I often clean my sensor, beeing using very expensive Sensor Swab™ to clean my sensor. I come to get a cost off 8 dollar per cleaning (swedish currency to us currency). I grew fed up with this cost. So I started to look for other solutions. After all one time use sensor swabs stack up. Especially as I swap alot lenses in windy southern Sweden. My killer was when I was in Cyprus where the air seems to be around 20% dust in the mountains. Not very windy thou. But dust was everywhere.
Trusty Giotto’s Rocket Blower, which in my humble opnion should be in every photographers bag. I am so nerdy that I have my rocket blower around my neck. Attracting curious swedishs teenager for discussions. Which I feel is quite fun. But attraction off the more older ones off female gender seems that a swedish nerd viking with rocket necklace havnt had much success with. But to back to the point it isnt much this rocket can blow off. In most cases this saves alot off trouble.
But now and then I got to do the cleaning. I remember a nightmare time, I had cold. Which isnt unusual when the southern sweden rainy winter start. Always to wet and bad dressed. I went home with after session off shooting in a dusty workshop, very cool stuff. But the walk home was a notch to much for my health. So I went into my very clean room home. Put on the light. Brew a cup off coffee and sneezing a bit. Well well I thought, time to clean my dotty skies once more. I took out sensor swab. Did the whole ritual off mirror luck up. Blow blow, download to computer. Hmm still a dust dust there and here. Did the ritual once more..
I opened up looked down with my sensor swab. Sneeze attack. Everything went into slow motion. Sneezed right into the camera, my arms went out off control. Smashed the coffemug coffee on the camera and 8 dollars worth off sensor swab went into the coffee. Feeling how the veins on my temples grow about a inch. I was real mad.
8 dollars worth off into the coffee... Thats a first for me. But then I realized, I sneezed into the camera. Now I felt the veins working overtime and I was seriously worried that I would blew them. Looking into the camera. Nice spit with cold virus. I must be first that has spread cold virus to a camera. But anyway after inventing at least 3 new swear words. Back to business.
Took annother 8 dollars worth sensor swab start cleaning some cold infected spit from the sensor. I did work so so. So I had to pick up annother. Well now my more humored part off my brain start worked and saw this with new perspective. This is just how dumb I am. Well well with smile I took the last part off the sensorswab. Did a test shoot. I didnt saw any dust. No cold virus either.
(I guess I have to few megapixels to see the virus. Maybe good reason to go large format.)
This was the start off my research after my 24 dollar nightmare cleaning which I now must be one few in world with a cold virus infected Nikon Camera.
After some surfing I found my solution on this great site:
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/index.htmlWell a whole world off cleaning opened up in front off my eyes. Well there is alot more then Sensor Swabs to this.
It all turned out to be good. I found site in Europe that sells all sorts off cleaning camera stuff. Alot more even I can say:
http://www.micro-tools.comI there bought my own sensorwand. They where fast and sent me the stuff with normal german mail. 3 days later I got my wand and also Sensorklear pen. The Sensorklear pen was cheap I was curious. Also some chambercleaning for des-infect my camera a bit more, they worked as intended. I dont know. My doctor friend havnt much experience on diagnosing nikon cameras, so he couldnt tell if my camera was still sick after the cleaning. Truth must be tolded, he is a Canon user so I think he want my camera to be sick.
I tried out the sensorklear pen my first cleaning. I can say it didnt work so good as I expected. A gimmick in my humble opinion. Thou it was a bit fun. It removed a bit dust but there was always some nasty dust speck that just moved around. Which isnt that good if it.
So after this I turned to my new Sensor Wand. I felt like older but more blond but swedish Harry Potter folding pecpads that would envy my local Chinese restaurant. Well I start the cleaning. To my surprise even that I am not as graceful as Harry Potter with the wand. Rather if it was real magic wand I would probably turn my camera into early banding infected D200 and autofocus that would make whine on the online forums day and night.
After the cleaning it was just clean. Very cheap, very reliable. Now I been using this for 4 months and works just great. Also if do the sneezeattack stunt once more it wont cost me 8 dollars.
I can say I havnt turned out to be a good magician like Harry Potter and his wand. But my new Wand and my magic have saved me at least 90-100 dollars.
Which is magic for me.
