DSLRUsers.com

How to do it:
manual focus to infinity, set apeture to max (f/29 on kit) snap photo of blank object (white wall etc...)

Take into gimp/photoshop etc... and adjust levels


How much dust do you consider acceptabel... at what level would you clean?

I average clean the ccd once in every one or two months.
You have too much dust on your CCD already, time to do the deep wash it before heading for New Zealand.
You'll disapoint with dust once you shoot your wedding's assigment and pano soon.

and as an added Q, Is Exclipse fluid flamable? So I guess it can not be posted or taken with you overseas... (A little worried about what to do in NZ)

Birddog114 wrote:I average clean the ccd once in every one or two months.
You have too much dust on your CCD already, time to do the deep wash it before heading for New Zealand.
You'll disapoint with dust once you shoot your wedding's assigment and pano soon.

Yes I agree!

Any stocks of Eclipse and Pec pad around Birddog?

hmmm... mines just about ready for a clean....



I'm of the opinion that if you are using your d70, you should get the best possible shot all of the time. If dust gets to a level such as with yours or mine, it's time for a clean.

If I'm taking shots that are more like happy snaps i use my g3.. otherwise i use the d70 when i put my serious cap on....

MHD,
Stock are healthy, I can ship by Courier Road Transport only

Both Xerubus and MHD,
Just about time to give the D70 a wash!

Don't forget to set exposure compensation +1 or +1.5 to better distinguish dust from the background. f/16 is usually enough to see it too.

As for Eclipse fluid - when I took mine back from the US, it leaked. The lid was screwed on as tight as I could manage, and it was still tight upon arrival. So I concluded that it was the lack of air pressure while inside the aircraft cabin that caused the alcohol to vapourise and leave a mark the outside of the bottle and carboard box. Not recommended to take while flying.

Give it a good clean while you're here, use the Giotto rocket (puff blower) on your trip, and when you notice the dust spots, limit your shooting style to avoid using small apertures. f/11 landscapes can turn out surprisingly well!

hehe... I only really noticed it today! I was out shooring a storm and very stupidly did a lens change in the field when it was really windy... I got a large macro particle on the CCD which was easily dislodged using mu el-cheapo (soon to be replaced) blower... Then I got curios... as to what else was left.... erg!
Oh well... I have access to a nice clean lab at work... and I have some crap on the focusing screen as well... time for a good matenence session to get Darran (the d70) lovin me again!

Lots of dust here



Have cleaning equip but no experience. Waiting for peace, calm, nerve and inspiration to do the job.

Have peace, calm, and inspiration but no nerve!

Tomorrow maybe

MHD wrote:and as an added Q, Is Exclipse fluid flamable?

Yes, the principal component of 'Eclipse Fluid' is methanol. I'm not sure if it's solely methanol, but if so, it's exorbitant for the price. 58 mL = $26, whereas Sigma-Aldrich sell 1L of HPLC-grade methanol for about $50, and 2L for about $70... I really should test it and see if there's anything else in it.

MCWB wrote:

MHD wrote:and as an added Q, Is Exclipse fluid flamable?

Yes, the principle component of 'Eclipse Fluid' is methanol. I'm not sure if it's solely methanol, but if so, it's exorbitant for the price. 58 mL = $26, whereas Sigma-Aldrich sell 1L of HPLC-grade methanol for about $50, and 2L for about $70... I really should test it and see if there's anything else in it.

I'm waiting for your results, this may help us a lot and we won't rely on the Eclipse fluid solely distributed by very poor Customer Service and relation of NuLab.

I use ethanol to clean optics at work (I work with a whole range of funky optcis) and I know you have to be exceedingly carefull with the puriy of the cleaning solution and wiping method or it leaves a cloudy film which I would not like to see on the d70 sensor (I primarily use it to clean front silvered mirrors)

MCWB, if you could test the ingredients of the Eclipse fluid, that would be very much appreciated. I'm sure there are suitable generic alternatives available for sensor cleaning. Incidently, are you able to purchase/flog industrial chemical supplies for cheap?

MCWB wrote:

MHD wrote:and as an added Q, Is Exclipse fluid flamable?

Yes, the principal component of 'Eclipse Fluid' is methanol. I'm not sure if it's solely methanol, but if so, it's exorbitant for the price. 58 mL = $26, whereas Sigma-Aldrich sell 1L of HPLC-grade methanol for about $50, and 2L for about $70... I really should test it and see if there's anything else in it.

MCWB,
Is that stuff in the ingredients of your Home Brew Beer which you brought to me last time

It might be worthwhile taking a look at this site:

http://www.visibledust.com/sensorclean.htm

In a past life I was an organic chemist and this page supports my views on the use of methanol.

Cheers

Chris

When explained like that it does make perfect sense. I would want a few more opinions of the stuff before I started using it.
I think I will stick with the eclipse because I know that it is proven by many and will do no harm.

