Helge
Newbie
Hello to you all
I am a new meber and first time poster here at the Forum. By the way a great place to learn form the collective expereince that you all have so thanks to you all.
I am looking at purchasing a M8 this week. But after attending the Leica class resently here in Seattle and having tried cameras at two local stores I am questioning my purchase. As the header of this post states it is all about the dust. So far I have tested 3 bodies and taking pictures on lowest f stop towards a blue sky they all had lots of dust. I have done the same test with my Canon dslr cameras and they are not close to that dirty.
On the Leica seminar I were told to not blow on the sensor so my question to you guys, is this a big issue and how do you clean your sensor?
Thanks for any feedback.
Sincerely Helge Pedersen
I am a new meber and first time poster here at the Forum. By the way a great place to learn form the collective expereince that you all have so thanks to you all.
I am looking at purchasing a M8 this week. But after attending the Leica class resently here in Seattle and having tried cameras at two local stores I am questioning my purchase. As the header of this post states it is all about the dust. So far I have tested 3 bodies and taking pictures on lowest f stop towards a blue sky they all had lots of dust. I have done the same test with my Canon dslr cameras and they are not close to that dirty.
On the Leica seminar I were told to not blow on the sensor so my question to you guys, is this a big issue and how do you clean your sensor?
Thanks for any feedback.
Sincerely Helge Pedersen
nrb
Nuno Borges
I'd love to hear an answer to this question too.
Ash
Selflessly Self-involved
I bought an Oompa Loompa along with the M8. He cleans it for me.
rsl
Russell
Helge, Check out http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com.
Joe Mondello
Resu Deretsiger
From what I understand those tough spots are GREASE not dust which means a wet cleaning is in order.
rsl
Russell
Joe Mondello said:
Joe, Better be a damp cleaning instead of a wet cleaning.
john_nyc
Established
My sensor was kinda grimy out of the box, so I gave it a wet cleaning with a couple of drops of Eclipse on a Type 1 Sensor Swab (Photographic Solutions products).
Since then I've been using a Visible Dust Sensor Brush kit for maintenance cleanings.
It needed dry cleanings a couple of times within the first few days, but it's stayed clean ever since. I was thinking that was possibly because there was a tiny bit of debris shed by the shutter mechanism while it was breaking in.
I had tried the Visible Dust liquid on a previous digital but to me it seemed like it left a small amount of residue (or it just didn't dry quickly). The Eclipse liquid evaporates almost instantly leaving nothing behind.
Since then I've been using a Visible Dust Sensor Brush kit for maintenance cleanings.
It needed dry cleanings a couple of times within the first few days, but it's stayed clean ever since. I was thinking that was possibly because there was a tiny bit of debris shed by the shutter mechanism while it was breaking in.
I had tried the Visible Dust liquid on a previous digital but to me it seemed like it left a small amount of residue (or it just didn't dry quickly). The Eclipse liquid evaporates almost instantly leaving nothing behind.
Helge
Newbie
Dust on sensor
Thanks to everyone
At the seminar the "instructor" told that his practice was to just hold the camera up to his mouth and blow out any dust. The local Leica rep present tat the same event told us not to use any blower since that could damage the locking mechanism and or the protective filter over the sensor. He suggested a vacuum to deal with this.
I appreciate everyone's input and I will try and find my way to deal with this. Since I do not have a camera yet I have had no chance to see if Leica has specific instructions on removing dust and other pollution from the sensor.
Thanks.
Helge Pedersen
Thanks to everyone
At the seminar the "instructor" told that his practice was to just hold the camera up to his mouth and blow out any dust. The local Leica rep present tat the same event told us not to use any blower since that could damage the locking mechanism and or the protective filter over the sensor. He suggested a vacuum to deal with this.
I appreciate everyone's input and I will try and find my way to deal with this. Since I do not have a camera yet I have had no chance to see if Leica has specific instructions on removing dust and other pollution from the sensor.
Thanks.
Helge Pedersen
Maronati
Expose for the shadows
I have been using the Artic Butterfly brush very successfuly. I found no need to use the wet stuff yet.
jaapv
RFF Sponsoring Member.
No real problem.
1. dust hygiene, i.e never change lenses with the camera facing upwards
2. switch off before changing lenses
3. use blower from time to time never canned air.
4. remaining spots can be swabbed. I timed myself yesterday, less than two minutes per camera. My Canon was a bit more as the sensor is less accesible
Upshot and verdict:
A bit more sensitive to dust than DSLR's, a new shutter may give some greasespots for the first couple of hundred exposures, after that none
No big deal and something not to worry about. Certainly no factor in a buying decision.
