ok so I have seen this in a few posts but only limited 2 "yeah it get dirty" sort of thing. How often do d3 owners wet clean? I have had 2 wet clean my 300 maybe 3 times in 5 months and have put about 20,000 shots through it (sports) I do many stupid things like change lens on the beach and such but have had few dust issues so far. Is the d3 much worse, sounds like the d3 is a pain to clean with the large sensor and not much room. I am thinking of making the move 2 the d3 but this is one of my last ?

Hard to say, people live in various areas with varying amounts of dust. Even if two people lived in the same area with equal dust one person may feel it is a problem while the other doesn't. When I had the D3 I didn't find dust a major issue (cleaned it once in 3 months). I was used to having to clean the sensor of my older Canon dSLRs usually once the night before an outing. Mostly out of habit rather than necessity. It takes all of 5 minutes to clean a sensor well so I think in the end it isn't a major hassle. If you shoot wide-open a lot the problem of dust is even less an issue as it doesn't show up easily in pics.

I see dust removal as normal maintenance, like taking out the trash once per week or washing dishes. Won't ever like it but it's not on my radar of important issues.

thanks for the reply, I know dslr's need 2 be cleaned and it should not de a issue but I just had 2 fix way 2 many shots on a recent job ( did use lightroom presets to solve the issue but from time to time the spot was on a face) For some reason i hate wet cleaning sensors i just know I will scratch one some time and not be happy with the bill. I am working to get over this but still would rather just use the blower and hope for the best. Thanks for the help.

I think if you use the recommended Copperhil Pecpads or VisibleDust sensor swabs you'll be fine. They are soft surfaces. There's a filter in front of the sensor so while it may be a pain to replace the filter your sensor should be fine. I've actually never heard of anyone ruining their sensor from cleaning so while there are surely cases out there it is a small fraction. Blower first and then wet clean, good formula for success

My D3 went 5000+ shots before cleaning, but as was stated, really depends on what the environment is.

Steve

There is no "D3 Dust Issue". The D3 sensor accumulates dust no worse, and no better, than any other Nikon I've ever owned (D1X, D2H, D2X, D200 and D300). Some people just let their imaginations get the better of them and they make claims that aren't supported by the facts.

Mort,

I disagree. The sensor is very tight, with no room on the edges. Touching the chamber is very easy when cleaning the sensor from edge to edge. This can (and does) bring more dust and a greasy gunk. I've talked to technicians who clean sensors and they say the D3 and one of the Canon's are the most difficult. IMO, it is much more difficult than the D2 series cameras.
Ask any Canon 5D owner if dust isn't an issue on that camera. Full frame seem to be dust magnates.

Redgrom,

I've found it important to blow out the dust often. I wet clean my sensor every couple months, using VisibleDust. If you use Cooper Hill products, make sure you use E2. It is formulated to be safe with D2 and D3 sensors.

As mentioned above, just look at sensor cleaning as regular maintenance.

I have had a D3 since the day they came out. I have cleaned the sensor once after the first month of use and I have not needed to clean it since. i use it a lot for landscape work and dust would be an issue if it were an issue at all.

James R is correct in that the sensor occupies the entire opening and extreme care is needed to avoid bringing grease in from the edges when cleaning.

Mort54 wrote:
There is no "D3 Dust Issue". The D3 sensor accumulates dust no worse, and no better, than any other Nikon I've ever owned (D1X, D2H, D2X, D200 and D300). Some people just let their imaginations get the better of them and they make claims that aren't supported by the facts.

'your experience' hardly constitutes all the facts, it just constitutes your experience. my experience is that in a couple of months i have had more trouble cleaning more dust from my D3 than I've had in a couple of years ownership of my D2X, and that despite using the D2X in dustier conditions.
If you have had more luck, good for you, but that doesnt put you in a position to extrapolate Your experience into some kind of universal truth now does it...

The D3 collects dust very easy, it's a big sensor. I have the D3 now for two months and I had to wet-clean it two times. I check the sensor everytime after a shoot. If you used to do this it take you only a few minutes. I use the dry clean method more often. I use the visible dust products. As a former Canon shooter I'm used to do this and I don't find it very difficult, just be precise.

before a major shoot I do the infinity on white test, +.05 comp, this tells me if my dust is crazy, and if I need to clean....

I don't know from dust. I never shoot much above F2.8-inside If I see anything I spot it out while in PS.

Chris Dees wrote:I check the sensor everytime after a shoot.

Wouldn't it make more sense to check it BEFORE a shoot?

plnelson wrote:
Chris Dees wrote:I check the sensor everytime after a shoot.

Wouldn't it make more sense to check it BEFORE a shoot?


For me it isn't. This way my gear is always ready to take on a shoot.

plnelson wrote:
Chris Dees wrote:I check the sensor everytime after a shoot.

