Last Updated on 01/20/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
Leica’s official sensor cleaning procedure takes time, effort, and patience.
Have you ever wondered what’s involved when it comes to cleaning a camera sensor? While there are kits available for you to do this at home, it’s really not recommended unless you have the utmost confidence in your own hand eye coordination, especially if your dealing with a camera that costs as much as a Leica does. After the break we have a video that shows just how much care a Leica technician gives to each Leica camera that is taken in for a sensor cleaning.
When Leica society member Hari Subramanyam decided it was time for his Leica M (Typ 240) and his Leica SL to have a sensor cleaning treatment, instead of going to a local camera shop, he took the camera straight to Leica themselves. While he was there he asked the Leica customer service representative, Michel Razafimahefa, if he could film the process. The 20 minute video shows the painstaking lengths that Leica technicians go to, to make sure that every speck of dust finds its way outside of the camera body.
Recently, ISO 200 posted the sensor cleaning video to their website, and I have to say that after watching the video, it made me wonder just how much dust and dirt I may have missed when doing sensor cleaning myself.
The attention to detail that goes into performing a sensor cleaning at Leica is immense. At times, Michel (the Leica customer service rep) asked Hari if he could see the specs of dirt himself, which he couldn’t because they were so tiny. They didn’t escape the eyes of a trained Leica professional though.
Right from the start you can tell that this will be a deep cleaning affair. From wiping down the bayonet ring to remove grease and grime, to making sure every single minute speck of dust gets removed with a Pentax sensor cleaning kit, Leica has you covered. Michel does a great job at explaining exactly what he’s doing every step of the way. As Leica themselves say, the official procedure for cleaning a sensor in a Leica camera “takes time, effort, and patience” which really should come as no surprise as Leica is known for their exquisite attention to detail in everything they do. Check out the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLTFD2poRTk
Have you ever cleaned the sensor in your own camera? How many times have you used a blower to remove dirt (I’m guilty as charged) instead of vacuuming it out of the body? Let us know about your sensor cleaning escapades in the comment section below.