Copperhill Cleaning Kit

FreeAnd..

Just got one of these delivered to me - nice little package with blower, brush, pads, lens care etc...

Is there anything i should be extra wary of before i proceed? As hard as it is for any man, i know i really have to read the instructions first rather than regret it later..

Fajitas!

Blow then brush.

If you can find a dust free place, I have to clean my 5D too, got my cleaning kit the other week. We could do it together for support

I got a tutorial from yer man brought over from England, so have an idea of what to do

Paulw

Speaking of cleaning - do people normally clean their CCD sensor themselves, or send the camera away for cleaning? If you clean it yourself, what exactly do you use?

Thanks.

evilhomer

Fajitas! wrote:

Blow then brush.

If you can find a dust free place, I have to clean my 5D too, got my cleaning kit the other week. We could do it together for support

I got a tutorial from yer man brought over from England, so have an idea of what to do

sign me up for that too. Mine turned up last week and I have been avoiding doing it. hehe

No excuse if three of us are sweating over our cameras at the same time.

FreeAnd..

If you can find a dust free place, I have to clean my 5D too, got my cleaning kit the other week. We could do it together for support

good to hear you're in the same boat..they say it gets easier the second time...its only natural to be nervous on your first occasion - all the stress of how you will perform, how your love will react, will you ruin the relationship...will things be different...we could swap - i clean yours - you clean mine..;) - thats a whole different level of trust

Speaking of cleaning - do people normally clean their CCD sensor themselves, or send the camera away for cleaning? If you clean it yourself, what exactly do you use?

I brought mine into Conns one, cost 50 euro and i kept bringing it back because it made it worse + put loads of dust on the viewfinder..biggest waste of money ever - should have got a refund..hence the purchase of the copperhill kit..seems to be the recommended way of doing it..

Fajitas!

Jesus. That's a lot of pressure.

I'm sure we can handle it though

Paulw

FreeAnd.. wrote:

I brought mine into Conns one, cost 50 euro and i kept bringing it back because it made it worse + put loads of dust on the viewfinder..biggest waste of money ever - should have got a refund..hence the purchase of the copperhill kit..seems to be the recommended way of doing it..

OUCH. Last time mine badly needed full cleaning I brought it to Image Supply Systems. I think it cost me €80, but they did a great job. Mind you, I was without the camera for a week.

But, sometimes I can go months without a spec of dust on the sensor and then there are the other times where I can have a day when it gets covered in dirt.

I did buy a kit for cleaning (online), with a brush, a blower, and some swabs, but the fluid I got has run out (evaporated). My results from cleaning it myself have been mixed, and seldom get 100% of the dust spots.

Any advice? What cleaning fluid is best? Is 100% pure alcohol the best fluid to use?

Valentia

The thoughts of using Copperhill are 10 times worse than the doing. It really is easy once you start.

Fajitas!

Oh Danny, a man of many experiences

Want to come along for a clean?

I have 5D sized swabs

rymus

I'll run a copper hill workshop along with a mount cutting workshop at the end of the month if ye like

bovril

if I can do it any of yous can. I too brought mine into Conns and they charged me 50 blips and it didn't work. The dust on my sensor at the time was welded on. They said it would have to be shipped to Canon UK and I would be without the camera for 2-3 weeks and it would cost me 150 blips.

I ordered the coperhill kit online and got the eclipse fluid from gunns (all recommended by helpful boardsies) and had a few stressfull days reading instructions and building up courage but finally went for it and it worked. I did have to do it about 3 times as I was being overly gentle on the first attempt.

Valentia

Fajitas! wrote:

Oh Danny, a man of many experiences

Want to come along for a clean?

I have 5D sized swabs

After the shaggin election maybe......

I haven't cleaned the 5D yet, though it could do with it. I was planning on using the 10D sized lads. Can't see that that would make any difference really?

Fajitas!

You'll have to use 2 in each direction to get the whole sensor.

pete4130

Just make sure your batteries are FULLY charged before you clean your sensor.....or nearly fully charged at least. The last thing you want to happen is the mirror to coming slamming down and the shutter closing while your brush is in there......now that wouldn't be fun!
I've used my copperhill kit about 3 or 4 times in the last year. First time was scary enough but common sense and taking the time to do it properly and you'll have no problems. It's worked a treat for me removing any dust that was on the sensor. Now it's more of a chore having to clean more than scary.
Be aware that your static brush only holds the charge for about 12 seconds, but this is plenty of time to get the 2 sweeps necessary to cover the whole sensor.
Sometimes I'll have to do a second complete sweep to get that last piece of dust or two that is stubborn though!

Valentia

Fajitas! wrote:

You'll have to use 2 in each direction to get the whole sensor.

That's what I was thinking, but it should still do the job. Of course the extra exercise will have me knackered but sure I'll be worth it.

Roen

My old job had clean room areas where I could bring in my gear and give it a good worry free scrub. God knows where Im going to find a place to clean em now!

Fionn

my experience is that if you notice perhaps 3/4 spots of dust - a sensor clean with a blower can sometimes get them out, if there's lots of dust the swab is the best method and eclispe fluid is the best cleaner and pec pads on some sort of spatula like impliment.

Yep it's a lot like your first intimate encounter - your gonna be nervous, you'll rush things and end up maybe not totally satisfied
but each time you do it, you'll have more confidence and achieve better results

good luck!!

seanmcfoto

The 5D and 400D have different covers over the sensor and can be damaged by wet cleaning with Eclipse solution. They created a new solution called E2 for these camera.
The damage is ugly and needs an expensive trip back to Canon to fix.

FWIW, wet cleaning is more about getting over the fear of doing it. Once you've done, it's like childsplay. That said, these days I always start with a powerful blower. Then I use a charged brush system (I have both the visible dust and the copperhill brush), finally, if it needs it, I will do a wet clean.

leinsterman

Paulw wrote:

Speaking of cleaning - do people normally clean their CCD sensor themselves, or send the camera away for cleaning? If you clean it yourself, what exactly do you use?

Thanks.

Paulw ... give me a call on my extension number ... I clean me sensor all the time using copperhill ... so if you need a quick lesson I'd be happy to demonstrate ... it take about 5 minutes ... so for €80 that is a rip off ...


Mike ... I am usually extra paranoid when I clean my ccd, I take the following additional precautions -

• Wear a face mask to prevent moisture from my breath getting into the camera.
• Make sure to do it in a clean, draft (not sure this is how you spell it) free area
• Wear something on my head to prevent bits falling into the camera
• Wear a head light so I can see what I'm doing

In fact ... I'm sure I look altogether comical ...