SpeckGrabber

Michael_Shannon · Mar 18, 2004

I tried the SpeckGrabber last night for the first time on my 10D. I have to say, it wasn't worth the effort. It would only pick up a few of the specks stuck to the sensor. The rest would not budge. Worse yet, after you've picked up one speck, you basically need to wash the tip, wait for it to dry, and then try for another speck. Otherwise, you risk re-depositing the speck somewhere else. Very time consuming. Good thing it only cost $3 (US).

RichW · Mar 18, 2004

and of course it is only good for a speck. What about grime, air pollution, or any deposit that your sensor will accumulate over time. You need a solvent like eclipse fluid to do the job.

Rich

Michael_Shannon said:
I tried the SpeckGrabber last night for the first time on my 10D.
I have to say, it wasn't worth the effort. It would only pick up a
few of the specks stuck to the sensor. The rest would not budge.
Worse yet, after you've picked up one speck, you basically need to
wash the tip, wait for it to dry, and then try for another speck.
Otherwise, you risk re-depositing the speck somewhere else. Very
time consuming. Good thing it only cost $3 (US).

Ken Phares · Mar 18, 2004

It left junk on my sensor that I had to have cleaned by a repair shop in town.

$10 for spec grabber and $75 to clean camera

mike bustad · Mar 18, 2004

Michael_Shannon said:
I tried the SpeckGrabber last night for the first time on my 10D.
I have to say, it wasn't worth the effort. It would only pick up a
few of the specks stuck to the sensor. The rest would not budge.
Worse yet, after you've picked up one speck, you basically need to
wash the tip, wait for it to dry, and then try for another speck.
Otherwise, you risk re-depositing the speck somewhere else. Very
time consuming. Good thing it only cost $3 (US).

--and I come to the same conclusion ad you it actually made me more nervous than using the padsa and fluid. To me it is a piece of junk and I am sorry I bought it. Another worry about the SpeckGrabber and I have read this here is that you run the chance of smearing the speck if it is not actaully a piece of dust. Sometimes the speck is like a glue and can be smeared.

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Michael_Shannon · Mar 18, 2004

Oh, yeah, it left a huge smear on the sensor. Eclipse fluid has been ordered.

mike bustad said:
Michael_Shannon said:

I tried the SpeckGrabber last night for the first time on my 10D.
I have to say, it wasn't worth the effort. It would only pick up a
few of the specks stuck to the sensor. The rest would not budge.
Worse yet, after you've picked up one speck, you basically need to
wash the tip, wait for it to dry, and then try for another speck.
Otherwise, you risk re-depositing the speck somewhere else. Very
time consuming. Good thing it only cost $3 (US).

Click to expand...

--and I come to the same conclusion ad you it actually made me more
nervous than using the padsa and fluid. To me it is a piece of junk
and I am sorry I bought it. Another worry about the SpeckGrabber
and I have read this here is that you run the chance of smearing
the speck if it is not actaully a piece of dust. Sometimes the
speck is like a glue and can be smeared.

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

mike bustad · Mar 18, 2004

make sure you read the directions and follow them closely it is a breeze using the PecPads and the Eclipse. If you have sen the instructions in the forum you know that you make one pass then the other way, if you require more cleaning make sure you use a new pad and not reuse the the pad you just used. Use the same amount of pressure when swiping as you would while using a pencil. Good luck

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

nearlyfocused · Mar 18, 2004

What are PecPads and Eclipse fluid and where can I get them???

mike bustad said:
make sure you read the directions and follow them closely it is a
breeze using the PecPads and the Eclipse. If you have sen the
instructions in the forum you know that you make one pass then the
other way, if you require more cleaning make sure you use a new pad
and not reuse the the pad you just used. Use the same amount of
pressure when swiping as you would while using a pencil. Good luck

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

David Scheffler · Mar 18, 2004

I had the same thing happen. I was lucky to have PecPads and Eclipse fluid on hand to clean up the smudges, but the specgrabber did more harm than good. It's a good tool for in the field shooting when no other option works, but I wouldn't recommend it as a regular cleaner.

Ken Phares said:
It left junk on my sensor that I had to have cleaned by a repair
shop in town.

$10 for spec grabber and $75 to clean camera

--
David
San Antonio area - TX
http://www.atvoutdoors.net (my other hobby)

mike bustad · Mar 18, 2004

nearlyfocused said:
mike bustad said:

make sure you read the directions and follow them closely it is a
breeze using the PecPads and the Eclipse. If you have sen the
instructions in the forum you know that you make one pass then the
other way, if you require more cleaning make sure you use a new pad
and not reuse the the pad you just used. Use the same amount of
pressure when swiping as you would while using a pencil. Good luck

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

--I hope this works http://www.micro-tools.com do a search using these numbers. PSI-1 this is for the PecPads and the Eclipse is # PSI-3-F You get 100 pec pads and one bottle of Eclipse fluid.

