Talked to an old-school repair guy who said I should stop using IPA for sensor cleaning

He told me a 60-year-old method of using a specific brand of lens tissue and a drop of distilled water works better and I gotta admit my last 5 cleanings with IPA left smudges so now I'm wondering who else has tried the old water method on modern sensors?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.nancy5d ago

whoa hold up, 60 year old method for modern sensors? lol that sounds a little sketchy to me. I mean sure distilled water works on mirrors and lenses but sensors have that crazy sensitive coating now. if IPA is leaving smudges maybe its the cheap stuff with additives or you're letting it dry before wiping off.

jake_chen5d ago

Yeah I tried the distilled water thing on my sony a7iii after seeing mixed stuff online. @mitchell.nancy youre right about the coatings being sensitive, I actually got tiny water spots that wouldnt budge with a blower. Whats worked for me is using those premoistened sensor swabs, theyre like 5 bucks each but way less stressful than mixing my own solution. I had a bad experience with generic IPA leaving a haze too, so I just stick with the sensor cleaning kit from the camera shop now. Not perfect but safer than messing with 60 year old tech on a thousand dollar sensor.