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Revolutionary sensor cleaning, that works!

nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
As everyone may have notice here in OPF, I like to have my sensor clean…
Some just don't bother, as they never see these nasty little spots on their prints.

Anyway, last Tuesday, as I went to the local camera shop, I met a nice fellow which affirmed that he could clean the sensors better than Canon or Nikon, in fact he explained me that the technique using the Eclipse liquid leaves a fine layer which veils the images.
He uses a liquid of his own to clean the sensor.
The people from the camera shop told me that he was serious and had cleaned many sensors for their client and that his technique is really amazing and worth the try…

I was a little skeptic, but I like to live dangerously and decided to test and here is the result, for 38 Euros (VAT included!).

Link

Of course I have no connection with this man, he's not a friend and I don't own his company!-)

His website Contact page doesn't work for me, if you want to contact him, PM me and I'll send you his email and/or phone.

And yes, he can receive bodies from abroad, and yes he will send the bodies back to their home after cleaning!
 
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Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
HI Nicolas,

The changes are incroyable et formidable!

However, it would be good to know details in English and turnaround time!!!

What kind of a setup does he have?

Is he a professional camera technician or what?

What is the black blob on the left of your test pictures? Is it dirt or else the electricity sockette on the wall?

Maybe you make a translation in English with method of payment and address for shipping.

Is this only for certain types of film or what?

Asher

P.S. could you insert cropped versions of your before and after pictures in your post above!!
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Bonsoir Asher
As far as I can answer your questions:
He has a workshop in Bordeaux
He is a camera tech, established for years
Turnaround: camera shipped back the day after he has received it
The black blob you see is a hole in cardboard box - I can assure you that there are no blobs on my sensor!
For now he can be paid with checks, wire transfer, cash (credit card to come, I assume)
I'll drop here his email there tomorow - Shipping will be to Bordeaux - France
He does this cleaning on all DSLR - any brands

The link brings to an already cropped area, down below I have inserted a small pic of the entire image that shows where the focus where done…

The increase of DOF and piqué is so large that it couldn't be shown on a smaller part… but I'll insert one as a teaser ;-)!

AQUITAINE PHOTO REPARATIONS
108 Av. Thiers
33100 Bordeaux
France

Tel: + 33 556.32.01.02
fax : + 33 556 86 30 04
email: aquitaine at photo-reparations.com
 
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nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Here is the smaller part 100% cropped.

Of course, no sharpening, no noise reduction, extracted from raw with C1 pro 3.77

capteur_small-.jpg


Same link as above post (larger crop)
 
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J

John_Nevill

New member
Nicolas,

I'm equally amazed!.

The old eclipse fluid always leaves a residue on lenses, so I'm not surprised to see such difference in clarity.

Any idea what the magic potion is?
 
D

Duke Beattie

Member
It would be interesting to know what he uses...
Eclipse is 100% methanol, not USP grade as far as the MSDS says...... E2 is a mix of Methanol, ethanol and isopropal alcohol..
I use pure Ethanol (200 proof) USP (U.S. Pharmacopeia) grade. And I've been playing with Dust-Aid, which seems to work pretty good.
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Bonjour Duke
Nope, I don't know what he uses and he won't tell, this is he's living! Unless a "big" company wants to buy him the receipe…

Me too I though I was doing pretty well… (really), he said that my sensor was pretty clean and dust free, but still the residues creating that mist…

When I think to all these lens comparisons! LoL!
 
P

Phil Marion

New member
cleaning your sensor can leave it with a slight residue that can blur your photos? Cleaning it makes it dirty, ok LESS dirty.
Boy, I am missing my film days.
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Hi Phil
… … … yes!
It depends with what you clean your sensor (you may even scratch it!)

I have been told that Canon France uses Eclipse to clean the sensors, and yes, obviously, Eclipse leave the sensor with a slight residue
.
This is what I have learned 2 days ago, after 7 years shooting digital…

And to complete the story, that guy says that Eclipse, not only leaves a residue that blur pictures, but also does stick and keep the dust on it…

Film days? Oh no! can't you remember the hours spent in PS to remove scratches and spots on the scan files? I do!

Have a nice week-end though!
 
E

Eric Hiss

Member
I'm having trouble believing this.

