|
Author
|
|
Rob Barron
Loves the place
Registered: September 2006
Location: Poole, Dorset
Posts: 5963
|
|
Review Date: Wed November 8, 2006
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £55.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
Very effective, REMOVES dust, Cleans whole camera
|
|
Cons:
|
Pricey, best used with a helping hand
|
|
Having seen threads recently talking about the 'Copperhill' method of sensor cleaning I thought I'd drop in a review that I feel will help a lot of DSLR users.
I have been using sensor swabs and Eclipse fluid for some time now and it has always been reasonably effective but never spectacular. It certainly cleans the dust away and gives you a spotless sensor but rarely for very long. The problem is that when we use swabs, pec*pads, hurricane blowers or whatever, the dust is removed from the sensor but a lot of it still remains in the camera and thus can easily return. Whenever you change the lens, the potential for dust ingression is high. The shutter is closed so at first the dust just mills around wherever inside, on the mirror and other surfaces, etc. But as soon as the shutter is fired, dust can slip through and then the sensor cover is the place it loves to call home!
I have also found that sensor swabs with Eclipse are very prone to leaving streaks, even when using just one drop of the liquid. This is not always totally eliminated by sweeping with a dry swab and nobody in their right mind would want to use excessive force with the risk of putting a permanent micro-scratch on the cover. I say cover because of course what you are cleaning is not actually the sensor itself but the filter cover that goes over it.
Ok, so this is where I decided to splash out and buy the Green clean system. This costs £55 - there is a travellers set that is available for about £33 but is considerably smaller. The central component of this system is a can of air (don't panic, read on!) and a vacuum tube assembly. If you have ever used an airbrush, you will understand how this system works. The air blows across the top of a tube, not down the tube. This causes a decrease in air pressure and thus you get suction at the other end of the tube. You can therefore use the other end of the tube (protected by a specially made tip that will not scratch the sensor at all) as a 'vacuum' cleaner and suck out any dust and debris inside the compartment, not only on the sensor but all around.
The dust travels up the tube and is collected in a see-through tube so you can actually see the dust you ar removing - very reassuring! So, just how effective is this vacuum? Simple answer: very! It works very well indeed at removing any loose particulate inside the camera and the tube is very directable so you can get into even the smallest corners. That is a common problem with swabs: the dust that is hard to remove from corners of the sensor - no problem here.
If the particles are actually attached to the sensor as can happen, the vacuum alone may not remove it - this is what it says on the tin, but it has not been a problem for removing anything inside my camera as yet. So, if the vacuuming works fine, that is all you need to do and the sensor itself has not even been touched so no danger of scratching whatsoever.
If futher cleaning is needed to shift stubborn particles, you use stage two of the cleaning process: swabs! WHAT? Come on Rob, you said I wouldn't be using swabs!
Well, no I didn't, I said the type of swabs I used with liquid I had to add would not be used, the kind that gives streaks etc. These swabs are entirely different. They come vacuum packed in pairs: the first is a swab with exactly the right amount of liquid cleaner already in situ. This will clean the sensor very nicely and will not, in my experience so far, leave any streaks. However, I have still gone ahead and used swab two: a dry swab that leaves the sensor absolutely spotless. No dust, no streaks, no scratches, no nothing... except a lovely clean sensor.
Indeed, I would go as far as to say the sensor is left looking the way it did when it came out of the factory!
So, what is in the box for the £55?:- One can of air (400ml) - very big and ample to do lots of cleaning
- Tube assembly and three tips
- 3 pairs of sensor swabs.
Remember, the swabs will only be used now and again, most of the time the vacuuming alone will keep the sensor clean.Also, unlike the usual swabs, you won't find yourself having to use two or three swabs each time. The one wet and one dry will be a complete cleaning session and will leave it spotless.
The cheaper 'Traveller's pack' is designed for sticking in your bag and carrying around with you. You do NOT want a 400ml can of air for that so this gives you a 150ml can. You get one tube and vacuum tip and one pair of sensor swabs (one wet, one dry).
If you've got the money, I would definitely recommend the larger pack as it is a real investment for the long-term cleaning of your camera.
