D100 CCD Cleaning - not a cakewalk !

Philly Wood · Jul 28, 2004

I have successfully cleaned 3 different Nikon DSLRs.

However I am always suprised by the 'lint' that seems to be on the pecpads. I once cleaned a CCD using a microfiber cloth and it seemed to work fine. I wonder if that would be a BETTER option than the pecpad.

PS: I did NOT cut the pec pad. (though pulling it out of the packaging twisted the square pec pad out of shape)

Bob Stothfang said:
Bob Stothfang said:

exact same thing.

Click to expand...

You forgot the part about not cleaned as well as you can do it
yourself.
I ordered my PecPads and Eclipse solution from the source given in
the CopperHill site, and it took at least a week to get to me
because the Eclipse solution is flammable and considered a
hazardous material and can't be shipped by air.

Bob

--
Philly http://phillywood.com An Amalgam of images.

Dave Chambers · Jul 29, 2004

Riki said:
Just wanted to caution first time CCD cleaners, it is not so easy
as it sounds. Even with the proper kit it took me several swabbings
and loads of stress before I could get the CCD in a 80% acceptable
state. Have finally decided to go to Nikon Service and let them
handle the dirty work. I panicked at one stage when after one
swabbing, I took some trial shots and found that in some places the
dust had disappeared but was replaced by fine luminous dots (the
kind you see in a defective LCD monitor)
This is really worrying as CCD cleaning is going to be a regular
feature and it is not possible to rush to Nikon every time.
DO you think in future someone will come up with a DSLR which
doesnt require CCD cleaning ???

Here in England we have a supplier with a product called Digi-pads, here's the link ...
http://www.digipad.co.uk/

They are not cheap, but they are very well made. Each spatula comes with the pad already attached and is sealed in an airtight sleave, having been packed in a dust-free environment. You only open the sleave when you are all set to clean, and then you discard it, never re-use them.

When I first got my D100, it already had quite a lot of dust on the sensor. I suspect the camera had been in the shop quite a while and been handled by several customers. Anyway, I just put three drops of the Eclipse fluid on the edge of the wipe, and applying enough pressure to just bend the spatula slightly, I drew it across the sensor once, flipped the spatula over and drew it across once more, in the same direction. It worked perfectly, every trace of dust was gone. That was last December, and I've not had to do it again since.

The handy thing is that the spatula size for the D100 is also the right size for my new D2H. Fortunately the D2H has exhibited no dust issues since I bought it 2 months ago, and I seem to recall reading that the D2H's LBCast sensor does not generate so much static charge so is less prone to attract dust in the first place (but of course that could just be horse feathers!)
--
Dave (Sgt. Pepper), Epsom, England.

Riki · Jul 29, 2004

Thanks for the information. Will check them out .

Dave Chambers said:
Riki said:

Just wanted to caution first time CCD cleaners, it is not so easy
as it sounds. Even with the proper kit it took me several swabbings
and loads of stress before I could get the CCD in a 80% acceptable
state. Have finally decided to go to Nikon Service and let them
handle the dirty work. I panicked at one stage when after one
swabbing, I took some trial shots and found that in some places the
dust had disappeared but was replaced by fine luminous dots (the
kind you see in a defective LCD monitor)
This is really worrying as CCD cleaning is going to be a regular
feature and it is not possible to rush to Nikon every time.
DO you think in future someone will come up with a DSLR which
doesnt require CCD cleaning ???

Click to expand...

Here in England we have a supplier with a product called Digi-pads,
here's the link ...
http://www.digipad.co.uk/

They are not cheap, but they are very well made. Each spatula
comes with the pad already attached and is sealed in an airtight
sleave, having been packed in a dust-free environment. You only
open the sleave when you are all set to clean, and then you discard
it, never re-use them.

When I first got my D100, it already had quite a lot of dust on the
sensor. I suspect the camera had been in the shop quite a while
and been handled by several customers. Anyway, I just put three
drops of the Eclipse fluid on the edge of the wipe, and applying
enough pressure to just bend the spatula slightly, I drew it across
the sensor once, flipped the spatula over and drew it across once
more, in the same direction. It worked perfectly, every trace of
dust was gone. That was last December, and I've not had to do it
again since.

The handy thing is that the spatula size for the D100 is also the
right size for my new D2H. Fortunately the D2H has exhibited no
dust issues since I bought it 2 months ago, and I seem to recall
reading that the D2H's LBCast sensor does not generate so much
static charge so is less prone to attract dust in the first place
(but of course that could just be horse feathers!)
--
Dave (Sgt. Pepper), Epsom, England.

Riki · Aug 4, 2004

Got it cleaned at Nikon Uk. They had to do it twice to get 100percent results.

I think it was the right decision for the moment until I get enough confidence to do it myself again.

