Wet cleaning sensor......question on wrapping pads???

[old dog]

Hi....have got the Copperhill setup and had great success on my D7000. I just got my D80 back from my son and the sensor was bunnied pretty well. I`ve tried about 10 times to rid the bunnies and still there is fibres and some small bunnies. Question is ...what is the best way that you have tried in wrapping the pec pad around the swab. I have wrapped it like on the tutorials and I have cut it into strips just wider than the swab. 2 to 3 drops...wait 20 seconds and in I go. Not much success. Any help appreciated....

[ricktas]

I use a small rubber band to hold my pec pads on the applicator. Bunnies that have been there a while can end up being 'welded' to the filter and can take a bit of repeated effort to get rid of.

[arthurking83]

..... Bunnies that have been there a while can end up being 'welded' to the filter and can take a bit of repeated effort to get rid of.

.... ie. perseverance!

[old dog]

thanks guys. I know about the welded dust thing but this is not the problem. I keep getting fibres and small spots in new places.

[gerry]

Make sure you give it a really good blow out first, don't cut the pecpads, just fold and use a rubber band or sticky tape. Its a bit strange to get fibres, however its common to just move the dust around and get new spots while doing it.

Hence, make sure the chamber is as clean as possible before starting and maybe check your swab technique, I use a cut down swab that is smaller than the sensor size and swipe across the top with one side of the swab then across the bottom with the other side, quite often (and particularly on the D80) it would take quite a few goes to really get rid of of all of them.

good luck.

[sinequanon]

I wrap my pec pads around a spatula with masking tape. Works OK. A rubber band works OK too but I tend to touch the pads with my bare fingers when doing the wriggly rubber band wrap-around.

As an aside, I've been using ped pads since 2005 on my 20D and, thereafter, my 40D and 5D3. The manufacturer of Eclipse and Pec Pads says that Pec Pads are NOT meant for cleaning the sensor filter. I wonder if anyone pays heed to that advisory.

Also, dust particles can be stuck elswhere in the system apart from on the filter alone. It could be on the mirror or on the focussing screen. I'm not sure as to how dirt on the focussing screen could be cleaned.

Below is a pic of the masking-tape wrap. The other pic is of the bare spatula.

[arthurking83]

..... The manufacturer of Eclipse and Pec Pads says that Pec Pads are NOT meant for cleaning the sensor filter. I wonder if anyone pays heed to that advisory.

.......

This would be a reactionary statement, not a warning to heed.
It's almost certainly commercially based on the part of the manufacturer, to scare you into purchasing some product that costs a ridiculous amount of money considering the function it's supposed to provide.

Been using PecPads on my sensors for 6 years with no ill effects.

Photographic Solutions warning is surely a scare campaign to get more people onto their sensor swab system(which I believe was a reaction to the CopperHill method of sensor cleaning).

My belief is that if the pecpads are safe for wiping film emulsions!! .. then they must surely be safe for cleaning a sensor**.

Note too tho that cleaning a sensor really means that you are cleaning the filter pack that covers the sensor, not actually cleaning the sensor material itself!! **

There is a difference, as some people have this need to tinker, and one of those needs could be the replacement of the filter pack, which would necessitate the point that the actual sensor is going to be exposed to the elements! In this instance, I wouldn't wipe the sensor with any product .. not pecpads nor Sensor Swabs!! .. I'd be using a non contact method, which is simply canned air to blow off any possible dust specks that may settle.

So!! When Photographic Solutions warn against using pec pads for cleaning CCD sensors, this could be a literal warning explanation as opposed to the generally accepted convention of doing a wet clean on your camera's sensor.
..... and why do they specifically target CCD sensors and not sensors in general? Older Nikon's used to use CCD sensors, where Canon's have been CMOS for years, but now I don't know of any CCD based DSLR cameras on the market(other than those of yesteryear).

[old dog]

thanks Gerry, Fred and Arthur for your time and thoughts. I did blow the chamber out with a puffer and canned air but didn`t make any difference. Will try again tonight/tomorrow with the wet clean and see if I can do it properly.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day OD

thanks guys. .... this is not the problem. I keep getting fibres and small spots in new places.

I think that you have too much liquid on the tissue
I have had the same results when I've used 2-3 drops instead of the recommended 1-drop

Give it another try & try & try but each time with only 1-drop of solution

Regards, Phil

[old dog]

thanks Phil....will do.