Btw blowing with the mouth seems rather idiotic.And that is putting it very mildly.
:bang: That is a sure way to get spittle spots on the sensor, which must be swabbed to get them off.
Vacuum systems don't work in actual practice.
Blowing the sensor with a bulb blower cannot harm the interior of the camera in any way, as long as one does not stupidly bang the mouth of the blower into sensitve spots.
Canned air can produce residue on the sensor which is very hard to remove, so that must be avoided, unless one is the lucky type that wins lotteries all the time.
There is a new rubber stamp system that seems to work.
Using adhesive tape (the things people think up ) leads to sticky glue on the sensor and grey hairs with the photographer.
The Giotto Rocket Blower and the Visible Dust line of products are the tools of choice.
Blowing the dust of the sensor is an issue that is vastly overblown.... (no apologies)
1. dust hygiene, i.e never change lenses with the camera facing upwards
2. switch off before changing lenses
3. use blower from time to time never canned air.
4. remaining spots can be swabbed. I timed myself yesterday, less than two minutes per camera. My Canon was a bit more as the sensor is less accesible
Upshot and verdict:
A bit more sensitive to dust than DSLR's, a new shutter may give some greasespots for the first couple of hundred exposures, after that none
No big deal and something not to worry about. Certainly no factor in a buying decision.
Btw blowing with the mouth seems rather idiotic.And that is putting it very mildly.
:bang: That is a sure way to get spittle spots on the sensor, which must be swabbed to get them off. Vacuum systems don't work in actual practice.
Blowing the sensor with a bulb blower cannot harm the interior of the camera in any way, as long as one does not stupidly bang the mouth of the blower into sensitve spots.
Canned air can produce residue on the sensor which is very hard to remove, so that must be avoided, unless one is the lucky type that wins lotteries all the time.
There is a new rubber stamp system that seems to work.
Using adhesive tape (the things people think up
) leads to sticky glue on the sensor and grey hairs with the photographer. The Giotto Rocket Blower and the Visible Dust line of products are the tools of choice.
Blowing the dust of the sensor is an issue that is vastly overblown.... (no apologies
)
Last edited:
Ben Z
Veteran
jaapv said:
Plus you no doubt have dried, filtered compressed air in your office not to mention high-intensity light and magnifying loupes. And there's always the Cavitron for those really tough stuck-on specks
jaapv
RFF Sponsoring Member.
Ben Z said:Plus you no doubt have dried, filtered compressed air in your office not to mention high-intensity light and magnifying loupes. And there's always the Cavitron for those really tough stuck-on specks
And if all else fails - we can always extract the sensor and replace it by film
Gilles L.
Member
Like John said, eclipse seems to be the right product for wet cleaning. There are many threads regarding M8 sensor cleaning on the LUF forum. Personally, i have been taking my cameras to a repair shop locally who cleans the sensor for $20 in 1hr. I do this every 2 or 3 months or as needed. Wet and dry cleaning is pretty expensive and I start everytime I get close to the sensor. So I might spend $100 on cleaning in a year, which is cheaper or equal to the cheapest cleaning solution out there.
Like JAAP said, turning off the camera before changing lens helps, and also keeping the body facing the ground also helps...
everytime I get close to the sensor. So I might spend $100 on cleaning in a year, which is cheaper or equal to the cheapest cleaning solution out there. Like JAAP said, turning off the camera before changing lens helps, and also keeping the body facing the ground also helps...
Helge
Newbie
Thank you to all of you for your feedbacks, opinions and humor, very nice.
I took the Leica M8 Digital Workshop, paid $280.00 to educate myself before spending $5000.00+ on a camera and lens.
I learned several things and most of all I could play with a camera all day and take pictures to my own SD card.
But when the instructor tells that he take his camera up to his mouth and blow to remove dust of the sensor glass and the Leica rep tells us that a rubber “rocket” blower is not good to use because it can damage the shutter leafs. At the time I did not know what to say, it all sounded pretty ridicules.
Two days ago I purchased a M8 and what do I see in bright red on the cover of the lens mount on the camera body? A big red warning sticker, “Attention: For sensor cleaning, please see instructions, p. 60/128”. Page 128 of the Leica Manual with the heading “Important: Do not attempt to blow dust particles off the sensor cover glass using your mouth; even tiny droplets of saliva can cause marks that are difficult to remove”. At a other place in the Manual on page 128 a rubber bellow is recommended to blow of dust from the glass of the sensor.
