Arctic Butterfly

[iandrews]

Does any one use an arctic butterfly to clean there sensor. I was thinking of getting one and happened to notice that "Digital Photo" and "Practical Photography" are currently giving one away (Sl700 version, worth about £45) with there current subscription offer. See http://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/stor...re.asp?sid=322

Apart from general news and kit reviews, would I be right in saying that Digital Photo is more to do with editing (hence the free CD with lessons), and Practical Photography more to do with the taking of photos.

Ian.

[chrisgeary]

unless you are very very good at keeping the bristles free from dirt and grease, i would recommend a rocket blower instead. touching the sensor with anything is to be treated as an absolute last resort. i speak from experience having owned an arctic butterfly (its really not that great at picking up dust anyway) and getting it dirty and then spreading that dirt.

[dave_bass5]

I agree and disagree with Chris.
I agree that it can also make things worse. my first one had bristles sticking out and i somehow managed to get grease or oil on the filter (thats what you clean, not the sensor itself) because they touched the sides as i was putting it in.
The second one i have is ok.

I disagree that a rocket blower is better. I have one and it would not dislodge a few dust spots, thats why i got the AB. But even that wont shift everything and i have also had to get a wet cleaning kit to remove the stubborn bits.
It is safer though.

Now i use the AB with care and it is a nice quick fix if im in a hurry.

But it is very, very overpriced IMO.

[h4rri]

DP is worth the money, I subscribed when they had the reflector on offer as that was more use to me [despite having not used it yet ] But I agree with DB5 that the Arctic Butterfly is seriously overpriced for what it is, I mean £45 for a whizzy brush

[senu]

Not used the AB ( was thinking of it lately) so Im not sure about it but Im sure those who wonder about VFM are right
I found that I needed 4 -5 attempts with the rocket blower before I could shift a particularly stubborn dust bunny..each time shooting a white card to test!!!
You may never notice them till you shoot the sky!

But it is OK ..for now
Moral..( for me at least) all methods are Ok within limitations the riskiest but by far most effective is the wet method

DP is IMHO worth subscribing to ... Considering I don't think I've missed an episode in the last 2 years.. its about time I subscribed .....I think..

It covers, Kit, technique and PP.. It doesn't do all in the same depth and breath but Ive never found one issue where I didn't get to learn something useful. and the CDs are valuable for learning pretty painlessly

[dave_bass5]

Originally Posted by h4rri

But I agree with DB5 that the Arctic Butterfly is seriously overpriced for what it is, I mean £45 for a whizzy brush

And im talking about the AB 724 which at the time was £69