how do you use a rocket blower effectivly?

Matt Sayle

Matt Sayle

2017MSA Young Photographer of the Year(Motorsport)
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Matt Sayle
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I tried to clean my sensor and it didnt work. How do I do it so it does? Do I have to do it for ages? Is there a specail way?

Thanks
Matt
 
i do beleive there is a guide on here somewhere,
Basically i take a picture of something white, and then blow the hell out of the mirror/sensor etc until it goes.
Works for me, but probally not the correct way.
 
if your cam has it use mirror lock up (failing that stick it on "bulb")

hold cam upside down and blow lol

try a couple of blows and see how it turns out (take a pic of a white wall/ceiling at F22) and see if any marks, take a pic before hand and compare.

if it is the same you may need a sensor clean, if the dust moves try again
 
I stick my camera on my tripod and angle the lens mount downwards, so any loose stuff that gets disturbed will hopefully drop out due to gravity. I then hold the red nozzle of the rocket blower in my left hand and, bracing my hand against the camera body, place the nozzle very close to the sensor without actually touching it. Then I puff like it's going out of fashion with my right hand. I guess I give it about a dozen seriously hefty puffs and that really should take care of anything that will ever puff away.

I verify success or failure by photographing a clear patch of sky - pure grey cloud is as effective as plain blue sky - at f/22. If it's still not clean the chances are that you will need to do a wet clean. FWIW I have only had to wet clean my 30D once in over two years of ownership and my 40D never in the 14 months that I've had it.
 
yeah I pointed at sensor and squeezed for 10 minutes and here are the two before and after.

Beofre

IMG_5433.jpg


After
IMG_5436.jpg


Nothing has changed!?!?!?!
 
A rocket blower will only move loose non attached crud, any 'marks' on the sensor will require a sensor clean (pads/fluid/pen etc)
 
Matt Sayle said:
Will a lens pen do the job or not?
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I wouldn't advise it. Apart from the risk of grinding a bit of grit into the sensor, lens pens are loaded with carbon granules and will surely leave even more crap on your sensor. A small scratch on the front optic of your lens will probably never show up, since it is nowhere near the focal plane, but if you scratch your sensor (OK, the glass in front of it), exactly where the image is focused, then you will have an expensive repair to arrange. In my immensely limited experience you are best off using a clean Pec-Pad with a sensor swab and some Eclipse(2) fluid as appropriate for your camera.
 
I don't use one.
These things suck in debris from the air and blow it all over the sensor. :(

I use a kinetronics speckgrabber for stubborn particles, and sensor swab with eclipse fluid for whole sensor clean.:thumbs:
 
petemc said:
I think the name gives you the answer. Ask Janice for tips.
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Im sure I dont know what you mean!! ;)

Anyway, I used a sensor swab and eclipse fluid. (just a bit too hard thats all!) :D :lol:
 
Looking at those before and after pictures, if the pictures were taken at a small aperture, the marks look too big to be dust to me. :suspect: They could be liquid (condensation) which has dried. I've used a Rocket Air blower for a couple of years and it has always worked.

Technique, er has as been said, put camera on mirror lock up (on a full battery charge of course ;)) and then blow has hard as you can make the thing blow, I find two hands works the best to force the air out, and do it at different angles.

However the marks on my camera last week looked like small doughnuts which I knew the Rocket Air had no chance of moving as they looked like quite large drops of liquid which had dried on the sensor. I was forced to get the Sensor Swabs. How successful that was is another story. :bonk::lol:
 
I have an Artic butterfly SL700, which i've never actually used yet not needed too, i got it free with a magazine subscrption, but you can buy them HERE
 
the method i use:- and this seemes to work on stuck on marks as well


First. take a picture of a blue sky.
put the image in photoshop (or similair) and de saturate
that will show up any marks very very well.

Now, go to your bathroom, close windows etc. and run your hot taps for a botu 10 minutes (or as long as it takes to get some steam going)

turn taps off, and give the steam a few mintues to drop

but camera on a tripod, facing the floor.

remove lens

blow the rocket blower twice to remove any dirt.
lock mirror up.

point nozle at the sensor, and press twice.

wait a few seconds and do the same again.

put lens back on, go outside take another sky shot and look again.

I have done this twice with "stuck on dirt" and both times it has worked, and saved a scary moment with a sensor swab
 
Personally I'd be very careful with the "steam" room approach. The idea with filling the room with steam (water droplets, actually - steam is the invisible *gas* state of water above boiling point) is that it scrubs the air in the room of any dust, which falls to the floor as the droplets settle. That is certainly well and good in principle.

However, a word of caution - if your camera is cooler than the air in the bathroom you may well find (even slight) condensation forming on your camera. On the outside of the body that will do no harm. But if you remove the lens and expose the sensor you then run the risk of having water droplets condense on your sensor. There, they will mix with any dust that is present and potentially create a nice sticky porridge that will be far harder to remove than the original dry dust. I don't speak from experience here, just instinct and my idea of common sense.

I just do my sensor cleaning in the dining room, which is closed off (doors and windows) most of the time as it gets very little use. There is therefore pretty much no airborne dust in that room.
 
tdodd said:
Personally I'd be very careful with the "steam" room approach. The idea with filling the room with steam (water droplets, actually - steam is the invisible *gas* state of water above boiling point) is that it scrubs the air in the room of any dust, which falls to the floor as the droplets settle. That is certainly well and good in principle.

However, a word of caution - if your camera is cooler than the air in the bathroom you may well find (even slight) condensation forming on your camera. On the outside of the body that will do no harm. But if you remove the lens and expose the sensor you then run the risk of having water droplets condense on your sensor. There, they will mix with any dust that is present and potentially create a nice sticky porridge that will be far harder to remove than the original dry dust. I don't speak from experience here, just instinct and my idea of common sense.

I just do my sensor cleaning in the dining room, which is closed off (doors and windows) most of the time as it gets very little use. There is therefore pretty much no airborne dust in that room.
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thats why i leave it for a couple of minutes after turning the taps off.

My bathroom certainly doesent "fill" with steam, but if yours does, probably a good idea to leave it longer.

I have done this twice, with godo results, and I personaly know a few other people who have done it.

BUT yeah you do need to use some common sense, there is always a certain risk with any cleaning method, nothing is completely fool proof, but I will say I have heard of a lot of people doing more harm than godo with sensor swabs and even more with artic butterfly style things (static electrcity onto a sensor - not a good idea)
 
dizzledazzle said:
Good point!

Im going to invest in both a rocket blower and some sensor wipes first, it wasnt really a problem until i was shooting at F22, now i know the dirt is there, i can see it in all my pics!

:(
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It is amazing that once you see the marks on the sensor in one your pics, you can not believe how you did not see them before, and how obvious they now become too. :( :lol:
 
Ive stopped using a rocket blower - I find it a waste of time as it only ever got about 50% of the dust off. I use them 99.9% dirt free/wont fall apart tissue things that photography sites sell and I wrap it loosely around the dull end of a pen (so that the sharp bit doesnt poke through) and just do some nice wipes up and down. This is the most effective I've found. Many here probably will flame me for doing it but as long as you dont rush and dont apply too much pressure you should be fine.

Regards, James
 
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