Butterflies

Digital SLR cameras have truly revolutionized the photography industry, and thats pretty obvious. They provide us with on demand photographs, and allow photographers to go from composition to the print pretty damed quickly, especially if you use on camera direct print (not that anyone does....).

One major problem with Digital SLR cameras that I have noticed (and I must say, it really grinds my gears) is that the sensors are dust magnets!! Mind you, it's not like film didn't have to deal with dust, but since each roll of film is a new clean-slate, it isn't as pervasive as with a digital sensor.

Now, after a year of shooting I managed to pick up quite a lot of dust, and it was really beginning to affect my shots. So, I went and read a number of articles (always the best way to start) on getting sensors cleaned by store vs. cleaning it yourself. Almost all camera manufacturers strongly recommend avoid cleaning your own sensor and this is complete hogwash.

There are two good reasons why manufacturers and stores recommend that you leave the cleaning to the professionals; One, if you damage the piece of glass that sits just in front of the sensor it will cost A LOT more than the price of a cleaning to repair; Two, camera stores can make a killing off the price of cleaning.

The reasons against, as you can imagine, are a bit more compelling. Firstly, It doesn't take very long to clean a sensor (took me about 20 mins. and that was my first attempt). Second, the cost of the tools needed is about the same as one cleaning. Third it is deathly easy. Fourth, if you are a serious photographer, you are going to need to clean it fairly often. Changing lenses and working in dusty conditions introduces dust to the sensor no matter what you do to prevent it. Photojournalists in places like the middle east claim to need to clean their camera more than once a day, which makes sending a camera in for cleaning a bit ridiculous.

So, after weighing my options, I went with Arctic Butterfly - SL700. Cost me $69.00 (CDN). Henry's told me they would clean my camera for $60.00 (CDN). The choice was obvious for me.

The Butterfly charging up.

One interesting tidbit about this piece of equipment is the amount of packaging that it comes in. It had a clear plastic sheath, In a foam lined hard case, in a leather zipped case, plastic wrapped, in a cardboard box when I picked it up at the store. I decided to forgo a plastic Henry's bag. A little bit of overkill, don't you think?

I think I can hear an environmentalist crying.

Anyways, The cleaning process is super easy and you can find a really good guide by Micheal Reichmann, He also reviews the Arctic Butterfly on his site too. The version of the product is pretty much the same as the one pictured on that site, just a little different packaging.

In Conclusion, If you are careful you can save yourself a A LOT of money by just doing your sensor cleaning yourself. I would highly recommend the Arctic Butterfly.