Canned air

Boon

Boon

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whilst in skipton the other day, i purchased a can of air to blow away unwanted fluff and dust from inside my camera.
Any pitfalls before attempting it, or known failings i should know about.
many thanks
 
Wouldnt use it personally as it usually leaves a residue, fine for keyboards and inside computers - but wouldnt recommend it for use inside something so delicate as a dSLR.

Get yourself a rocket blower - usually only cost about £5, and dont need replacing.

All IMHO
 
No no no no no

Canned air can spit out tiny particles of propellant, grease and other nasty stuff that can get on your sensor. Use it to clean out your pc's heatsink and fan but not your camera!
 
I don't like the idea at all Steve, although I'm sure loads of people will pop up and tell you they use the stuff.

Compressed air tends to just re-arrange the stuff inside the camera. If you get your focusing screen covered in dust and hairs it looks a real mess and while it doesn't affect your shots it will drive you nuts - it does me anyway.

I much prefer the idea of the wet process of just wiping the sensor and shifting it from where it needs to be shifted. :)
 
I used canned air to clean out the inside of my PC... not sure I'd used it to clean the camera though.
 
Venomator said:
P'raps you should use it to blow the dust off your new av CT ... :lol:
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Well if you can't beat em.. :D

Also Steve the mirrors in SLRs are surface coated, unlike conventional mirrors, and you should never touch the mirror with anything (particularly your fingers) as you can easily mark or remove the coating. In time you'll see bits of dust on the mirror, but it's of no consequence at all and best left well alone.
 
thanks guys
looks like the computer will get a dusting shortly then, i'll have to buy some swabs and stuffs.
 
Boon said:
thanks guys
looks like the computer will get a dusting shortly then, i'll have to buy some swabs and stuffs.
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Yea mate use on some other hardware.

I most certainly would not use it on my camera for all the above reasons..

Good call asking first though Steve.:)
 
busterboy said:
Good call asking first though Steve.:)
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I didn't ask first and can confirm all of the bad things mentioned do happen ;)


Sensor cleaned up fine with copperhill method afterwards - only took 7 goes to get the marks off :)

No harm done in the end - I got the dust off the ground glass screen with a static charged brush.

Live and learn eh?
 
There is a new compressed air cleaner on the market now, it uses a clever little device on the nozzle to turn the high pressure air back on it's self and create a vacuum.
 
Another reason to avoid canned air is that the air exiting the nozzle is extremely cold due to the sudden pressure drop, and the thermal shock can damage the sensor. ;)
 
thanks once again guys, its for reasons like this why i love this forum so much, your all top drawer guys.
EDIT: funny though, the guy in the shop says he uses it, thats another reason why i bought the can.
 
Boon said:
EDIT: funny though, the guy in the shop says he uses it, thats another reason why i bought the can.
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He is the guy who selling it though mate..£££££££££


Its called sales pitch..;)
 
up your way again in another month tim, this time its keighly and a train ride.
 
Ahh, the old "I use one of these myself" routine.

Sometimes they are telling the truth, but me personally, I'm a very wary person by nature, so don't believe anyone :p...ever. :D

Boon, a couple of tips.

Don't clean your sensor unless it's necessary :)
Take a shot of a clear sky on aperture priority mode at f11, then f16, then f22.

Open them all up in Photoshop and have a looksee. If you see any major spots at f11, it's time to clean. f16, it's a judgement call (I'd leave it personally unless it's really big), and f22 just for reference (chances are you'll see something at f22).

As a final thing...Try selecting "Auto levels" on them all, especially the one at f22, and note how many spots are on there. I guarantee you, there WILL be spots on the auto levels one at f22....But that's only to give you some sort of perspective...

Dust is a fact of life with SLR's, all we need to do is gently clean every now and then when it's needed. :thumbs: And if it's not needed, then it's best left well alone.

If you *do* need to clean your sensor. Then I highly recommend the Copperhill Method. This is the one that most people swear by, most on here included.
For the Pecpads and Eclipse fluid, I recommend Warehouse Express.

I got my pecpads and eclipse from there last year at a very reasonable price.
 
Boon said:
up your way again in another month tim, this time its keighly and a train ride.
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Howarth Railway. Enjoy your day out Boon, Its a lovely place.:)

loco.jpg


trainsmall.jpg
 
nice set there tim, we will enjoy our day there. Do they have just the one train?
 
Boon said:
nice set there tim, we will enjoy our day there. Do they have just the one train?
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No mate quite a few but there maybe only the one train working on that particular day.:)

Plenty to see if you walk around mate..:wave:

ingrow.jpg
 
looks great m8, cant wait.
 
Venomator said:
P'raps you should use it to blow the dust off your new av CT ... :lol:
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Be careful you might find your av being changed for the gimp.:naughty: :D
 
ASH said:
Be careful you might find your av being changed for the gimp.:naughty: :D
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I was gonna use him but I couldn't find a decent pic. :D
 
Arkady said:
I get mine issued (smug)...:D
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In that case you should share them out among our members..:thumbs:
 
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