Jay Turberville Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Yep, different lenses same spots. I just ordered a wet cleaning sensor kit so I'll see how that goes. Keep in mind that you can't clean the sensor on a GH4. You can only clean the SSWF that sits in front of the sensor. I believe that this is a very thin item and I recommend being very careful with it. You might want to investigate further and get more detailed info. I've had 4/3s or m4/3s cameras for quite a few years now and have never tried cleaning the SSWF. As a practical matter debri that the SSWF can't dislodge has always been insignificant at practical apertures (f/11 and below IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavemandude Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I think it's pretty much assumed by most people that you'll be cleaning some sort of filter surface in front of the sensor and not the actual sensor surface. How many DSLR's have a bare sensor to clean? They still call it "sensor" cleaner so that's what you have to go with when discussing the topic. I'm using my GH4 for film transfers so I'm not using practical apertures since a film projector with a bright LED light is projecting film directly into the GH4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Turberville Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I think it's pretty much assumed by most people that you'll be cleaning some sort of filter surface in front of the sensor and not the actual sensor surface. How many DSLR's have a bare sensor to clean? They still call it "sensor" cleaner so that's what you have to go with when discussing the topic. I'm using my GH4 for film transfers so I'm not using practical apertures since a film projector with a bright LED light is projecting film directly into the GH4. Yes. That's exactly the way I was using the term "sensor." My point is/was that 4/3s and m4/3s cameras are different. The SSWF on 4/3s and m4/3s camera is a very thin membrane or piece of glass that sits above the sensor. There's an air gap between the sensor/filter sandwich (aka "sensor") and the SSWF with no physical support.between. This is what allows that surface to vibrate effectively at the high frequencies that will pop dust off of the surface. Furthermore, I think the actual mounting of the SSWF isn't particularly robust either. So I suggest looking into the manufacturer recommended methods of cleaning (or not) before proceeding as you would with a typical DSLR sensor. It isn't the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavemandude Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 DSLR's, like the Canon 5D mkIII, have the same technology for vibrating dust off so I don't see the difference. From Wiki: How does it work? Most systems use a piezo crystal ultrasonic vibration of the IR filter in front of the sensor. They vibrate at around 35-50K Hz. Olympus invented it, but now Leica, Panasonic, Canon, and Nikon use similar systems. Other manufacturers use sensor shifting. The sensor itself is shaken at about 100 Hz, but the length of travel is much further. Konica Minolta developed it. Sony and Pentax now use this method. Both systems usually include a coating that is negatively charged, just as most dust is. This causes them to repel each other. What happens to the dust? When vibrated off the IR filter, it should fall down to the bottom of the sensor where a dust trap collects it. We think of dust as not being affected by gravity, but this is a false assumption. Dust will fall unless the force of air currents around it creates more frictional force than that of gravity, unless there is an electrical charge acting on the dust that is stronger than gravity, or unless a combination of both air and static charge is stronger than gravity. Air molecules that are affected by Brownian motion are much smaller than dust particles. Inside the mirror box there is not a source of moving air to suspend the dust in the air for any length of time. Some designs actually use air motion to help the dust move towards the trap below the sensor. They generate this very weak air motion by the designed shape of moving parts in the dust cleaning system. What's the most effective and safe way to clean a sensor? There isn't one. There are more effective methods, and there are safer methods. They are generally inversely proportional to each other. The methods, in order from lowest to highest risk factor are: Automatic dust removal system, air blower (with a filtered intake), electrically charged brush, and wet cleaning systems that use swabs and cleaning fluid. zetty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeys Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Can't think of a camera without something like that nowadays - believe me it helps with the dust issues. Also, those items you bought look pretty alright. Good luck with the sensor cleaning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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