When it comes to cleaning your camera sensor, the truth is many photographers are very scared and don’t know how to do it. There are options like the Rocket Blower, the Arctic Butterfly, and very recently Dexter’s Vac-o-matic was sent to us for review. From the folks over at Dexter’s camera, the Vac-matic is a low power vacuum designed to clean your camera’s sensor by using a soft tip.
Of any option that I’ve used thus far, this combines effectiveness with ease of use far better than anything else.
Ergonomics
Dexter’s Vac-o-matic camera sensor cleaner may sound intimidating, but it really isn’t at all. The same fear that you have of even touching your camera sensor should be applied to your use of the Vac-o-matic.
It’s characterized by a handle with a switch, an exhaust pipe, and a vacuum tip.
The pipe takes all the dirt and gunk off of your sensor and spews it out of this pipe. Because of this, try not to aim the vent out at your face.
The key to all this is a very soft and squishy tip. It’s designed to take all the gunk off your sensor without harming it. Before you even begin, be sure to attack this tip.
As an additional piece of advice, try not to touch the tip with your hands. You’re just going to get your body’s natural oils onto it and perhaps cause even more smearing.
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Build Quality
Here’s the biggest problem with the vacuum; it’s built pretty cheaply. It’s bound to break eventually, but mine didn’t. It honestly feels like I can use a few ounces of strength and break the unit without any effort at all. There are surely better built options out there, but none as versatile or that work this well.
What the unit could surely benefit from though is a frontal light that lets you look at the sensor while you’re cleaning it.
Ease of Use
Most people are very scared of cleaning their own sensors, but it isn’t that tough at all. What you generally need to do with either a small brush, blower, or a vacuum like this is to hold it up above your head so that all the dirt falls out. You can also use it dry without the vacuum though it may not be as effective.
Conclusions
Dexter’s Vac-o-Matic is pretty small, but I wish it were thinner like the Arctic butterfly. For what it is though, it’s as small as one could possibly make it. It’s also highly effective at its job and very simple to use. So all in all, I can’t really fault it for being a first generation product that they’ve been working on for years.