Riki said:
Dave Chambers said:

Riki said:

Just wanted to caution first time CCD cleaners, it is not so easy
as it sounds. Even with the proper kit it took me several swabbings
and loads of stress before I could get the CCD in a 80% acceptable
state. Have finally decided to go to Nikon Service and let them
handle the dirty work. I panicked at one stage when after one
swabbing, I took some trial shots and found that in some places the
dust had disappeared but was replaced by fine luminous dots (the
kind you see in a defective LCD monitor)
This is really worrying as CCD cleaning is going to be a regular
feature and it is not possible to rush to Nikon every time.
DO you think in future someone will come up with a DSLR which
doesnt require CCD cleaning ???

Click to expand...

Here in England we have a supplier with a product called Digi-pads,
here's the link ...
http://www.digipad.co.uk/

They are not cheap, but they are very well made. Each spatula
comes with the pad already attached and is sealed in an airtight
sleave, having been packed in a dust-free environment. You only
open the sleave when you are all set to clean, and then you discard
it, never re-use them.

When I first got my D100, it already had quite a lot of dust on the
sensor. I suspect the camera had been in the shop quite a while
and been handled by several customers. Anyway, I just put three
drops of the Eclipse fluid on the edge of the wipe, and applying
enough pressure to just bend the spatula slightly, I drew it across
the sensor once, flipped the spatula over and drew it across once
more, in the same direction. It worked perfectly, every trace of
dust was gone. That was last December, and I've not had to do it
again since.

The handy thing is that the spatula size for the D100 is also the
right size for my new D2H. Fortunately the D2H has exhibited no
dust issues since I bought it 2 months ago, and I seem to recall
reading that the D2H's LBCast sensor does not generate so much
static charge so is less prone to attract dust in the first place
(but of course that could just be horse feathers!)
--
Dave (Sgt. Pepper), Epsom, England.

Click to expand...

b52 s · Sep 4, 2004

A few tips I want to share with my D100 cleaning (finally 100% clean).
1. Read the excellent articles that inspired the practice (thanks guys):

http://www.gregscott.com/ccd_clean/
http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm

2. Use the AC adapter -- it always takes longer when you are trying it for the first time.

3. After 12 attempts, I finally found that the best orientation was to clean the sensor with left to right swipes with the camera upside down (not facing down).

4. Use 2 spatulas, one for each pass. I could not get it clean by trying to use one spatula for both passes.

5. Don't get discouraged if you can't get it right the first few attempts. Relax and do it over several days.

6. A table lamp oriented to reflect on the sensor can easily show you if there are spots and streaks.

b52_s

Riki said:
Just wanted to caution first time CCD cleaners, it is not so easy
as it sounds. Even with the proper kit it took me several swabbings
and loads of stress before I could get the CCD in a 80% acceptable
state. Have finally decided to go to Nikon Service and let them
handle the dirty work. I panicked at one stage when after one
swabbing, I took some trial shots and found that in some places the
dust had disappeared but was replaced by fine luminous dots (the
kind you see in a defective LCD monitor)
This is really worrying as CCD cleaning is going to be a regular
feature and it is not possible to rush to Nikon every time.
DO you think in future someone will come up with a DSLR which
doesnt require CCD cleaning ???

JLR9 · Sep 4, 2004

Riki said:
Just wanted to caution first time CCD cleaners, it is not so easy
as it sounds. Even with the proper kit it took me several swabbings
and loads of stress before I could get the CCD in a 80% acceptable
state. Have finally decided to go to Nikon Service and let them
handle the dirty work. I panicked at one stage when after one
swabbing, I took some trial shots and found that in some places the
dust had disappeared but was replaced by fine luminous dots (the
kind you see in a defective LCD monitor)
This is really worrying as CCD cleaning is going to be a regular
feature and it is not possible to rush to Nikon every time.
DO you think in future someone will come up with a DSLR which
doesnt require CCD cleaning ???

Hi Riki, I share your concerns, it was a nightmare for me but I was using a cheap lens cleaner and you can see the awful results in the link to my gallery. I bought my D100 from my brother who couldn't live with the dust problem after paying a local firm £36 to clean his sensor. He was so depressed that he bought an Olympus E1 which vibrates on start up and he is now very happy with no dust. All E1 owners seem to share this view.

My sorry tale is with a Sigma SD9 but now I have the correct equipment the procedure holds no fears.

John. http://www.pbase.com/jlrsd9/sensor_dust

Ken Plotkin · Sep 4, 2004

b52 s said:
A few tips I want to share with my D100 cleaning (finally 100% clean).

[snip]

I spent last weekend with a photographer who is a mechanical designer at Kodak, worked on the 14N, and also worked with the folks who developed the Sensor Swab. His concern with swabbing is mechanical load on the sensor system - the anti-aliasing filter is located within microns. He thinks the flimsiness of the Sensor Swabs is a good thing, since that limits the pressure.

He cleans his D100 with canned air. He starts the air blowing, then holds the can still while moving the camera. Blows the mirror box out first, so he won't blow fresh dust onto the sensor.

My own cleaning experience with Nicholas's method was very positive. Got it almost spotless on the second try. I suspect that thinking about it for a year (took that long to get dust worth swabbing), then playing with Eclipse and a Pec Pad on a fliter helped a lot.

Ken Plotkin

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D100 CCD Cleaning - not a cakewalk !

Philly Wood

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Dave Chambers

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Riki

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