I have put it in my gas tank before, but I'd never put it on a sensor. I don't think it would be very good. Have never tried it though, so I might be wrong. It evaporates quick, but I'm not sure if it leaves a film or not.
Eclipse is anhydrous methanol. I would imagine that spectral grade, anhydrous, isopropanol would be fine, no compatibility issues with the sensor IR filter. This high grade IPA would be 100%, as I presume the 99% you are referring to is up to 1% water. If the residual 1% is methanol or ethanol, then I see no problem. A pint or so could be purchased at a chemical supply house.
However, isopropanol will take longer to evaporate than methanol. During that time there might be some risk of picking up more moisture (if in a humid environment) which would take even longer to evaporate. But just a drop or two on a sensor swab (pec pad) should generally not be an issue.
Its more likely after numerous uses the remaining bottle will no longer be very anhydrous, and significant amounts of water would take much, much longer to dry when swabbed on the sensor.
Mike K
A tech at a company that specializes in cleaning products for electronics advised me to use 50% water mixed with 50% isopropyl alcohol. After I have swabbed my sensor with a Q-tip dampened in this solution, I simply wipe it dry with a clean Q-tip.
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and Q-tips can be purchased at any drug store. This method is low cost and worked just fine on my 1D, 10D & 20D sensors. Just be prepared to try this method several times because the dry Q-tip can leave some lint behind.
I have been using Isopropanol for sometime on the sensors. No problem so far. I just felt that eclipse was rip-off. I bought a purist grade that I could find locally. Local Fry's has them in large bottles in Electronic/PC board section. It is too cheap to mention here.
I heard somewhere that Canon is using Isopropanol + Windex half and half
Nooo... Don't use pure Isoprop. 99% or otherwise. I use this stuff daily in electronics and thought it'd make a good application in cleaning my other hobbies lenses - telescopes. Problem is, Iso. attracts moisture, that's one reason why it leaves residue, plus it has very low surface tension which causes small beads of it to break away, that's where the film or more appropriately, residue comes in.
There is a technique one can use which uses a mixture of 50% Iso. (99%), 50% pure distilled water and a few drops of pure glycol (to break the surface tension) with an applicator that is just slightly damp with this mixture and wiping it across the surface at just the right rate will cause a clean wipe.
Problem is it's tricky and any grunge on the sensor that doesn't get picked up, gets left behind in the Iso. residue that needs to be cleaned again... and again.
Now, as delicate as optical surfaces are (the rule of thumb in the telescope world about cleaning optics is... don't.) I imagine sensors are even more delicate; repeated cleanings can't be good for them.
What about "Sensor swabs" and "Eclipse" fluid... supposed to be very good as is "Formula MC".
Mike K suggested using 100% Iso. Now, as far as I know, there is no such beast. Something about the chemical process and the purest form acheiveable being 99% (medical and technical grade). Could be wrong, check around.
Anyway, my $0.02
Edited by Bluenoser on Mar 09, 2006 at 09:12 PM GMT
I said this once before and the mods deleted it, I guess thinking it was bad advise, but I'll say it again. For twenty five years I've been cleaning my lenses and sun glasses with my breath and a lens cloth. The sensor has a glass cover, just like a lens and a pair of good sunglasses. They make a silk like cloth called dust off that works perfect. I just blow all the dust off and breath my breath and wipe it clean with the dust off cloth. You can wrap the cloth around a Q tip to make it easier. There are no fibers to be left behind with the cloth. It's made by Luminex.
Edited by cactusclay on Mar 09, 2006 at 05:13 PM GMT
I tried alcohol and didnt like the residue it left behind.
Do yourself a favor buy Eclipse Fluid and PEC Pads.
Both together are under $15.00 and its worth every penny in time spent worrying about it.
I wouldn't go down that road. All you need is patience and air. I use a very simple hand air pump (came with a medical workout ball) and make sure it is clean and projectile free before use. I make sure I have plenty of time and patience and only clean when absolutely neccessary. I never use fluids or anything that will touch the glass in front of the sensor.
I've used Eclipse fluid and PEC pads but have better results using a Visible Dust cleaning brush. My experience has been their brush is more effective and lots easier to use than anything else I've ever tried. It gets the glass really clean. The brushes are not cheap but really work! Getting the glass on your sensor replaced isn't cheap either—protect it.
The question here is not if you can use Isoprpyl alcohol on your camera sensor, but if you can still use your camera to take pictures.
visidust is by far the more better way to go.
jfulton wrote:
I wouldn't go down that road. All you need is patience and air. I use a very simple hand air pump (came with a medical workout ball) and make sure it is clean and projectile free before use. I make sure I have plenty of time and patience and only clean when absolutely neccessary. I never use fluids or anything that will touch the glass in front of the sensor.