It is sad to see that a workshop can be that misleading. There were other issues, but we are discussing dust removing in this tread so I will stick to the dust. The camera I were given to use during this workshop had a very dirty sensor. The next two cameras I tested in two Seattle stores had equal dirty sensors and that was my reason to start this tread.
I am happy to say that after presenting my issue for David Swenson at Kenmore Camera he agreed to let me test different M8 bodies (they have 8 of them) to find one with clean sensor. Since I really wanted a chrome body we started with the only one that they had. It too had a little dust, but nothing a little blowing could take care of. That was it, I bought the camera and I am having a great time. Next week I am taking of to Ride the Silk Road from Istanbul to Xian for 53 days with motorcycle so that will be the ultimate test for the M8
Thanks again for everyone's input, I appreciate it and I am not as afraid of the dust issue as I were during and after the M8 Leica Workshop.
Helge Pedersen
I took the Leica M8 Digital Workshop, paid $280.00 to educate myself before spending $5000.00+ on a camera and lens.
I learned several things and most of all I could play with a camera all day and take pictures to my own SD card.
But when the instructor tells that he take his camera up to his mouth and blow to remove dust of the sensor glass and the Leica rep tells us that a rubber “rocket” blower is not good to use because it can damage the shutter leafs. At the time I did not know what to say, it all sounded pretty ridicules.
Two days ago I purchased a M8 and what do I see in bright red on the cover of the lens mount on the camera body? A big red warning sticker, “Attention: For sensor cleaning, please see instructions, p. 60/128”. Page 128 of the Leica Manual with the heading “Important: Do not attempt to blow dust particles off the sensor cover glass using your mouth; even tiny droplets of saliva can cause marks that are difficult to remove”. At a other place in the Manual on page 128 a rubber bellow is recommended to blow of dust from the glass of the sensor.
It is sad to see that a workshop can be that misleading. There were other issues, but we are discussing dust removing in this tread so I will stick to the dust. The camera I were given to use during this workshop had a very dirty sensor. The next two cameras I tested in two Seattle stores had equal dirty sensors and that was my reason to start this tread.
I am happy to say that after presenting my issue for David Swenson at Kenmore Camera he agreed to let me test different M8 bodies (they have 8 of them) to find one with clean sensor. Since I really wanted a chrome body we started with the only one that they had. It too had a little dust, but nothing a little blowing could take care of. That was it, I bought the camera and I am having a great time. Next week I am taking of to Ride the Silk Road from Istanbul to Xian for 53 days with motorcycle so that will be the ultimate test for the M8
Thanks again for everyone's input, I appreciate it and I am not as afraid of the dust issue as I were during and after the M8 Leica Workshop.
Helge Pedersen
john_nyc
Established
Helge-
Good luck on your journey and have fun!
We expect to see a link to your gallery when you return....
John
Good luck on your journey and have fun!
We expect to see a link to your gallery when you return....
John
Gilles L.
Member
That's a trip I definitely want to take one day; have fun! I also look forward to seeing some pictures! Watch for the dust out there! Best, Gilles
Helge
Newbie
You are all welcome to follow along on this trip and you can do it from the comfort of where you are sitting right now, in front of your computer. We will be posting pictures and stories as we go along. I even have a Transponder on my bike so that our caravan of bikes will be logged via satellites on a google map on our web page every hour as we are Riding towards Xian, China.
Give us a few days and the new web page under the menu called Live!Journal will start to take shape. http://www.globeriders.com
I travel with a Canon Eos 1Ds MKII and various lenses and now for the first time with my new M8 and a 28mm 2.8. I will however bee looking for used lenses as I travel. My 35mm 2.0 and 50mm 1.4 that I used with my M6 is in for service and coding. This way they will be ready for the next motorcycle tour that starts in September and goes to IndoChina, China, Tibet, Mt. Everest Base Camp, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, a 70 days journey.
These tours are usually a good test on equipment and Canon has been very good and I am hoping that Leica M8 will be good too.
Leaving for Istanbul in just a few hours.
Greetings Helge Pedersen
Give us a few days and the new web page under the menu called Live!Journal will start to take shape. http://www.globeriders.com
I travel with a Canon Eos 1Ds MKII and various lenses and now for the first time with my new M8 and a 28mm 2.8. I will however bee looking for used lenses as I travel. My 35mm 2.0 and 50mm 1.4 that I used with my M6 is in for service and coding. This way they will be ready for the next motorcycle tour that starts in September and goes to IndoChina, China, Tibet, Mt. Everest Base Camp, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, a 70 days journey.
These tours are usually a good test on equipment and Canon has been very good and I am hoping that Leica M8 will be good too.
Leaving for Istanbul in just a few hours.
Greetings Helge Pedersen