Cheers

Matt

Same as me, I have & tried Visible Dust but still preferred the Eclipse Fluid and Pec* Pad at anytime. I bottle of Eclipse Fluid 59ml and 1 pack of Pec* Pad last you years in cleaning CCD and this method used by many Cleaning Stations at many events in both Nikon & Canon Pro-shooters.
And the Giotto Rocket Air, a must have useful tool.

Birddog114 wrote:Same as me, I have & tried Visible Dust but still preferred the Eclipse Fluid and Pec* Pad at anytime. I bottle of Eclipse Fluid 59ml and 1 pack of Pec* Pad last you years in cleaning CCD and this method used by many Cleaning Stations at many events in both Nikon & Canon Pro-shooters.
And the Giotto Rocket Air, a must have useful tool.

Hi Birdie

If you want to sell your Visible Brush I would gladly give you what you want for it. . .

Cheers

Chris

Hi Birdie

If you want to sell your Visible Brush I would gladly give you what you want for it. . .

Chris,
The Visible Brush want me to promote their products in Australia, but after few tries i'm still thinking about it, cos I did not see a real benefits of introduction their product into our forum for our members and everyone here like the way using Eclipse + Pec*Pad.
I read a thread on dpreview few days ago about the Visible Brush, someones there stated that the brushes from Visible Brush came from the Art Shop Don't know it's true or not but I saw some very fine brushes last Friday in the Art shop, they're similar
I use them for the lenses and the mount on cam body same as non seriously dust bunnies on the CCD + The Giotto Air Rocket, I called it light cleaning or light maintenance.

Thats why you are the patron Birddog, you have the best interests of the members at heart

As promised: 13C NMR spectrum of Eclipse fluid (top) and AR grade methanol (99.5%, bottom).



Certainly no other alcohols (ethanol, isopropanol) in there, looks to be just methanol. I also ran a proton spectrum for each, and although they were crap, there was some water in each of the samples.

Sirhc55: interesting link. I also have a chemistry background, and the thing that gets me is this: they say "Water molecules on CCD surface reduces static charges". If you think about it though, the net charge on a water molecule is zero. Yes, the O is slightly delta negative, but the Hs are slightly delta positive. So in their picture, whilst there are less "+" signs when the water molecules are there, there are a heap of delta positive Hs sticking up. What do you think? Seems like BS to me?

And Birdy: no methanol in my homebrew! Possibly in dodgy Bob's home-distilled spirits (if he doesn't distill correctly), but not my beer.

I'm certainly no expert in analysing these graphs, but there doesn't seem to be any differences there.

The bottom line (sorry for that pun) seems to be that Eclipse is simply AR grade methanol decanted into 59ml bottles. Is that what we're seeing here?

MCWB, you did this on a Sunday! Duuude!! Actually, this could very well be groundbreaking news. I don't think anyone anywhere has figured out composition of the Eclipse fluid until now!

So it's just plain old methanol eh? Now would there be any suppliers of research grade methanol that sells to public in consumer quantities?

Edit: (slip of the tongue - sorry MCWB, edited)

That avatar suits you MCWB. Should we call Q in special ops for the next step? Seriously this could bowl Nikonians for a six if D70 forum could nail this one. Top marks for a useful insight!

HI MCWB

Yes you are right on the delta negatives and positives so it does look as if they are stating something to their advantage.

I must add that the toxicity of Methanol is a concern to me especially where young children are concerned. I think that a lot of meths drinkers would be very aware of Methanol and another point is that I have MS and it has been proven that Methanol toxicity mimics MS but I have not played with Methanol (Methyl Alcohol) for many years.

Methanol can also be absorbed by the skin. Ingestion is metabolised by the body to formaldehyde and thence formic acid. Basically not a very nice substance.

Cheers

Chris

Gary: it looks that way. I didn't have time to run either sample for long, but it looks like methanol is the only carbon-containing compound in Eclipse fluid. Anything else in there would be at low-millimolar concentrations I'd reckon, i.e. bugger-all.

Onyx: Thanks for the edit mate! I'll enquire about purchasing options. I thought the last post here was interesting...

Chris: Absolutely correct on the toxicity front, not something you want your kids (or anyone else, except maybe your worst enemy ) to be imbibing. Just as a 'what if', if anyone does ingest it, drink some ethanol too: both are substrates for the same enzyme, so you can use ethanol to 'out-compete' the methanol. Then get yourself to a physician!

Errr... so I'm guessing I shouldn't be dropping Eclipse fluid on my fingertips revelling in the tingly sensations as it absorbs the moisture off the skin's surface and vapourises?!

So what's the long term harm if I were to have done what's described above on more than one occasion?

You have access to a NMR machine! I remember studying that stuff back in 3rd year

This makes me think... I must use some of my gear at work for fun (we have an integrating sphere at work which produces a perfectly uniform light source which would be great for looking at vinetting)