{"id":5116,"date":"2011-03-02T05:55:28","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T10:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2011-03-02T05:55:28","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T10:55:28","slug":"review-visible-dust-sensor-cleaning-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/5116\/review-visible-dust-sensor-cleaning-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Visible Dust Sensor Cleaning System"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nLet\u2019s face it, dust happens.
\nThe first step is to use an ounce of prevention. Minimize your equipment\u2019s exposure to dust during storage and use, as much as practical. (I store and transport all my gear in Ziploc plastic bags.)
\nThe second step is to remove dust from your camera\u2019s sensor.
\nTo protect themselves against carelessness of a minority of their clients, camera manufacturers claim to void warranties if you use third party cleaning solutions and recommend instead that you send the camera to them to be professionally cleaned. Even if you are not on a tight deadline or traveling in remote locations, this is often impractical. Initially, I was concerned about my ability to clean my camera\u2019s sensor without damaging it. Then I found that cleaning your camera\u2019s sensor is surprisingly easy and that you have to go to some length to actually damage a sensor. A little care and forethought is all that\u2019s required. (See cleaningdigitalcameras.com for more information.)
\nVisible Dust\u2019s (visibledust.com) Arctic Butterfly is my preferred sensor cleaning solution. Unlike many other solutions the Arctic Butterfly doesn\u2019t use fluids that may produce streaking on your sensor; instead, they use static electricity to attract the dust. Visible Dust has been making electrostatically charged brushes that won\u2019t damage your camera\u2019s sensor when you use them. The first brush solutions from Visible Dust used compressed air to create a static charge, which could be difficult to store and transport (impossible on airlines). The Artic Butterfly uses motion to create a static charge; the brush rotates at high speed. (The new units and their cases are far more durable than previous models.)
\nHow easy is it to use? Extremely. Simply remove the top of the Arctic Butterfly and press the button to spin the brush. Turn your camera (without a lens) to sensor clean mode. Sweep the sensor a few times. Turn the camera off and put a lens back on it. Done! It takes less than a minute. It will save you hours of retouching. I recommend making this a regular practice whenever you change lenses \u2013\u00a0the time when most dust enters and moves.
\nKeep the brush clean; free of dust and oil (typically picked up from your hands or the chamber of your camera). If a brush becomes soiled, you can replace the ferules instead of the entire unit.
\nFor difficult to remove dirt on sensors that can\u2019t be swept away, Visible Dust\u2019s Sensor Cleaning Swabs may be your final solution. Swabs and Sensor Clean or Vdust Plus liquid can be used to remove water and oil stains, providing even coverage without streaking and creating a light static barrier to help repel dust.
\nOptionally, a Sensor Loupe can be used to view the sensor under illumination at high magnification to ensure that the sensor is clean.
\nWhenever practical, confirm that your camera\u2019s sensor has been successfully cleaned, by making an exposure of a flat field of color (such as a sky) at a small aperture (to better resolve the dust). Thoroughly check the file in Photoshop (or the image editor of your choice) at 100% magnification.
\nThe Visible Dust sensor cleaning system hasn\u2019t failed me yet. It goes everywhere I go. It\u2019s easy to store, transport, and use. It\u2019s saved me countless hours of time in image processing. It will save you valuable time too.
\nArctic Butterfly SL700 ($70.95)
\nSensor Loupe ($79.95)
\nUltra MXD-100 Sensor Cleaning Swab ($37.95)
\nSensor Clean ($35.90) and VDust Plus ($19.95)
\n\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nFind more about visibledust here. <\/a>
\nRead more about the tools I use here.<\/a>
\nLearn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face it, dust happens. The first step is to use an ounce of prevention. Minimize your equipment\u2019s exposure to dust during storage and use, as much as practical. (I store and transport all my gear in Ziploc plastic bags.) The second step is to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[283],"tags":[341,281,2234,342,2285],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nVisible Dust Sensor Cleaning System - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/5116\/review-visible-dust-sensor-cleaning-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visible Dust Sensor Cleaning System - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s face it, dust happens. The first step is to use an ounce of prevention. Minimize your equipment\u2019s exposure to dust during storage and use, as much as practical. (I store and transport all my gear in Ziploc plastic bags.) 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