Digital Survival KIT Sensor Swab Type 2 w Eclipse
The Digital Survival Kit contains 4 sensor swabs (of either Type 1,2 or 3), 1 e-wipe packet, 10 sheets of PEC*PAD, and a 1/2 oz. bottle of Eclipse. All in an easy to carry (belt loop) zippered nylon pouch. The Following Cameras use Type 1: Canon EOS 1D Canon EOS 1D Mark II Fuji Finepix S1 Pro Fuji Finepix S2 Pro Fuji Finepix S3 Pro Kodak DCS 760 Kodak DCS620 Kodak DCS620X Leica M8 Sigma SD9 Sigma SD10 The Following Cameras use Type 2: Canon EOS 350D Canon EOS 10D Canon EOS 1D Mark III Canon EOS 20D Canon EOS 300D Canon EOS 30D Canon EOS D30 Canon EOS D60 Canon Rebel Canon Rebel Xti Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D Maxxum 7D 2 Nikon D1 Nikon D100 Nikon D1H Nikon D1X Nikon D200 Nikon D2H Nikon D2Hs Nikon D2X Nikon D40 Nikon D50 Nikon D70 Nikon D70s Nikon D80 Olympus E300 Olympus E1 Pentax *ist DL Pentax *ist DS Pentax *ist D Sony Alpha 100 The Following Cameras use Type 3: Canon EOS 5D Canon EOS 1Ds Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II Contax N Digital Kodak DCS 14n Kodak DCS SLR/c Kodak DCS SLR/
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars works as advertised
This stuff works as advertised, is easy to use, and a heck of a lot faster and cheaper than sending your unit in to get the sensor cleaned.
4 Stars Not so scary
I think anyone who considers cleaning their own sensor probably has read up on all the scary things one can encounter. I bought this kit mainly as a sample to see if it was something I wish to continue to do as camera maintenance. My sensor was very dirty mainly in the upper corners which is of course where the sky would be in most photos. So, you take some shots at the blue sky as a baseline. You apply the liquid to the pad and swipe once over your sensor. I took another set of test images of the sky, realized I had definitely moved the dust, but made huge smears (rather dust globs) with it! So, I repeated the procedure, shot some more tests and found that the sensor was nearly all clean. I left about 3 specks of dust. I am not going to go crazy getting everything off, and I have been fine with the results. So, two swipes was enough to satisfy me.
I would recommend watching the video first that the company provides online. Then my only recommendation to the company would be to provide a cheap plastic or cardboard “sensor” to use for practice first. That is basically what I learned. It is easy enough to do, but it takes a “certain touch” to get it right. Mainly the right amount of pressure and the flow of the direction. I probably could have done the job with one swipe had I been experienced with the feel of it. But certainly don’t think you are apt to hurt the sensor unless you are wildly aggressive with the swiping technique.
I bought this little kit mainly to keep all the supplies neatly together, when I run out I will buy more in bulk to refill it. Just makes it handier. If the instructions had been a little more detailed about the feel of the swipe, I would probably have given this product 5 stars. It is way more convenient to do it yourself in a few seconds than to send your camera off and hope to get it back in two weeks.
5 Stars A nice alternative to sending it to the manufacture.
I was a bit hesitant to use this on my Nikon D60 but didn’t want to have to send it back to Nikon and shell out a bunch of money to clean my dirty sensor. I had some stubborn condensation stains on my sensor that showed up on my photos. I did a bunch of research and decided to give Eclipse a try. I have fat fingers and was worried about wrecking something inside my camera but I was able to completely clean my sensor and my camera is back to taking perfectly clean shots once again! I didn’t have any problems cleaning the edges like some of the others but it did take two swabs to get everything. My tip is to go heavy on prep, make sure you wash your hands, and work around good light, then when you actually swipe use consistent pressure, don’t be a wimp and you’ll be fine. Remember with this kit you only get 4 tries.
4 Stars Digi Survivor Kit
The sensor swabs are great, and work as planned. There are some other clothes and fluid in the pouch that don’t have instructions (I am assuming they are for a lens). I always use a microfiber cloth and it works great. Ideally I would like ot buy a pouch with just the swabs.
4 Stars It Works
I made the mistake of using cannned air to clean my D200 sensor. Instead of a clean sensor, I ended up with a mess. I think the liquid in the can ended up on the sensor, leaving a nasty residue. DON’T DO THAT!!
My local camera shop said that the camera would have to go back to Nikon. I was leaving on vacation in a week and didn’t want to leave without my camera. I went to the home page for the Digital Survival Kit and discovered that I could clean the D200 sensor with thier Eclipse solution.
I followed the enclosed instructions and ultimately used 3 swabs to clean the sensor. In between swabs, I photographed a white wall to see the results. It worked as advertised. I am a believer.
Different cameras and sensors use different solutions. Check the manufacturers web site before ordering.
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