Help! I have killed my ccd!

Sean,
So with a PECO pad and a little rubbing those treaks should come out? I will try this.
The reason to send it to Epson I believe is to get it fixed if there is a problem while it is still in warranty and for them to fix anything else that has come to their attenion since my camera was manufactured.
Thanks,
Chris

Sean Reid said:
I can't say without seeing the glass but sometimes what look like scratches are just lines of slight residue from the cleaning fluid after its been wiped with the swab. One often sees lines like that after cleaning a lens or rangefinder window until they're carefully buffed out with a Pec Pad or the like.

It's up to you but I wouldn't bother sending it to Epson unless you notice some kind of deterioration in the picture quality from this. I think its more likely to be residue than a scratch.

Cheers,

Sean
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Hi Chris,

If you're not seeing any degradation in your file quality I wouldn't do a thing about it. Again, I haven't seen it but I'll bet they aren't actual scratches. But...if you try too hard to clean it then it could get scratched if some little particle gets between the pec pad and the glass.

So...if it were mine I'd leave it be for now and then clean it with "sensor brush" (or whatever that new thing is called) only when needed. If everything works fine, I wouldn't send the camera anywhere. Remember that the real experts on this camera are in Japan.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Sean,
I did a little experiment tonight. I shoot at iso400 at f/2 and f/16 on a 28mm lens. At F/2 no spots. At F/16 spots. I cleaned the camera again and the spots are still there. I guess it is off to Epson.
 
Dust spots or the streaks? If it's the spots, buy that special sensor brush. Michael Reichman said it works and that's all I need to know.

Sean
 
jlw said:
No, go buy a locking cable release!
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LOL! Actually, I have one. My point was that there is no mode like the Canon EOS 20D that you can switch on and essentially leave almost nothing to chance (like the cable lock getting loose and closing the shutter).

I'd rather have my thumb on it so I know it's firmly gripped. But as long as you know your cable release is 100% tightened and reliable, it's probably much better than the human hand.

Now, if I could just splurge on a nice clamp-mounted ballhead that I could place on my desk so I could keep both hands free and not have to worry about holding my cameras, I'd probably do a better job cleaning 'em.

Ken
 
Well I received my R-D1 back from Indiana today and they replaced the camera. They indeed said that the ccd was scratched and they gave me a whole new unit sealed in box. I am going to check it out this evening. At least I get a backup battery. The serial number on it is 00193X and the one I had previously is 00175X. Does anybody have serial numbers higher?
Thanks,
Chris
 
Glad to hear they did that so quickly... Nice that they gave you a new one rather than making you deal with the repair process.

Ken

driggett said:
Well I received my R-D1 back from Indiana today and they replaced the camera. They indeed said that the ccd was scratched and they gave me a whole new unit sealed in box. I am going to check it out this evening. At least I get a backup battery. The serial number on it is 00193X and the one I had previously is 00175X. Does anybody have serial numbers higher?
Thanks,
Chris
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That's been Epson's solution to everything so far for any problems with the R-D1, replacement. I don't think they even have the resources to fix anything for this camera outside of Japan.
 
Epson took responsibility for the scratches on the glass cover? They're very generous in defining a warranty replacement aren't they? <G> I still suspect that the cover isn't scratched but its impossible to say without seeing the camera. They certainly took good care of you (all things considered).

Enjoy the new camera.

Sean
 
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Sean,
I hope that it was scratches otherwise this means that they do not know how to clean a ccd which will be disatrous in the future!
Thanks,
Chris
 
They're really taking care of us if they replace a camera under these circumstances. If the glass cover really did get scratched, it got scratched during cleaning (and I still doubt that it was scratched).

A) I suspect that what they saw were residue marks from the pec pad, not scratches.

B) If they told you the CCD was scratched, they're not too clear on the construction of their own camera. The CCD is not accessible from that chamber. One would need to take the camera apart to reach it.

C) If the glass really did get scratched, it wasn't Epson's fault.

You came out great.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Odds are quite good that they had no idea what they were looking at or doing. That, in itself, isn't disatrous. Cleaning a sensor cover isn't that complicated especially if one fights the temptation to use fluids. In the five years that I've been using DSLRs, I've never had a sensor cleaned by a manufacturer nor would I want them mucking around with my camera.

Cheers,

Sean
 
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Sean,
I have been cleaning out my own sensors for 5 years also since I purchased the Nikon D1 in all that time all I had to do was blow out the dust. I never really had to use a swab. Now with the R-D1 I had first tried the bulb blower and that did not get it so that is why I used the swap. Ther was no fluids initially. Could there be a thin film on the ccd cover initially and AI just swabed it off revealing the imperfections in the ccd?
Thanks,
Chris
 
Without seeing the camera I couldn't say but I believe its just traces of residue from the cleaning fluid (left by the texture of the pads). You didn't really rub it hard enough to scratch it did you? I'll bet you were pretty gentle and didn't hurt it at all. There would have needed to be grit between the pad and the glass.

Epson USA seems to be replacing cameras at the drop of a hat. I wish they'd just work with Stephen Gandy for proper camera support but I've told them that already. As I said though, it worked out well for you so that's a good thing.

As far as revealing imperfections in the CCD, keep in mind that we don't clean the CCD. It's buried behind an AA filter and often another protective glass cover as well. We clean the outermost piece of glass that covers the CCD, AA filter, etc.. But no....I doubt that this was a case of revealing imperfections. Lens elements and filters with residue can look scratched as well.

For future cleaning, I strongly recommend that sensor brush.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Sean,
When I say ccd I mean the whole unit including the cover and various filters.

I bought the sensor brush upon your recomendation and the chamber clean. Let's hope that the first time I have to use it will be in a long time.

I was pretty careful but what I did was swept accross the ccd with a new out of the wrapper sensor swap by Photographic solutions and voila. The scratches appeared. I freaked! I then later used the solution on the sensor swabs and the solution seem to gunk around the scratches.

Again thanks for all your help.

Cheers,
Chris
 
You're very welcome. The nice thing with using the sensor brush is that its a dry system so there's not the same problem with residue etc.. Hope it works well for you.

Best,

Sean
 
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