I'm a skeptic.... checked the calendar...not April 1st yet...what's the deal? I have never noticed eclipse fluid leaving a residue on lenses if it is used properly.
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Eric

I was skeptic too, made the jump, the result is on the samples posted above, that's all I can tell, I have nothing to win or loose with this, I'm just happy to have discovered…
 
R

Ray West

New member
Hi Nicolas,

Your before and after images are comparing what, exactly?

A sensor before cleaning, and one after cleaning?

Although I am not doubting what anyone has said, I see no _evidence_ here that eclipse leaves a film, and this other fluid does not. I suspect that maybe a similar before and after with any cleaning method could be made to look impressive.

Just so much pseudo science creeping in here, like oxygen free hifi cables, and the like. This is just how it appears to me, but then a bit of spit on my finger is used to clean a lot of stuff. ;-) ;-)

Best wishes,

Ray
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Ray West said:
Your before and after images are comparing what, exactly?

A sensor before cleaning, and one after cleaning?
Click to expand...

yes, the before is after my cleaning and the after is after his cleaning -
Both shot at his workshop.

Pseudo-science or science have nothing to do here. Facts only
 
E

Edward Bussa

Member
Does anyone have a before and after shot using eclipse (for the first time would be great) ?

That magic solution wouldn't happen to be lighter fluid would it? ;)
 
J

Jeremy Jachym

pro member
Whatever it is it appears to work a hell of a lot better than anything that's currently marketed to the public.

Off all the techniques for getting a sharp, detail rich image... cleaning the sensor properly has eluded us all this time!

Nicolas, if you could post his contact info that would be helpful. Does he speak english by any chance? Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Cheers,

JJ
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Hi Jeremy

this was posted in post #3:

AQUITAINE PHOTO REPARATIONS
108 Av. Thiers
33100 Bordeaux
France

Tel: + 33 556.32.01.02
fax : + 33 556 86 30 04
email: aquitaine at photo-reparations.com

I suggest you use the fax, I think he can understand English, but not sure he can have a fluent conversation…

He's on the move within a few weeks to a better workshop (of his own) where, among many improvements for his work, he will have a DSL connection… for now he has only a modem connection and doesn't check his email box quite often.
That's the reason for the fax suggestion.
If it doesn't work well, PM me and I'll print your message for him…

Bonne soirée…

FYI
The link from his website doensn't work well…so
http://www.photo-reparations.com/
and
http://www.photo-reparations.com/contact.htm
http://www.photo-reparations.com/intervention.htm
 
P

Phil Marion

New member
Edward Bussa said:
That magic solution wouldn't happen to be lighter fluid would it? ;)
Click to expand...

No way!! The only thing that can work THAT magic would have to be a Semillon or Muscadelle. A Merlot would have left a slight magenta cast.
AAAAH Bordeaux. Lucky Nicolas. I bet the wine is cheaper than the bottled water there, non?
I should check with my relatives in Alsace to see if anyone there is using a Risling or Gewertztraminer on their sensors.
 
N

Nikolai Sklobovsky

New member
I got curious, so I consulted with my chemstry-aware friends and relatives.
The reply was unanimous: it's gotta be an alcohol of some sort, close to 100%.
I'm gonna find a bottle of 99.953% pure isopropyl alcohol ($10 for 1 liter) and try it.
First on a mirror, then on a filter, then on a cheap lens and finally on the sensor.

My eclispe bottle is running low anyway..:)

I must say, however, that I'm yet to see the veil myself.
Nicolas, are you sure you didn't use absynthe?;-)

UPDATE: found and ordered 100ml bottle. Will test next week.
 
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nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
LoL Nikolaï

absynthe is forbidden in France for decades!

I do not have any knowledge in chemistry but I would consider, before applying any liquid on my sensor (in fact on the filter) it won't "attack" its surface.

Mirror, lens (even cheap) are made of a kind of glass, I'm not sure about the sensor filter and about sensor without filter (non Canon bodies)…

Not a reason to drink "à la Russe" your brand new 100% alcohol bottle!-)
 
K

KrisCarnmarker

New member
That's a huge difference! The improvement in resolution looks almost as large as those when the AA filter is removed. Have you checked that you still have an AA filter? ;)

Regarding the fluid, all we can do is guess, unless Nicolas can feed the guy enough wine, hehe. However, I doubt it is some sort of pure alcohol. Don't lenses and especially the filter over the sensor have a coating that would be removed with pure alcohol? Additionally, if it was as simple as using pure alcohol, safely, wouldn't it be on the market by now? It's not like pure alcohol as a cleaning solution is something new.
 
