Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (
More info?)
Rita Ä Berkowitz wrote:
> <dazza101@gmail.com> wrote...
>
> > G'day Rita,
> >
> > Well as I AM the blogger who posted the story, I can tell you that I
> > didn't use the Sensor Clean liquid like I was "mopping a hospital
> > floor."
>
> I don't want it to sound like I am coming down too hard on you, as this
> wasn't my intention. I just see too much misuse of products on a daily
> basis where the product gets blamed instead of the person *possibly*
> misusing it.
No worries, I guess that careless use of products is often a primary
cause of problems...
>
> > Far from "pure carelessness", I used two drops of Visible Dust's Sensor
> > Clean liquid on the sterile swabs they provide. This is the exact
> > amount they recommend in their instructions and it barely coats the
> > swab. I waited for it to soak into the fibres of the swab before wiping
> > the sensor.
>
> Was this use in accordance to the camera manufacturer's recommendations or
> was this the instructions on the cleaning product? I feel that there are
> too many variables between camera manufacturer's and models that following
> the instructions on the cleaning product without doing research for other
> information is putting your sensor at risk.
Visible Dust have written instructions as well as instructional videos
on their website, I studied both before proceeding. As for Canon, they
only recommend using a blower brush on the CCD or returning it to Canon
for cleaning (as I explained in the blog post).
>
> > The one thing that distinguishes Sensor Clean from other cleaning
> > solutions, is that it is not methanol based. This means that it
> > evaporates much more slowly and I believe this is how it managed to
> > wick down under the IR-filter and spread across the CCD sensor. It may
> > have happenned because of a pinhole defect in the seal between the
> > IR-filter and the CCD sensor, but the result is still the same - my
> > camera is wrecked and using Visible Dust's Sensor Clean according to
> > their instructions is the principle cause.
>
> I would highly doubt that there would be a "pinhole defect" in the IR
> sensor. What I've seen when I researched the IR mods (Nikon D70) the
> filter is simply a flat piece that is sandwiched in place without seals. I
> can't say that all manufacturers do it this way, but I don't see a need for
> extra seals.
The suggestion isn't that there is a pinhole defect in the IR filter
itself, but rather that there is a pinhole or liquid path on the edge
of the seal between the two. i.e. it would have wicked down the side of
the two then along a gap between them by capilliary action. BTW, it was
the Visible Dust tech guy that kept insisting that this was a result of
a "defect" and therefore Canon's problem and not a result of using
their product. As Canon don't recommend using a liquid cleaner, I am
not convinced that this can necessarily be called a defect, but maybe a
more widespread concern with cleaning using liquids on the 300D and
possibly other cameras.
>
> What I have found by reading and personal experience is that the sensor is
> more durable and forgiving than one was lead to believe. I did my first
> cleaning with a PEC-PAD and distilled water since I was somewhat leery of
> using methanol based cleaners. I found that it wise to touch the PEC-PAD
> wrapped swab/wand to a separate PEC-PAD with a drop or two of liquid on it
> to load the proper amount of moisture. In most situations you should be
> looking for moisture instead of wet for your cleaning needs. Doing this
> yielded perfect results for me. After my comfort lever and skills increased
> I tried the ethanol based Eclipse cleaner using the same method. I prefer
> to error on the side of caution by keeping the liquid down to the bare
> minimum since, generally, electronics and liquids don't mix well.
>
> Anyway, good luck and I hope you get your camera repaired so you can start
> enjoying it again. Please keep us informed about the repairs.
Canon Canada aren't going to speculate on repairs until they see the
camera, so it'll probably be a couple of weeks before I hear back from
them...
cheers,
darryl
/dazza101.blogspot.com/2005/07/danger-of-cleaning-your-digital-slr.html
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