I need a blower... (poll on what you use)

i_worship_the_King

Since I've seen good and bad things about several blowers, I figure a poll of the pros will solidify the purchase.

Andy

You need a poll for this

Get the big Giottos you'll be happy.

lendur2

i_worship_the_King wrote:

Since I've seen good and bad things about several blowers, I figure a poll of the pros will solidify the purchase.

Have you considered going to your local pharmacy and getting a child's ear syringe?

i_worship_the_King

Actually, I only purchase from B&H - and since they're closed I'll fill the time with this poll.

My only concern is that I don't use a 400mm or something lens, so I was thinking the small might be better for for my bag.

kdog

lendur2 wrote:

Have you considered going to your local pharmacy and getting a child's ear syringe?

Have you considered that there might be talcum powder, or mold release grease in drug store bulb syringes that are designed for sucking things out of babies, and not designed for blowing clean air onto camera sensors? Companies like Giottos make their bulbs specifically for optical use, and their reputations are on the line if they spew foreign matter on your sensor. The same probably won't hold true for the Chinese manufacturer of the baby syringe.

BTW, welcome to Dgrin.

Manfr3d

Andy wrote:

You need a poll for this

Get the big Giottos you'll be happy.

Or use the search function

i_worship_the_King

Manfr3d wrote:

Or use the search function

Did. Didn't see a poll. Reading 15 threads is all fine and dandy, I need numbers.:D

Sam

I don't know where it's at, but someone designed a blower with a negative ion generator attached. You want the best? Get this one.

Sam

evoryware

I have the small that came with the kit. If I was just getting the blower I'd get the large. There's like a $1 difference between all three.
That said, I've used mine once since I got my XTi over a year ago and that was to blow some dust off the viewfinder. It worked very well on my XT.

Lovesong

Sam wrote:

I don't know where it's at, but someone designed a blower with a negative ion generator attached. You want the best? Get this one.

Sam

You're talking about the FireFly...
http://www.nrdfirefly.com/

I still don't think it's worth $200. A Giotto costs $15, and when you get a fingerprint on your lens, you're still going to have to wipe the lens with a tissue (and maybe some lens cleaner).

Glenn NK

Frankly, I prefer Dust-Aid over a bulb blower.

A bulb blower by any name uses ambient air - which is full of dust.

Compressed gas is filtered and dried - and the difluorethane will NOT harm the innards of a camera in spite of what "they" say.

As to the morality of using a compressed refrigerant I may be guilty, but the stuff does work.

Just don't keep the trigger pressed for minutes on end and not expect to freeze anything.

Oh, and don't put your head in a bag and fill the bag with the gas - that's as dumb as it gets.

Angelo

Well, I use this.

It works great and cost $8 at the drugstore.

gus

kdog wrote:

Have you considered that there might be talcum powder

I actually washed out my rocket blower on that reason. I have no idea if it had talc inside or not (i doubt it did) however washing it in clean water alone & leaving it several days to dry wasnt going to hurt it.

darkdragon

Angelo wrote:

Well, I use this.

It works great and cost $8 at the drugstore.

That just seems gross.

But hey, if it works it works. I just take my cam to the store when I need the sensor dusted or cleaned - let them have the liablility for messing it up.

gus

darkdragon wrote:

let them have the liablility for messing it up.

Ive just cleaned mine with the Copperhill method. If you can walk & chew gum at the same time...you can clean your own sensor. Honestly its a very basic operation...give it a try.

darkdragon

gus wrote:

Ive just cleaned mine with the Copperhill method. If you can walk & chew gum at the same time...you can clean your own sensor. Honestly its a very basic operation...give it a try.

I'm sure I CAN do it, but I don't want to - don't see why. IF I mess up then I have to replace/repair. Let the store do it for free and if the mess it up they repair it. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't need the stress

Angelo

darkdragon wrote:

I'm sure I CAN do it, but I don't want to - don't see why. IF I mess up then I have to replace/repair. Let the store do it for free and if the mess it up they repair it. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't need the stress

Please tell us all which store does a wet clean for free and 20,000 grinners will descend upon their threshold tomorrow.

