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Wet cleaning M9 sensor... products?

mjm6

Member
After almost 16 months without, it appears that I finally have a need to wet clean my sensor...

Well, maybe... it looks like it may be a crack or scratch in the glass or some other flaw, but I can't really be sure unless I can confirm that it isn't removed by a decent cleaning. It doesn't look like the regular corner crack (it appears absolutely linear and vertical as opposed to most cracks that I've seen that are curved).

The only other possibility I can think of is the shutter may have deflected and scratched the sensor. I did have the shutter act up once that day (I could hear what sounded like only 1/2 of the normal shutter sound, and no image appears to have been taken).

Anyway... I now need to get some wet cleaning materials to see if it is merely a line of oil or something like that. I've seen some threads on the Leica Users Forum, but it was a pretty indecisive conclusion, with many different opinions expressed. That doesn't really help provide a definitive answer on what cleaning approach works the best!

So... can anyone tell me what they have used, and whether it results in essentially perfect cleaning results?

Thanks,

---Michael
 

baudolino

Active member
+1 sensor swabs (type 3) and Eclipse fluid (it is my understanding that there is only one Eclipse now, the original formulation, as the maker have established that the original Eclipse is safe for any type of sensor and they have discontinued Eclipse 2)
 

rcerick

Member
+1. These work like a charm together. The 1.5 cm swabs are recommended for the M9 if I recall correctly. Don't be bashful in wiping the sensor both ways with adequate fluid.
Rich
 
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W

wilsonlaidlaw

Guest
I have found the best way is to wipe the first stroke while wiggling the wand from side to side with enough pressure to bend the wand stalk slightly. The return stroke should be straight with slightly less pressure. Shake off any excess fluid before cleaning. Having tried various wands over the last 4 years, I regret to advise the ridiculously expensive Visible Dust ones seem to work best. Green clean more aggressively than the orange ones. For the M9, you may need the corner swabs to get into the far corners of the sensor. I have never needed these for the M8.

Wilson
 

mjm6

Member
Thanks Wilson. I was wondering about the corner swabs... The discussions I have seen don't seem to mention it, so I didn't get them, but I'll get them if I encounter any difficulty.

I did get the 1.3 swabs as people have said that the full size are a little large to fit the hole.

---Michael
 

mjm6

Member
These VD products really do seem to work like a charm. Much better than any other wet cleaning device I've used in the past, but it's been a while since I've needed to wet clean (I've avoided it because of how unsatisfactory the results have been in the past).

Thanks for the input. I can highly recommend the VD products for the Leica, and probably many others as well.


---Michael
 

mjm6

Member
One note, the artifact that I saw is a very subtle scratch on the coverglass. I thin kit has been there the entire time, but it only appeared because I was shooting at f22 with the 90mm lens, so it had never been apparent before.

Since it had never even come close to touching the glass before, it certainly didn't come from me, but I suppose it is possible to have come from the shutter (it is perfectly vertical, that is, in the same direction as the shutter movement).

---Michael
 
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