Home > Consumer Reviews > 1.6X Sensor Cleaning Kit w/SensorWand®

The time had finally come for me to attempt to clean my sensor. I have tried having it professionally done before, but with very poor results. You know what they say... If you want something done right, do it yourself. The only problem here is that it was my camera sensor. Look on the web and there are warnings all over about the risk of damaging the sensor. But, an unusable camera (due to dust) is unusable - so I decided it was time to actually try it. And it wasn't so bad.

It was pretty nerve racking, but it was fairly easy.

I used a staged approach and I bought all the stuff - the blower, the brush, and the swabs. I went through each method and it was just like you read in the other reviews. The blower took off some, the brush took off more, and the swab got all the rest.

I was actually quite impressed. When I say it got all the rest, I do mean ALL the rest. My sensor was pretty dirty. I went through the other methods first, hoping that I wouldn't actually have to use the wet method, but it was fairly easy to do and all the spots came off - and this was my first time ever cleaning the sensor.

I did use two swabs to do it, but that's OK. They give you a pack of 100 of them.

The only negative comment - if you can call it that - was that I kind of expected the swabs to be designed to go on the stick. They are just big squares and you have to wrap them around the stick and use some tape or something to secure them. It wasn't a big deal and it certainly isn't enough to detract from the five star rating, but it wasn't what I expected.

Also, I was concerned that you are only getting 2 oz of cleaner, but it is actually quite a lot. You get a whole lot of cleanings in those 2 oz with only a couple drops per swab. If you compare the cost of this to the cost of having your camera "professionally" cleaned, it's a no-brainer.

Overall, I am quite happy with the product. My pictures are once again spot free.

I use this to clean my Canon SLR camera. Overall, it was much cheaper than taking it into the shop to be cleaned.

The kit is pretty basic with bunch of parts that you could buy separately probably for cheaper. But I would recommend it based on convenience of everything needed --packaged together. And ordering it online versus going to a camera shop.

If you follow the directions, and have a steady hand, it will clean your sensor just fine.

Well I'm with mixed feelings on this one. Some sites say you won't ever need this unless something really dumb happens to get junk on your sensor. So far after 6 years or so with 2 DSLR's, I've not needed this last resort measure of cleaning. The kit remains in its box.
My Rocket air cleaner does the trick so far although I admit one time I really had to work at it to dislodge a piece of junk off of the sensor. So if you or I don't do any thing real dumb, like during the cleaning procedure, (raised mirror) by blowing thereby spitting on the sensor, I really dont think this thing is needed. Can't say how to rate this w/o actually using it. My 2cents.

I've had the kit for a couple months now, not too impressed with the Pec-Pads that come with it. I've noticed that everytime I use the pads, small fibers are left behind. I've now resorted to a basic glass cleaning cloth instead. Haven't used the wand to clean the sensor yet, sorry can't comment on that. Hope this helps.

Chances are if you're reading this review you already have a dirty sensor. There are a lot of methods out there that you can use to clean your sensor but when it gets to a certain point you have no choice but to use the "wet", aka copperhill, method.
It can be more than a little intimidating the first time you clean your sensor but it really does work well and regardless of what you may have heard it really isn't that difficult. Be sure to check the copperhill website prior to your first cleaning as it has a very detailed tutorial on how to perform the procedure.
I haven't had the need to use the chamberswabs or cotton swabs so I don't know how well they work but the sensor wand and pec pads work great. For tin oxcide coated sensors (like my Nikon D80) you'll need to order the E2 (Eclipse 2) solution, as the regular solution can remove the tin oxcide coating. You can check the Eclipse website to see which one you should use for your camera. Even if you have to do order the E2 you can still use the enclosed Eclipse to clean your lenses.
If you don't already have a rocket blower I recommend you get the kit that has that packed in, it is very useful for everyday cleaning.
All around this is a good kit that should last you a number of months, if not years. Highly recommended.