fetzler Loc: North West PA

Folks, need a bit of a physics lesson here. Indeed an another op showed "canned air" contains a hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC).

These materials (HFC) are used as refrigerants and can be found in your Fridge and Air conditioner. If you have used and aerosol inhaler for COPD or Asthma this is the type of propellant used in these formulations. The pressure of the released gas and liquids or solids in the formulation are at low enough pressure to keep your head attached to your body.

HFCs have boiling points that are not too far below room temperature so the gas can be liquefied using only modest pressure. HFCs also have a rather large Joule-Thompson coefficient meaning they get rather cold on expansion (this a great property for use in an air conditioner) CO2 would require more pressure and on expansion can form Dry Ice. Indeed dry ice can be made this way. Nitrogen requites very high pressures to liquefy. One can either take the liquid (which will be VERY cold) or the gas at high pressure from a container. The pressure from the container would destroy your camera. One could of course use a regulator control pressure but this would not be cheap or very portable.

At the end of the day, just use the rocket blower. It is easy and cheap.

The cold HFC's released from "canned air" certainly can condense moisture.

ScottWardwell Loc: Maine

Astonishing. Sensors and cameras in general are manufactured in clean rooms. But some people think spraying hurricane force winds with whatever chemicals that make up the liquid into these same cameras is an OK way to care for your gear.

Canisdirus

On the bright side...I've been able to add a few names to my...'do not purchase used gear from'.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

UAP - Obviously, it's unidentified, it's aerial, and it's a phenomenon.

Either that, or you have dirt on your sensor.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It is the risk of cold LIQUID CFC propellant coming out of "cans of air" that is the greatest danger to sensors and mirrors.

Watching a college friend crack the mirror of his Olympus OM-1 film SLR back in '76 was enough to tell me not to use Dust-Off to clean sensitive glass camera parts! I kept a can in the darkroom for cleaning the negative carriers for my enlarger.

To remove static and dust from negatives and slides, I always used a StaticMaster brush. I still do now, when copying film to raw files with my camera. StaticMaster brushes are very expensive, but work extremely well for about 18 months on a cartridge.

I have an aversion to using DRY tools for cleaning sensors. I use Photosol Eclipse (a purified methanol or methanol-isopropyl blend) plus their Sensor Swabs (precisely cut for each major sensor size). They get rid of stuck-on stuff. 90% of the time, the blower bulb is enough to knock simple dust off the sensor.

Nicholas J DeSciose

never use canned air. It can
Injure your sensor a light brush and air from a bulb. I’m surprised the automatic cleaning is not working. Guess that’s why it keeps moving around.

bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

As many other UHHers said, do not use canned air. Use an Air Bulb. I have one and it works good on any part of the camera, including the sensor and the front of the lens. BTW, do not take such an Air Bulb on an airplane...it looks too much like a bomb and will get confiscated by TSA security.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

For years I have used the Joseph Cristina lens cleaning tools for my cameras. I have successfully used them on Nikon D200, D300, D810, D850 and will use it on my Z9 when the time comes. Have had absolutely zero problems. Of all the cameras, the D810 seemed to be a dust magnet or maybe it was the conditions to which it was exposed while out shooting.

When I am setting up my camera and exchanging or installing lenses this is my process:

Turn the camera with the camera front facing down towards ground and use a puffer to blow gently. Any debris, by gravity, should fall out towards the ground.

Blow off the lens attachment end and element off, and attach to camera with camera inverted towards ground as well.

Blow off the lens front (big debris) and wipe with lens wipes for any magnetic dust. Replace the lens cap until shooting begins.

I always blow off exterior of camera with puffer before taking lens off and stowing to keep any foreign particles from going back in my bag if possible.

A professional photographer showed my this process in 2007 and I have not had any problems.

The only time I have had to send a camera in for cleaning was my D850 and that was because some sort of small plastic debris had found its way into the viewfinder and stuck on the glass internally. Nikon replaced the viewfinder and totally cleaned camera. It came back like new and still is in that condition.

Resource: https://jcristina.com/product/acc-ff/?v=1d20b5ff1ee9

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Most cameras with automatic sensor cleaning vibrate the sensor to shake dust off. It falls onto a small adhesive strip around the sensor. But if it is too big to stick, or made of stuff that repels sticky things, it just gets knocked around.

Change lenses in still air, when possible. Never leave the body uncapped without a lens unless changing lenses or cleaning the sensor. Hold the body with the sensor facing down, when you remove the body cap or the lens. Keep it facing down as you mount the lens.

When cleaning lenses, cap the body. Clean the front AND REAR elements of your lens, and also clean the mount and electrical contacts (gently) with lens tissue slightly moistened in lens cleaner or Eclipse fluid. Blow off all dust and cap the rear of the lens if not putting it back on the body.

There are instructions at http://cleaningdigitalcameras.com for testing your sensor for dust. The test is worth doing before and after you clean a sensor.

Note that dust will show up most prominently when you stop the lens down all the way. You may never notice minor dust blobs at f/1.2 to f/8, but they may be VERY prominent at f/16.

ScottWardwell Loc: Maine

I have the highest reverence for Nikon Service.
They recently replaced a defective LCD on my D850. I got it back within 2 weeks. They fixed my issue and sent it back clean as a whistle with all the adjustments they could do and firmware update.. Best $360 I ever spent.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

The gas starts off as a liquid in the can. It doesn't come out of the can and liquify, it is already liquid to start. If the can is shaken or inverted during use, the liquid can come out as liquid. Since it enters a region of reduced pressure (outside the can) it starts to evaporate, which cools it. Thermal shock can result to sensitive surfaces when the liquid evaporates on the surface.

photoman43

Here is one place Nikon describes using an air bulb:


https://onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/z9/en/17_technical_notes_06.html

And a few more:

https://dslrbodies.com/cameras/camera-articles/image-sensors/cleaning-your-sensor.html

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/na/NSG_article?articleNo=000028436&configured=1&lang=en_SG

skatz

How come no one has suggested the obvious solution to dusty sensors - vacuuming? Oh wait, I remember, a vacuum will suck the sensor, or at least a layer of it, right out of the camera. Don’t ask how I know this.

flashgordonbrown Loc: Silverdale, WA

You may want to rethink your decision-having worked in 2 different fields endeavor that use canned air, I have seen the potential for damage. If you turn can upside down, or even move it just a little while using it, you'll get oily, freezing moisture from the nozzle. That's fine if you're trying to remove chewing gum from carpet, but not so good if you're trying to clean delicate optical or electronic devices! By the way, the canned air sold for janitorial use and that sold for photographic use are identical.