Andrew Rodney

Andrew Rodney

New member
I checked about this with my inside source at Canon. He said (as we all know), the IR absorbent glass filter with an anti-reflection coating is what's getting cleaned here. He said that if a fluid used to clean it wouldn’t apply a film to this surface, as you'd see on a lens, then it should be fine and there's no reason you'd see a film or fog over the sensor as the before here appears to show. Makes sense. Of course its a lot more difficult to see a film over this glass filter deep inside the camera. I have a Visible Dust light magnifier goodie (highly recommended). It makes viewing this surface a lot easier. So, according to this fellow, if it looks clean, you don't see a film as you could on a lens using the wrong cleaner, your sensor should be as clean as it can be.
 
N

Nikolai Sklobovsky

New member
Nicolas Claris said:
LoL Nikolaï

absynthe is forbidden in France for decades!

I do not have any knowledge in chemistry but I would consider, before applying any liquid on my sensor (in fact on the filter) it won't "attack" its surface.

Mirror, lens (even cheap) are made of a kind of glass, I'm not sure about the sensor filter and about sensor without filter (non Canon bodies)…

Not a reason to drink "à la Russe" your brand new 100% alcohol bottle!-)
Click to expand...

AFAIK, both sensor and the filters in front of it (in MkIII, 40D and 400D) are sealed in glass or a glass-like ceramic substance.

As to the drinking - it's isopropyl, not ethyl alcohol, hence no drinking for yours truly :)
 
N

Nikolai Sklobovsky

New member
Andrew Rodney said:
I checked about this with my inside source at Canon. He said (as we all know), the IR absorbent glass filter with an anti-reflection coating is what's getting cleaned here. He said that if a fluid used to clean it wouldn’t apply a film to this surface, as you'd see on a lens, then it should be fine and there's no reason you'd see a film or fog over the sensor as the before here appears to show. Makes sense. Of course its a lot more difficult to see a film over this glass filter deep inside the camera. I have a Visible Dust light magnifier goodie (highly recommended). It makes viewing this surface a lot easier. So, according to this fellow, if it looks clean, you don't see a film as you could on a lens using the wrong cleaner, your sensor should be as clean as it can be.
Click to expand...
Andrew,
thank you very much for the insight!
Do you think applying isopropyl alcohol to 40D's upper plate (the one that shakes) can cause issues?
TIA!
 
nicolas claris

nicolas claris

OPF Co-founder/Administrator
Unfortunately Serge Lenormand doesn't speak much English…

I did send him the link to here, and I received this morning an email from him (in French):

Dear Sir, a large thank you! How could I remain insensitive, after 35 years of after sale service, by the demonstrations of satisfaction of my customers!! That pushes me to persist and, if possible, improve my service. I regret not being able to write to you in English and ask you to forgive me.
Concerning my methodology and my chemistry, you will understand that I wish to preserve and protect it.

My knowledge has been obtained in more than three decades, by the training courses carried out at, Heurtier, Prestinox, Rollei, Hanimex, Vivitar, Mamiya, Leica..... I can simply say that my not pollutants chemistry uses only "clean" products.

Respectfully yours
Serge Lenormand / A.P.R
Click to expand...
 
J

Jeremy Jachym

pro member
Thanks for translating his words Nicolas. He sounds like a pretty cool guy. I hope he's able to make contact with someone in the cleaning solution industry or a wealthy entrepreneur who wouldn't mind becoming a little more wealthy ;-)

JJ
 
E

Eric Hiss

Member
I still do not believe it

I doubt very much that this would be the normal users experience. When I was first getting started with digital I used alcohol and a kleenex to clean my 1D sensor. The kleenex was one of those with lotion in it so you don't get a sore nose. The combination left a bad film on my sensor but it did not make that much difference in my images as what was posted here. Okay so I was dim then when just getting started with photography but several passed with a pec pad and eclipse cleaned my sensor - no trace left.

I continue to be skeptical about this cleaning!
 
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