Angelo

darkdragon wrote:

That just seems gross.

But hey, if it works it works. I just take my cam to the store when I need the sensor dusted or cleaned - let them have the liablility for messing it up.

what exactly is gross about it? it's a rubber bulb with a tube attachment. just like the rocket and others.

I do hope you realize I'm not suggesting shared use of the implement.

gus

Nervously avoiding angelos post...i just wanted to show what a total novice can do with the 'copper hill' method even though i got so caught up about cleaning the sensor...i forgot to blow it first.

oh & about $0.80 a cleaning pad.

My 30D before (an hour or so ago)





...and 15 mins later. The paper (envelope) has a few blemishes on it btw.

I have got one small hair on the bottom there which dragged off the pad in a pass so i will have to do that bit the other way.

Ric Grupe

Angelo wrote:

.I do hope you realize I'm not suggesting shared use of the implement.

ivar

You da man, Angelo!

Glenn NK

Perhaps we should use a straw, take a deep breath and blow onto the sensor - the advantage being that the air expelled from one's lungs has been filtered.

. . . . . whereas the air from ANY kind of rubber bulb has dusty air in it (unless it's been used for something else.)

gus

Glenn NK wrote:

Perhaps we should use a straw, take a deep breath and blow onto the sensor - the advantage being that the air expelled from one's lungs has been filtered.

. . . . . whereas the air from ANY kind of rubber bulb has dusty air in it (unless it's been used for something else.)

I hope no-one tries this...you will put micro drops of saliva/moisture from your breath or onto your sensor.

Glenn NK

gus wrote:

I hope no-one tries this...you will put micro drops of saliva/moisture from your breath or onto your sensor.

OK, I'll tell you a good one.

JimH at dpreview and I discussed the cleaning of sensors about a year ago. In private correspondence, he told me that he breathes gently on the sensor, and uses a Q-tip type of swab from Walgrens' to clean his sensor. He claims he's been using it for several years and has no dust spots at all and no scratches on the sensor (a 10D or 20D I believe).

I get the impression that he is a compentent and knowledgeable photographer. As they say, different strokes for different folks.

PS - I have used the method with "Johnson and Johnson" Q-Tips (registered trademark), and other than the odd cotton fibre that was easily blown off with the compresses gas, it worked quite well. There are too many of us that are completely inane when it comes to sensor cleaning.

BTW Gus, how did your sensor get so filthy? The "before" shot is positively horrid.

gus

Glenn NK wrote:

BTW Gus, how did your sensor get so filthy? The "before" shot is positively horrid.

Dirty ?

Here it is about 3 months back...i recon it must have 'self cleaned' as i dont clean it.

Really i dont care about it that much...i used to absolutely baby my AE-1 but these days bodies are obsolete before they are worn out from dust etc.

Only reason i cleaned is that im going over seas on a short holiday in the pacific & i dont want 5 months of cloning dust from skies & landscape stuff.

cmason

darkdragon wrote:

I'm sure I CAN do it, but I don't want to - don't see why. IF I mess up then I have to replace/repair. Let the store do it for free and if the mess it up they repair it. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't need the stress

DarkDragon: most stores typically blow the dust off, at least that is what I have read...they don't want the liability either . There are tons of stories on this website alone, of folks who took their camera in for a cleaning and got it back no better or worse than when they took it in. Do not assume that because a store does it that they do it to YOUR satisfaction. Oh and never seen sensor cleaning for free anywhere, usually it is $50 or so.

In my experience, blowing doesn't work when you have stubborn dust. I too use the Copperhill method, and it is simple.

Rest assured, you are not touching the sensor. You are touching a filter on top of the sensor. You will not damage the sensor, so don't worry. If you do the Copperhill method, you are using very high quality lens cleaning materials (vs say Q tips). They work...I tried mine on my lens first just to see if there was residue, scratching etc. Even tried it on my Cokin filter, which isn't glass. If I don't scratch that, I won't scratch the filter over the sensor. It was fine.

You will find, just as Gus has, that cleaning will be needed when you least expect it, typically the nght before you need your camera. Learn to do this yourself, and then you won't worry about it anymore.