# Who sells sensor cleaning equipment?



## MBasile (Jul 20, 2009)

Has anyone seen sensor cleaning kits in any retail stores? Best Buy, Wolf/Ritz Camera, and Target don't carry ANYTHING to clean sensors.

Thank you big box chain stores for driving out independent stores and then fail to carry necessary equipment!


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## UUilliam (Jul 20, 2009)

Buy online!! its what i do tbh...
just search Arctic Butterfly on Amazon and buy one of their kits.


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## MBasile (Jul 20, 2009)

UUilliam said:


> Buy online!! its what i do tbh...
> just search Arctic Butterfly on Amazon and buy one of their kits.



I would like it ASAP, which is why I am avoiding online.

I also avoid amazon at all costs because they screw the states out of tax dollars, which takes money away from schools and emergency services (fire, police, EMT).

California tried to make amazon pay taxes because they have associates/subsidiaries in the state so technically should be paying taxes and Amazon threatened to take all their business out of the state, so CA backed down.
[/rant]


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## UUilliam (Jul 20, 2009)

oh...
Well i have had nothing but good experiences from amazon i recently signed up to a Trial of their Premium Delivery service in which means i receive all my items within 1 - 2 working days from the date of purchase
(i ordered my manfrotto Monopod with a 482 RC2 mini Ball head and Canon 450D Camera armour.. which i was pretty dissapointed with tbh.. the button holes are miss-aligned - yes i am using a 450D, it isn't terribly mis-aligned but it makes pushing buttons harder... i expected it to be hard plastic or thick rubber.. not thin flimsy rubber that costs about £5 maximum to make...) at around 1 - 3 pm GMT, it arrived at my door the next day at 10am and the second parcel at 1pm


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## KmH (Jul 20, 2009)

MBasile said:


> UUilliam said:
> 
> 
> > Buy online!! its what i do tbh...
> ...


Wow, thanks for protecting all the good people of California. :thumbup: 

I guess your best option is to go out and jump in the car and go shopping at places where they sell camera gear, since it's an ASAP deal.


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## MBasile (Jul 20, 2009)

KmH said:


> MBasile said:
> 
> 
> > UUilliam said:
> ...



I finally found a camera store listing that was still in business! 

They had an awesome kit with swabs, solution, and wipes for lens and sensor cleaning for $25.


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## UUilliam (Jul 20, 2009)

MBasile said:


> I finally found a camera store listing that was still in business!
> 
> They had an awesome kit with swabs, solution, and wipes for lens and sensor cleaning for $25.



The only thing about the swabs are: you have to keep buying new ones every 6 month or so (based on a pack of 12) whereas a sensor brush, you can keep for about 2 - 3 years if not longer


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## farmerj (Jul 20, 2009)

I use these.  Picked them up in the local Ritz mall outlet.
Wet & Dry: GREEN CLEAN for fine technics


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## MBasile (Jul 20, 2009)

UUilliam said:


> MBasile said:
> 
> 
> > I finally found a camera store listing that was still in business!
> ...



but aren't you supposed to use a blower to "recharge" the brush every time you use it?


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## UUilliam (Jul 20, 2009)

nope, the Arctic butterfly brush can spin (thus the name Butterfly) Which cleans the dust off the brush and recharges it
I personally (i know i know bad idea but it worked!!) used normal cotton buds and a pair of latex gloves to clean my sensor

Reason for doing that: i has a lens pen which i had been using to clean my sensor then i decided to try using LENS CLEANER solution on the mirror and the sensor... bad idea!!
It stained on my sensor and mirror (however it wasn't visible on my images but i didn't want to risk anything) so i tried using a hair drier to dry the solution out.. never worked.. try leaving it for 10 -20 mins.. never worked...
then i decided to pull the head off the cotton bud / Cue tip off and roll it across the sensor, which took the solution right off, however it left some strands of cotton on my sensor and on my mirror, i used my rocket blower to try get rid of them but i couldn't so i just manually picked most of them off (using my +10 MACRO frilter to magnify the strands) with a pair of latex gloves on

here is an image i took about 30 mins after this: Squinty Bridge HR version by ~uuilliam on deviantART (thats straight out of the camera)


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## MBasile (Jul 21, 2009)

Well turns out buying the same kit I bought locally from Adorama would have saved me less than $1 after the cheapest shipping option, and would take up to a week to arrive.

So you say brushes get replaced every two to three years? The arctic butterfly is $259 for adorama. I'd rather see how far the swabs will last and put that extra money towards better glass


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## UUilliam (Jul 22, 2009)

which one did you buy? you dont need to buy the WHOLE thing you just buy new heads...
Amazon.com: Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly SL 700 Kit, Rotary Motion Fiber Cleaning Brush for entry Level DSLR Cameras - with Leather Carry Case: Electronics
atm is only $60.. (brush + head only)
Im guessing you bought the LED Magnify disk and the solution and the arctic buttrfly which a bunch of heads (about 3 extras)?


The brush is really for light cleaning, you should always have a pack of swabs and solution too just incase you get any heavy dirt but for most cases it should require only the brush, doing it this method (depending how you shoot and where.) your swabs can last about 36 months / 3 years (based on a 6 month clean using 2 swabs per clean) instead of the regular 6 months (based on one clean per month)


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## Jaszek (Jul 22, 2009)

First of all, did you try a rocket blower? 80% of dirty sensors can be cleaned with a rocket blower (and 99% of statistics are made up on the spot ). No but seriously, try using a rocket blower. Also DO NOT USED COMPRESSED AIR either from a can or a compressor. It will damage you sensor with the chemicals/oils in those. Also One day I got annoyed and bought sensor cleaning pads. Didnt have enough money for sensor cleaning liquid so I went to my local Rite Aid and boud Isopropyl Alcohol (I think, its 99% alcohol). Worked like a charm with the swabs I had. I was hesitant at first but not I use it once in a while.


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## UUilliam (Jul 24, 2009)

I emailed VisibleDust and asked how often to replace the head of the brush, their reply:

Hi William,

No need to replace just wash it off with iso alcohol or brush wash
People are using them for the last 5 years without replacing.

If you have any other concerns, please let us know. 

Best Regards,
Tech Support Team
VisibleDust

therefore the brush will last you a good long while, but id get the swabs too
and do a clean with the swabs every 3 - 6 months


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## rozer2013 (Jul 23, 2011)

yes sir its wright. i am agree its with your opinion. its really appreciated.

floor scrubbers


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