naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Does anyone have personal experience with this product?
I did the search & on one thread they said they paid $12
& another thread they paid $20. On The link I provided it's $50. Are these all different cleaners or different prices?
http://photographylife.com/product/sensor-gel-stick

CharlesA Loc: New Jersey

I just received mine today from http://www.copperhillimages.com . This is the one made by Eyelead, I believe it's the same as the one on that website. Someone said on dpreview that you'd better stick with the Eyelead product because of the quality of the gel itself. It seems like the cheaper versions have a tendency to leave a bit of residue and their adhesives are not as strong as Eyelead's, at least that's what I've read.

I did my first cleaning with the pen on my D610 and it works as advertised, it removed most of the dust but left 2 specks and no residue. I am very happy with it and can recommend it highly.

I don't know about you, but I'm not going to risk using a cheap product on my camera, the Eyelead gel has received good reviews from a number of pros, and I've dealt with copperhill people before and they are top-notch.

Charles

babregard

I received mine last week. I paid 49.88 which included the shipping. I bought mine from www.photolife.com. They were back ordered for a week, then they emailed saying it was shipped. It comes with one gel stick and 10 sticky papers. I watched a couple of videos that are out there to make sure I knew how to use it correctly before trying it. I found it to be easy to you and did a very good job on both my 5d and 650d. You can reuse the stick several times. You may need to reorder more sticky papers depending on how you use these. The cost of this product is equal in my area to paying to have your camera once. You can reuse this many times.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Eyelead is the product that is made in Germany and that Leica uses. all the others are imitations

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Good morning, Charles. Thanks for the detailed reply. I saw the Eyelead brand on e-Bay from $33 to $40 but all were from China. Probably knock-off's. I think I'll stick to a seller in the US.

Thanks again.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Thanks for the reply. I think this is a better option than the wet cleaners, which I've been afraid to use.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

That's what I've also read on several sites. Even though the China sites on e-Bay say their product is Eyelead, I'm afraid they may be knock offs.

Thanks for the reply.

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

I would recommend against it. It'll only make a mess out of your sensor and make it more difficult to clean correctly.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Is your recommendation against the "cheap" gel sticks? Are the genuine Eyelead gel sticks OK to use?

Are you the "Repair Guy"?
If gel sticks are a No, No, what brand of cleaning tool do you recommend? I've heard that Nikon DOES NOT recommend "Wet" cleaning.

Thanks for replying.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Gel sticks work fine for dabbing (I have one) but there is a WARNING that it can leave a residue, and the residue can be difficult to clean. These are gummy products and I have no idea how long they last and under what conditions they will deteriorate such as heat or time. They may only work for a few months or a few applications.

As much as they have received favorable reviews, they only will remove loose dust and not sticky spots. I decided not to use mine after all. I only paid $12 for it on Amazon. There appears to be no substitute for a wet process. I don't know about Nikon but I would think every manufacturer would only recommend cleaning by an authorized and certified repair site. It is how they stay in business. Of course they will warn you should you take on this project by yourself.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

:thumbup:

Baz Loc: Peterborough UK

I have 2 different ones. The Eyelead, with the blue gel head, and another at a quarter of the price, with the white gel head, (From Amazon - see their user reviews). After reading reviews saying that the white head leaves residue, I tried it out on a filter. It did leave residue, but after removing the pick up onto the sticky paper, it is now OK. The residue comes at the edge of the cleaning head, so rocking the head on the cleaning paper had the desired effect of removing it. Tried the same test with the Eyelead with no problems or residue.
I am waiting for yet a third variant, priced between these two, so I will see how that compares. The reason for buying the range is down to the slowness of delivery (Out of stock, my goldfish has a headache etc.) Overall, they both appear to be working OK, but when you look at the amount they cost, I think I would stick with the genuine article. A replacement sensor is not going to be cheap. I'll let you know how I get on with the third one when it arrives, if I'm still alive by then.
Nikon UK do wet clean. I spoke to them only a few days ago. I had heard that they were using gel-sticks, but the person I spoke to could not confirm this.

Ronbo Loc: Okanagan falls BC. Canada

:thumbup:

CharlesA Loc: New Jersey

As mentioned above, you're not going to eliminate the need for wet cleaning as my results indicate. But one thing about the Eyelead gel is that the manufacturer claims it will last about 3 years, all you need to re-buy are the sticky papers to clean the head. So for $49.95, to have a tool for that length of time seems like a good deal to me.

The reviews I have read state the Eyelead leaves no residue at all and that is VERY important. The only warning I've read about it is the operating temperature should be between 40 and 70 degrees F. So the gel might get too sticky in So. FL or Louisiana in the summer and it might not work too well in Alaska or Canada. But under controlled work areas it should be fine.

As far as how Nikon and Canon clean sensors in-house, there was (probably still is) a Youtube video showing a Nikon tech using a wet method with a wooden stick, a cloth and a fluid. Maybe things have changed, but the only manufacturer using this gel seems to be Leica. I know from experience that people who answer the phones at Nikon Melville will NOT give such proprietary information to the average Joe.

And like I said, I ordered it from the copperhill company and I received it 2 days later via UPS. Again, spending that amount of money I want to trust the supplier and the delivery method. You guys can mess around with all the other gels, I'm "sticking" to this one, pun intended.

Charles

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

Yeah. I'm the repair guy. The warning on the package is right. The do leave a residue and it's a real pain to clean off sometimes.

I use a plastic, spatula shaped "Sensor Wand" with strips of a lint free, scratch proof cleaning pad, called "Pek Pads" taped to it and a drop. methyl alcohol, but you can use a product called "Eclipse" with excellent results. I'll include a link where you can get these products below.

http://www.micro-tools.com/store/searchbycategory.aspx?openid=907

There's a whole process to go through to insure a truly spotless sensor. It's kinda involved and, if you are not careful, you can damage the sensor or shutter. It takes a little practice to get the cleaning technique down right, but after thousands of sensor cleanings, this works best for me.