Usually I do the same thing, I think by the sounds of it though the OP has got to the stage where even this is not enough. This is where using fluids come in. I must say at the moment I haven't done so yet - but short of paying someone to do it, I think using the special wipes + fluid is the only way to go.
Acetone, used by the largest american manufacture of optic , why? it dries faster than any other liquid cleaner , will not hurt coatings, it won't leave a film because of the fast drying time . They use in the assemble line at the factory to clean every lens surface prior to assembly.
Did a little research on this. Come from an Astronomy background also.
Best cleaning method is one where no contact is made. Have a think about how astronomy people do it and then ask yourself why. As someone said earlier if you don't want to scratch it don't clean it.
Anyone can grab a microfiber cloth and some cleaning fluid and wipe it over a multi thousand dollar mirror. All it takes is for one piece of grit to contaminate the cloth and it is going to look like a skater on a new sheet of ice. Do you think microfiber cloths are made in clean room conditions?
Even clean room cloths are not guaranteed to be particulate free. They are specified by particulate size and quantity.
Water and detergents are best for mirrors with a distilled water final rinse and a sometimes a surface tension modifier to assist in removing droplets as one of the other posters mentioned.
Ok, so we are talking photography and multi coated lenses. They scratch easier than you think. Have a look at the reflection from the sun on some of your well cleaned lenses. You might get a surprise. I have a scratched telescope HMC lens, HMC binocular lens and HMC polarising filter to prove it. And I followed all of the so called recommendations from some well respected astronomy and optics sites.
Don't use drug store anything.
Solvents come in a variety of grades as Arka alluded to.
HPLC is the best due to its end application. High Pressure Liquid Chromatography.
There are
Scientific grades (less pure)
Technical grades (less less pure)
Medical grades (less less less pure)
Industrial grades. (less less less less pure)
The order is roughly right. I think there maybe an optical grade although it might be one of the others mentioned.
Drug store stuff can be anything but usually cheap and low grade.
Residues are left behind if the solvent isn't pure enough.
HPLC acetone is preferred a lot for optics but due to optics not always being just optics but having thing things like plastics it is not always practical.
That is why Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is usually preferred.
Methanol is not recommended as it is very carcinogenic (so is acetone) and can cause retina damage.
A lens pen is very good if you like to replace ruined lens elements.
Always think of a skater on ice when it comes to cleaning lenses and you may reduce the number of scratches you accumulate from cleaning.
I pre-clean the lens with a bulb blower and/or a vacuum cleaner. Gentle wipe with a fine sabre hair art brush to remove any remaining stuck particulate. Bulb blow and vacuum again. Inspect under a bright halogen lamp.
If I have to clean any remaining residue I use a thin 100% cotton T-shirt washed in boiling water and with dishwashing liquid. It is then put in a clothes dryer. Finally shaken (not stirred). Evaporated steam from a saucepan and wipe clean. Most of the time there is no need for solvents or cleaning fluids.
Is it possible that the camera sensors are far less delecate than we commonly believe or can accept?
It doesn't make good engineering sense or business sense for Canon to have designed a sensor requiring periodic cleaning that can be damaged when it is cleaned.
Tooting the sensor off with a rocket bulb just blows the dust up into the view finder.
Huff on the dang thang and wipe it off with a q-tip? To exterme? Or real world?
Being an organic chemist and chromatography expert, I have a bit of a different take on these solvent issues. HPLC grade solvents are QC tested for decent chemical purity and for trace levels of UV absorbing compounds that may elute in organic gradients. Different application than we are talking about, although they are among the better solvents. I recommend "Spectral" grade solvents, either methanol or isopropanol. They are hydroscopic (pick up water from the air) so keep them closed as much as possible or aliquot into many smaller tightly capped vials so that they are not opened as frequently. Spectral grade are quite pure, not only chromatographically but by UV and IR analysis as well. It is probably among the most expensive grades of organic solvents, and comes in pint bottles. HPLC grade normally comes in 4x1 gallon jugs, because one uses so much in HPLC. Small amounts of vapor of these solvents are not harmful (and photographers use smaller amounts). Obviously if dealing with more than a few ml, find a well ventilated space to work. Chemists rinse their glassware with acetone to clean off trace amounts of organic compounds and water and purchase it in 5 gal cans and often don't use it a fume hood. I definately don't recommend acetone, as it can start to dissolve plastic, and in my experience may not leave an optically clear, residue free suface upon evaporation.
Again, Eclipse is methanol, and that works fine to dissove trace levels of greasy compounds and will evaporate much faster than isopropanol.
Mike K
