. That's why i'm considering have it done "professionally".

[graphlex]

Having read about this customer-friendly Leica Store practice, on a NY trip a few years back  I took my M240 over to Eli Kurland’s and asked have the sensor dusted off. The salesperson sniffily responded that they did not offer this service.

[jaapv]

Questions like these have been asked regularly since the advent of digital cameras , about every three months on this forum - and the answer has remained the same for well over a decade.  Cleaning a sensor is an essential skill for a digital camera user, even if one lives next to a camera store. After all, there is no cleaning outside opening hours and one does take a camera to places where there is no immediate service available.

Fortunately cleaning a sensor yourself is completely simple and as easy as washing your hair, provided you follow the scheme in our FAQ - which was written in 2010 and still is as valid as it was back then.  

Dust can occur any time and can be sticky and not removable by a blower. So have a systematic plan: Prevention - blower- sensor brush- gel stick - wet cleaning - professional cleaning. . Of course you can leave steps out in this schedule. I use the Arctic Butterfly brush very rarely, as I prefer a gel stick. When travelling I have a blower, gel stick and small wet cleaning kit with me.

As a Dentist (we all know every Leica M owner must be one 🤪) I must ask you: Do you brush your own teeth or do you visit a hygienist twice a day?

[Anbaric]

4 hours ago, AndrewK said:

Thank you all for the comments/suggestion. 

I do use a blower, but maybe i need to get a bigger one as there is still few dust left on the sensor. That's why i'm considering have it done "professionally".

Try a large Giottos Rocket blower (get an original from a proper dealer - there are lots of fakes on ebay and I've seen dubious offerings from some Amazon traders).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/259157-REG/Giottos_AA1900_Rocket_Air_Blower.html

[Gelatino]

 Is a sensor loupe so useful? The Visibledust costs more than 100 Euro while some other cost about 25/30 Euro. Secondo, 7X or 5X are enough?

[maidenfan84]

It's true. If you're using a digital camera with interchangeable lenses, dust will get in eventually and need to be removed. A Giottos rocket works amazing. Next step if that doesn't work is to use one of the Pentax gummy sticks. There's a lot of knock-off's out there, but the Pentax version has been around for ages and is what Pentax themselves use when cleaning off sensors. Basically, there's special paper that comes with it that you gently press the gummy head down on to clean...then you have your camera laying down sensor upwards and then you gently dot up and down as you move along. It works extremely well picking up the stubborn dust. If that doesn't work, then the wet cleaning method comes next. That just entails making sure you get a full frame cleaning kit from a reputable company that comes with solution and the wands. Typically, a couple of drops on the end of the swab stick..then a gentle sweep from one side to the other at a gentle 45 degree angle then tilt the wand back to the other side and 45 degrees as you bring it back. That's it! It sounds much scarier than it really is and you'd REALLY have to try messing something up in order to do any actual damage, the sensor isn't actually exposed and it has a cover in front of it. What literally can take you one or two minutes is why shops charge big money and tell you it takes a day or two to get your camera back, it's because it's a good money maker for them. Not many other professions you can charge $50 for a minute worth of work. I used to be terrified at the thought of cleaning my sensor because of all the horror stories I 'heard', but there was a time I was far away from any camera shop and it had to be cleaned, I didn't have a choice. I did it and I've never looked back. There's also a sense of self satisfaction that you know it was cleaned well and proper by your own hands, anyways. 

[jaapv]

One thing, don't pull the gel stick off straight, that puts a strain on the cover glass (although I have never heard of one breaking ! ) but wobble it off - it feels much safer.

[jaapv]

27 minutes ago, Gelatino said:

 Is a sensor loupe so useful? The Visibledust costs more than 100 Euro while some other cost about 25/30 Euro. Secondo, 7X or 5X are enough?

Never use it. I just clean the whole sensor.

[marchyman]

20 minutes ago, Gelatino said:

 Is a sensor loupe so useful? The Visibledust costs more than 100 Euro while some other cost about 25/30 Euro. Secondo, 7X or 5X are enough?

Never having used one I can't really answer the question.  That said, I have not found it necessary when cleaning sensors.   Taking a test shot of my computer monitor with one white window opened full screen has been enough to locate dust.  Important note: make sure your computer monitor is clean, too  🙂

My M11 is newish and I've not yet observed sensor dust.  My M 262 has needed cleaning a few times over the years and a rocket blower has been enough most of the time.  When it wasn't enough I used a sensor brush, specifically ==> https://www.micro-tools.com/collections/the-dust-patrol/products/d-slr-16 because of a recommendation.   I went with this size vs the larger 24mm size so I could use it with my APS-C cameras, too.  The one time the blower and the brush wasn't enough I used a VSGO wet cleaning kit for full frame sensors.  I still have 10 of the 12 swabs the kit came with.

[LocalHero1953]

I have a Visibledust loupe - I got it at the same time as the Arctic Butterfly. I find it handy, with its built in LEDs, and certainly find it easy to spot any small dust or pollen (pollen can be sticky and may not blow off). But it's a long time since I used either - perhaps because I rarely shoot well stopped down, so I only see the big jobs.

I used the gel sticks before the Arctic Butterfly, but had a bad experience with one that left a sticky smear that I couldn't easily remove - it needed a lot of wet cleaning. Put it down to my technique perhaps, but I stopped using gel sticks and haven't missed them. I have swabs and non-aqueous liquid if I need them (it's probably IPA). I tried aqueous liquid with swabs once, but it was useless with anything greasy.

Edited April 14, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[jaapv]

Visible Dust Smear Away - like magic.

[mboerma]

I clean the sensors of my cameras myself, but IF you find yourself in Ginza, Tokyo one day do go into the Leica store and ask for a sensor cleaning service. It is quite an experience. I did it in 2008 and 2017. Nice store and gallery too. 

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[charlesphoto99]

On 4/13/2023 at 2:49 AM, nilsen said:

Rocket blower is the best 15 euros/dollars you can spend. I only once in 10+ years had dirt on my sensor that would not go away with a rocket blower.

Depends. If you shoot longer lenses, or anything above f5.6 you’ll most likely see more than just easily blown off dust. Its been a real issue with a skyscape series I’ve been shooting with a 135mm. Takes way more than a rocket blower to make the sensor actually clean.