Wouldn't it make more sense to check it BEFORE a shoot?
For me it isn't. This way my gear is always ready to take on a shoot.

GuyWalder wrote:
'your experience' hardly constitutes all the facts, it just constitutes your experience. my experience is that in a couple of months i have had more trouble cleaning more dust from my D3 than I've had in a couple of years ownership of my D2X, and that despite using the D2X in dustier conditions.

You're right. It is just my experience. So let me rephrase my earlier statement. In 5 months of heavy D3 use, in all kinds of weather, with frequent lens changes, I have not had to wet clean my sensor at all. I have only needed to use a blower twice. I shoot lots of landscapes and shoot stopped down most of the time, so if there's dust on the sensor, it'll show up. So, based on my experience so far, I don't see a dust problem. Furthermore, I would say my experiences with the D3 are similar to my experiences with other Nikon DSLRs I've used over the past 7 years.

I am always amazed at how often some people say they wet clean their sensors. In seven years and 6 DSLRs (D1X, D2H, D2X, D200, D3, D300), I have only had to resort to wet cleaning twice.


Edited by Mort54 on May 12, 2008 at 03:38 PM GMT

I really find it to have less of an issue than any previous dslr I have owned.
Apart from the stupid spread for the focus zones this camera is nothing short of amazing in every area.
Cheers,
jasin.

Hey guys,

The feedback from our customers about the D3's dust situation is that it is a magnificent dust magnet that is harder to clean than all other Nikons. Since the D3 came out, sales of our full frame swabs have skyrocketed. The 2 dust champions are now the 5D and the D3.

If most of you in this thread are having no dust issues, you are the lucky ones and I won't argue with your success. Just keep doing whatever it is you're doing. But the real-world feedback on the D3 is that an overwhelming percentage of users must clean their sensors regularly. They must also learn to negotiate the huge sensor sitting in a relatively small chamber.

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

I have 2 D3's and find them only slightly worse than the D2's (I have 11) I use a sensor brush at least once a week on all my stuff, and find not problems. We take an average of 500,000 images per body in a 26 week ski season so I am constantly cleaning all my bodies.
Also, as with other sport guys we rearly shoot wide open so the problem is not as bad as some.
Gav

thanks for all the info, sounds like mixed results but nothing I can not handle. So do you think it is more cost effective to clean yourself or have nikon do it? They charge $25 and have the body (d300) back in 3 days. I have had 2 use up wards of 5 pads in the past. I know I will have 2 do it myself when traveling from time 2 time but wanted a little feedback.
Thanks..

Lucky! They charge $80 to do cleaning here in Canada!

gavin wrote:
I have 2 D3's and find them only slightly worse than the D2's (I have 11) I use a sensor brush at least once a week on all my stuff, and find not problems. We take an average of 500,000 images per body in a 26 week ski season so I am constantly cleaning all my bodies.
Also, as with other sport guys we rearly shoot wide open so the problem is not as bad as some.
Gav

WOW!!!
You have 13 cameras and average 500,000 per body in 26 weeks!
Holy cow but that works out to 6.5 million images!!
And you must be replacing shutters every other week....

How do you go through that many images?

I've a Canon 1dsIII and the dust removal system seems to work fine....on dust
that is. It will not remove oil or grease. Before this I had a canon 1ds2 and as
many will know, it did not have a dust removal system. You had to clean using
one of the many cleaning systems on the market. This was an easy enough task, but heck, the corners were a pain to clean. The cleaning swab would work very
well but tended to drag dust into the corners, or more precisel, the edges

The reason I'm mentioning this is that I imagine the D3 would present the same problem by virtue of it's FF size? It is because of this annoying dust problem, that I'm slightly put off buying the D3 and look upon the lack of a dust cleaning system on the D3 as a serious omission. You can call such a system gimmicky, but believe me, it works great on Canon's...it also works great on the D300....it will probably work equally great on the forthcoming D700.

Two cents.........

Rob

nivenu wrote:
I've a Canon 1dsIII and the dust removal system seems to work fine....on dust
that is. It will not remove oil or grease. Before this I had a canon 1ds2 and as
many will know, it did not have a dust removal system. You had to clean using
one of the many cleaning systems on the market. This was an easy enough task, but heck, the corners were a pain to clean. The cleaning swab would work very
well but tended to drag dust into the corners, or more precisel, the edges

The reason I'm mentioning this is that I imagine the D3 would present the same problem by virtue of it's FF size? It is because of this annoying dust problem, that I'm slightly put off buying the D3 and look upon the lack of a dust cleaning system on the D3 as a serious omission. You can call such a system gimmicky, but believe me, it works great on Canon's...it also works great on the D300....it will probably work equally great on the forthcoming D700.

Two cents.........

Rob

So, the best way to clean a D3 is buy a Canon 1D3.

The D3 gets horribly dirty. Horrible enough that someone should sell me theirs for next to nothing :-)