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Jeff Peterman · Mar 18, 2004

I had a big blob visible in the viewfinder but absent in all images. Looking around, I found it was a piece of something stuck to the focusing screen. I didn't want to blow it out, in case it ended up inside the camera, and it was obviously a particle of some sort so a Pec Pad may have scratched the screen. I bought a SpeckGrabber and it worked perfectly, sticking to the blob (lint?) and not leaving any residue behind.

Jeff

--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.

John Lehmkuhl · Mar 18, 2004

Did a very stupid thing last year and would clean my sensor with the camera in long exposure taking a picture. DON'T DO THIS !! Use the clean sensor option !! I had SpeckGrabber on the sensor when the sutter went back up - damaging the shutter. Had to send 10D to Canon in Irvine and pay a 250.00 bill for a new sensor.

A rubber blower works the best for me. I'm afraid to try to clean the sensor. Once you screw up the sensor dirt, it's hard to get it clean again.

-John Lehmkuhl
--
*********************************************************
Los Angeles Canon digital SLR Group -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lacdg/
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chibimike · Mar 18, 2004

John Lehmkuhl said:
A rubber blower works the best for me. I'm afraid to try to clean
the sensor. Once you screw up the sensor dirt, it's hard to get it
clean again.

-John Lehmkuhl

I can certainly understand your reluctance to touch the sensor after your experience, but it is really quite easy, just make sure your battery is fully charged.

I recently did the spatula/pecpad/eclipse cleaning after putting it off for a long time. I had about 30 spots. I also apparently had some lubricant from another part of the camera. I dropped my 10d in London and had what appeared to be a sensor scratch. It was strangely shaped and had a prismatic affect on light. Could not blow it off using my rocket. Was certain it was a scratch.

Cut and sanded down a spatula that I had in my kitchen. Put a pecpad on it. Secured the pecpad with an elastic ponytail holder. Put on eclipse and wiped. Repeat that 3x and down to a few very minor dust spots. Best part is the "scratch" came off, so my theorey is that it was lubricant from somewhere else.

Contemplated and planned for hours, completed in 5 minutes.

mike

AJ Wilkinson · Mar 18, 2004

chibimike said:
John Lehmkuhl said:

A rubber blower works the best for me. I'm afraid to try to clean
the sensor. Once you screw up the sensor dirt, it's hard to get it
clean again.

-John Lehmkuhl

Click to expand...

I can certainly understand your reluctance to touch the sensor
after your experience, but it is really quite easy, just make sure
your battery is fully charged.

I recently did the spatula/pecpad/eclipse cleaning after putting it
off for a long time. I had about 30 spots. I also apparently had
some lubricant from another part of the camera. I dropped my 10d
in London and had what appeared to be a sensor scratch. It was
strangely shaped and had a prismatic affect on light. Could not
blow it off using my rocket. Was certain it was a scratch.

Cut and sanded down a spatula that I had in my kitchen. Put a
pecpad on it. Secured the pecpad with an elastic ponytail holder.
Put on eclipse and wiped. Repeat that 3x and down to a few very
minor dust spots. Best part is the "scratch" came off, so my
theorey is that it was lubricant from somewhere else.

Contemplated and planned for hours, completed in 5 minutes.

mike

Or try a look at this web site. Even has an order form for the tool it describes.

This is by far the best description I have seen for the PEC Pad, Eclipse & Squeege cleaning process. It is still a delacate instrument.

Jess

chibimike · Mar 19, 2004

AJ Wilkinson said:
Or try a look at this web site. Even has an order form for the tool
it describes.

This is by far the best description I have seen for the PEC Pad,
Eclipse & Squeege cleaning process. It is still a delacate
instrument.

Jess

Couldn't wait to buy one from them, so cut and sanded my own. I just use an elastic ponytail holder to hold the pecpad on instead of his tape method. Much quicker.

mike

Michael_Shannon · Mar 19, 2004

The PEC*PADs and Eclipse solution came in the mail today. Wow! It was so easy to clean the sensor. Wish I had ordered this stuff sooner.

Michael

chibimike said:
AJ Wilkinson said:

Or try a look at this web site. Even has an order form for the tool
it describes.

This is by far the best description I have seen for the PEC Pad,
Eclipse & Squeege cleaning process. It is still a delacate
instrument.

Jess

Click to expand...

Couldn't wait to buy one from them, so cut and sanded my own. I
just use an elastic ponytail holder to hold the pecpad on instead
of his tape method. Much quicker.

mike

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SpeckGrabber

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