Ok, any negatives other than the price? Just one really, it can be a bit fiddly pressing the air nozzle on the can and maneouvring the tip around the inside at the same time but if you have your camera nicely settled in a stable surface, you should not have a problem.
The great thing about this system is I now have a spotless sensor but also I have been able to rid the inside of my camera of dust, including the very annoying ones that have been mighty hard to remove from the viewfinder area! Knowing that the dust has been removed and not just shifted around means the sensor will stay cleaner longer and regular vacuuming will keep it that way.
Because the tube works in the way it does, there is absolutely no chance of getting air can propellant on your sensor, a very big no-no! Another area that dust tends to settle a lot is the rear area of a lens. Just look at your rear dust cap to see what i mean! This dust has open access to the sensor whenever you open the shutter so you can use this system as I have to clean out my lenses carefully and make sure they too are spotless.
I have only given my camera and my friend's camera a good clean so far but I have been extremely impressed with the system, far more so than I ever was with Copperhill. When you run out of swabs or whatever, these can all be bought separately, you don't have to buy the entire kit again. I got mine from Warehouseexpress.com but in fairness I shopped around and found it to be the same price wherever I looked. You can choose a diffeent place, this is a review of the system, not of the seller :o)
Hope this is helpful to you and that you ca rid your camera of any annoying dust spots that are the bain of our lives. Yes, we have the Photoshop patch tool for removal of spots but it's a darned sight easier not to have them in the first place :o)
Cheers,
Rob
|
|
|
|
Gary Bagshawe
Rep Point Winner 07
Registered: April 2005
Location: Sheffield UK
Posts: 2250
|
|
Review Date: Thu December 7, 2006
|
Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid?: £65.00
| Rating: 1
|
|
Pros:
|
Nice gimmicky idea
|
|
Cons:
|
useless, no less than useless!!
|
|
This product was so bad that I took it back and insisted on my money back,
I know that Rob has given this a great review and I respect his view but in my experience this cleaning system is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. The hoover type thingy I used first of all and it didn't shift a single spek of dust off my sensor, and I gave it a few attempts having just forked out all that money for it and so I went for the pads, wet and dry, may as well been wet n dry sand paper, all it did was move the crud about redistributing it into different areas.
Again I tried this twice as well,
Fortunately for me my local camera shop know me well enough and I spend enough money with them not have had a problem getting my money back.
I will be trying the copperhill method in future and see how that goes.
|
|
|
|
Raymo
Getting Comfy
Registered: August 2006
Location: North Wales
Posts: 216
|
|
Review Date: Fri April 6, 2007
|
Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid?: £55.00
| Rating: 1
|
|
Pros:
|
Great Idea
|
|
Cons:
|
It doesn't do what it says on the tin
|
|
I completely agree with Gary on this one, what a load of tosh and Im really miffed that I spent this amount of money for a useless piece of kit, I will be getting in touch with the store I purchased it from to see if I can get a refund. DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM Just a quick update 11.04.07 Warehouse Express very helpful and have offered a full refund, bar p&p. 
|
|
|
|
|
Rob Barron
Loves the place
Registered: September 2006
Location: Poole, Dorset
Posts: 5963
|
|
Review Date: Tue January 8, 2008
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
|
|
After reading the two negative reviews of this product I was left wondering what it was that I am doing right/wrong or whatever as both of my cleaning experiences with it had proved extremely successful.
I can only say that I have now had the product for over a year and have used it at least 5 times on my own 20D, a couple of times on my friend's and about 7 or 8 times on other people's (at a fiver a time to cover the cost) and in every case the camera owner concerned has inspected the sensor afterwards and has been delighted with the result.
I am not disputing in any way shape or form the problems that the other two have had, not in the least. But I can only say that after a year of using my set (maybe I got a good vacuum with mine) and not having had any problems with it at all, I can only stand by my original review as of course I can only speak from my own experiences.
Of course a lot of newer dSLRs (my 40D included) now come with auto-cleaning sensors that reduce drastically the need for such expensive bits of kit as this. I have not needed to clean my 40D yet, only 4 months since new but sure had to clean my 20D long before that!
|
|
|
|
|
|
;)
;)
;)
