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swarf and how to cure it

Author	Post

Posted by blackfox: Mon Mar 11th, 2013 09:27

1^st Post

i was reading a link from nikon rumors the other night ,it took me to a website by a wildlife photographer ,on his site he had a hints and tips page one of the tips was to look just inside your camera throat i.e in front of the mirror for brass swarf .caused by metal to metal contact upon changing lenses this has the potential to end up on your sensor

i checked this on both my cameras and as soon as i looked i could see the gleam of brass filings lying there ,so that part was true .its something i have overlooked in the past as i always try to change lenses quickly to avoid dust exposure .

the cure is simple you will need a couple of Q tips or johnsons ear buds ,some lens cleaning fluid .thats it apply a small drop of cleaning fluid to the ear bud and gently wipe out the plastic in the bottom of the camera lens throat .avoid touching the felt that the mirror rests on if theres any swarf on that use a wooden tooth pick to remove it .

thats it you will find this also removes some "grease" that myself and eric were jesting about last week .a simple 5 minute job but one that could save you a lot of future aggro especially if you change lenses a lot ,as the swarf is a by product of this

Posted by Eric: Mon Mar 11th, 2013 13:11

2^nd Post

blackfox wrote:
i was reading a link from nikon rumors the other night ,it took me to a website by a wildlife photographer ,on his site he had a hints and tips page one of the tips was to look just inside your camera throat i.e in front of the mirror for brass swarf .caused by metal to metal contact upon changing lenses this has the potential to end up on your sensor

i checked this on both my cameras and as soon as i looked i could see the gleam of brass filings lying there ,so that part was true .its something i have overlooked in the past as i always try to change lenses quickly to avoid dust exposure .

the cure is simple you will need a couple of Q tips or johnsons ear buds ,some lens cleaning fluid .thats it apply a small drop of cleaning fluid to the ear bud and gently wipe out the plastic in the bottom of the camera lens throat .avoid touching the felt that the mirror rests on if theres any swarf on that use a wooden tooth pick to remove it .

thats it you will find this also removes some "grease" that myself and eric were jesting about last week .a simple 5 minute job but one that could save you a lot of future aggro especially if you change lenses a lot ,as the swarf is a by product of this
Thanks Jeff...something else to go and check.

I read, back in early digital days (before inbuilt sensor cleaners), that one way to remove sensor dust was to stick some double sided tape to the inside of a body cap and fix it on the body. Then place the camera face down on the floor of your car and take a drive. Apparently the vibration from the car would cause dust to be shaken down and stick to the tape.

Never tried it myself but I wonder if it would do the same for the swarf?

____________________
Eric

Posted by blackfox: Mon Mar 11th, 2013 14:43

3^rd Post

eric it did appear to be "fixed " to the plastic possibly by the grease we were joking about last week ,what is FACT though is it was most definetly in there as predicted and in two cameras ,so its not lightly to be it won't happen to me occurrence .and as i said its a place i don't often think of looking .

take this as a scenario you lift your mirror to give the sensor a blow over ,theres a possibility that you could actually blow some of this crap onto your sensor instead o.O

Posted by Squarerigger: Thu Mar 14th, 2013 07:26

4^th Post

Thanks Jeff for the tip.

I had an opportunity to see a Pentax sensor cleaning kit recently and it was very interesting. It consisted of a soft rubbery device attached to a stick. The rubbery device was sticky. They also provided a packet of clothes to use to clean the rubbery device.

The instructions indicated one would expose the sensor and push the rubbery device down on the sensor and the sticky thing would pick up the offending material. You would then dab the device on one of the cleaning cloths to clean it and repeat covering the sensor surface area.

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Gary

Posted by blackfox: Thu Mar 14th, 2013 07:47

5^th Post

that sounds extremely dodgy ,my tip is nothing to do with the sensor its whats inside the throat of the cameras in FRONT of the mirror that has potential to do the damage .in fact if you remove your lens and have a look with the light in the right direction it shows up like flakes of gold dust lying there .

Posted by Squarerigger: Thu Mar 14th, 2013 07:58

6^th Post

Sorry for the misunderstanding Jeff. I fully understand your what you are talking about with the brass fillings, grease, and where they show up.

My comment was more a follow on to Eric's comment about the double sided tape and taking your camera for a bumpy ride to get debris dislodged. I saw the pentax sensor cleaning kit as a play on the double sided tape scenario.

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Gary

Posted by Robert: Thu Mar 14th, 2013 08:29

7^th Post

To throw another little element into the mix, when the shutter actuates, the hinges of the titanium blades rub and gaunch as the blades pivot aside and the mirror hinges pivot, all of this micro mechanical activity creates metallic micro dust right in front of the sensor and the mirror flapping up and down wafts it all around!

The general consensus has always been to store the camera bodies lens face down so that any dust settling does so either on the back of the shutter, the back of the mirror or on the lens cap, if fitted otherwise on the back of the lens.

Applying a sticky substance to the inside of the body cap may help but it's only a small area inside the mirror chamber and is only open to the front side of the mirror most of the time.

Always try to change lenses with the front of the lens downwards, that way any swarf, dust and particles should obey the rules of gravity and fall out of the front of the body during the process.

(ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: either from Old English geswearf 'filings' or from Old Norse svarf 'file dust'.)

____________________
Robert.

Posted by Eric: Thu Mar 14th, 2013 09:52

8^th Post

Robert wrote:
To throw another little element into the mix, when the shutter actuates, the hinges of the titanium blades rub and gaunch as the blades pivot aside and the mirror hinges pivot, all of this micro mechanical activity creates metallic micro dust right in front of the sensor and the mirror flapping up and down wafts it all around!

The general consensus has always been to store the camera bodies lens face down so that any dust settling does so either on the back of the shutter, the back of the mirror or on the lens cap, if fitted otherwise on the back of the lens.

Applying a sticky substance to the inside of the body cap may help but it's only a small area inside the mirror chamber and is only open to the front side of the mirror most of the time.

Always try to change lenses with the front of the lens downwards, that way any swarf, dust and particles should obey the rules of gravity and fall out of the front of the body during the process.

(ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: either from Old English geswearf 'filings' or from Old Norse svarf 'file dust'.)
Totally agree. I has always carried and stored my cameras in holster style bags....lens downwards. And I rarely need to clean my sensors.

____________________
Eric

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