Switched from compressed air to bulb blowers for sensor cleaning after a $600 mistake

Used to blast out mirror boxes with canned air on every CLA. That worked fine until February when a propellant streak landed right on the AF sensor of a Nikon D850 at my shop in Portland. Customer had to send it to Nikon for a $600 recalibration. Now I only use manual bulb blowers for sensor cavities and keep compressed air for body shells only. Anyone else had a propellant disaster or am I the only dummy?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyg6020d ago

@cora863 is right, a rocket blower is just safer and I'll never go back after that mess.

the_susan1mo ago

Gotta push back on this one a bit. I've been using compressed air on sensors for over a decade and never had a propellant issue with the good brands. You might have gotten a bad can or held it wrong, honestly. When you tilt the can or shake it too much, liquid can come out but that's user error not a product flaw. I still use compressed air on mirror boxes and sensors all the time, just make sure to hold the can upright and do a quick test blast away from the gear first. A bulb blower can work but it doesn't have the same power to really clear out stubborn dust that gets stuck near the sensor.

cora8631mo ago

The whole "user error" argument gets thrown around too much though. Even careful people can get a sputtering can especially if it's cold or almost empty. A rocket blower might not have the same raw power but it also won't ever ruin your gear which makes it the safer bet long term.