SENSOR

Arctic Butterfly... Perfectly clean sensor after one or two swipes and I had a very dusty sensor last week.

I do all this apart from the turning the camera off but, which I often forget.

I realise that not turning it off means that if the new lens can't communicate the focal length itself, the camera won't ask you for SR purposes, but why has turning if off got anything to do with dust?

I have an Arctic butterfly - that is what i used the one time I cleaned it. But i don't need to do it all that often.

I would have thought the K10d needed less cleaning than the Ds due to it's sensor cleaning ability but it seems that that is not the case?

It may be that the fluorine compound they coat it with makes the dust stick less well, so although the shaker isn't brilliant, it shifts more easily with a blower.

The CCD is a Charge Coupled Device, in other words it carries an electrical charge when switched on. Electrically charged objects attract dust. This is why it's important to switch it off when changing lenses.

Semsor?

Is Pete writing this?

Semsor indeed....I wonder if I can spell CCD correctly?

THANKS FOR THE HELP IT MUST BE CHEAPER TO DO IT YOUR SELF

Yes, and it is not difficult. I use SensorClean from http://www.visibledust.com/products.php Bit scary the first time, just make sure you have a fully charged battery or are using the mains adapter when you start.


(P.S. typing in all capitals makes it look like you are shouting )

Another small thing, it seems that your keyboard needs cleaning as well. Your Caps Lock key seems to be stuck.

I have now has a chance to check the CCD at f22 against a bright sky and indeed there are about half a dozen dust spots, quite small but visible.

It doesn't worry me too much because if I cleaned them off I'm sure there would be six more before long. It's considerably better than the amount of dust on the average 35mm negative, or the scratches for that matter. And it uis very easy to clone them out. No more spotting prints.

However, also I tend not to photograph bright skies at f22 so they don't normally show.

Interesting though.

Half a dozen's still good! Mine's (the *istD, not the K10D) been filthy in the past, but it's worth bearing in mind if you're ever in the situation where you're shooting at small apertures with a plain coloured background - give the sensor a quick blast with a rocket blower beforehand, otherwise you may end up cloning spots from lots of shots.

The K10D certainly seems a lot less prone to dust so far.

Dan

Has anyone seen or used the Pentax sensor cleaning kit?

I'm comfortable with the old wet wipe system (although I need to get the new fluid safe for the K10D sensor), but the Pentax kit looks a bit unusual.

So far I have only one small spot that won't blow off, even with the Rocket Blower. I'm not going to clean for one spot, as I usually end up dropping another two in its place whenever I try to get that very last one.

But at some point I may need to do a more thorough cleaning. Just wondering if anyone has opinions on whether I should get the new Eclipse2 fluid or the Pentax sensor cleaning kit.

It may come as no surprise that when I do eventually have to clean the sensor, it will be the Pentax kit I will be buying.

Really?

Dan