Need Three Things - Recommendations Please

Hello,

 

I need three things and rather than make three posts, I'll just list them . Your recommendations are appreciated!

 

1. Sensor cleaning kit or supplies? There are a lot of choices; is one kit better than another?

 

2. I need a new backpack as mine is 10 years old. The zippers are not zipping too well. I would like to have the style that you can flip around in front of you, lay it forward like a table and get your gear that way..I think. Do any of you use that style? I think not having to set it on the ground would be a nice thing especially since waterfall locations never have a nice level place for your bag to sit.

 

3. A neck strap or shoulder strap or harness with a reliable attachment to the camera...for when you want to have your camera accessible while walking in the woods.

 

I appreciate any advice - thanks!

 

Renee

Sensor cleaning kit or supplies?

First thing to get: Giotto's blower. Always use first to blow off stuff. Don't use canned air, you end up with more spots on the sensor. For a long time, this was all I needed to keep the sensor clean.

 

Don't buy the Arctic Butterfly brush (or anything similar); expensive and doesn't do much at all. Their brushes spread wide when charged and then can actually move oil from the area around the sensor onto it. Chances are that if the blower doesn't remove the spots, the brush won't do it either.

 

So far (in 11 years) I have not done a single wet cleaning although this year I got so close as to purchase the supplies but then found something better: lenspen sensorklean Amazon.com : Lenspen LENSK1A Sensorklear Ii with Articulated Tip : Camera Cleaning Brushes : Camera & Photo. It easily removed all the spots that even the Sensor Gel Stick Sensor Gel Stick didn't get off.

 

new backpack

I have one like that: Lowepro Flipside 400 AW II - High Capacity DSLR Camera Backpack | Lowepro (actually the older version). I only used it once on a trip to Italy where I considered it prudent to have the access hidden towards my back away from prying fingers. Unfortunately, the straps tend to get in the way when retrieving things, as does the flap (which should really open the other way).

 

I recently replaced all my Lowepro backpacks with Thinktank Streetwalker ones (they have three sizes, all of which have very recently been redesigned (V2.0)). The Streetwalker is the smallest; it is too shallow to hold a DSLR with battery grip attached. The Streetwalker Pro is my favorite as it easily holds my most common travel kit. The Streetwalker Harddrive is the largest of the three; when fully loaded it becomes almost to heavy to carry. With the redesign, they added a fourth, the Streetwalker Rolling Backpack; haven't seen or tried one yet. You may also want to look at mindshiftgear.

 

A neck strap or shoulder strap

Black Rapids seems to be everyone's favorite. Not mine though as I don't like the idea of a single attachment point. I purchase a competitors product that I used only once before I realized how cumbersome it is (Black Rapid forced them out of business). When I use a strap (rarely) I am now very partial to the ones from Peak Design. Their connection system is excellent, easy to use and for all I know (I use their hand strap on all my cameras) safe.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Dieter Schaefer

Thanks, Dieter! Funny you should mention mindshiftgear as I already had my eye on this one. But I am going to look at those Streetwalker ones as well to see what they have. I appreciate the other suggestions as well. I believe I have looked at Peak Design before as well.

In a not related comment, I have to express my regret that with the 'new' pn platform, I miss being able to sign in from a forum post and remain in that thread...I'm sure I am not the first to lament this.

I carry three cleaning tools - a Giottos Rocket Blower, a set of Visible Dust brushes, and a small bottle of Eclipse Fluid (methanol) and a pack of sealed Sensor Swabs.

 

Only Eclipse Fluid removes oil or water spots. These are not common if you use due diligence and don't remove the lens in salt spray or blow on it with your mouth. Both of my Sony A7 cameras developed oil spots in the first month, but have not recurred since that time. This method usually leaves some lint. which can be removed by one of the other methods, and is a last resort due to its intrusiveness.

 

The Giottos blower will remove lint, but mineral dust tends to stick more tightly (as in Arizona or Iceland). The blower is my first response, but not always the most effective.

 

Brushes, Visible Dust or an affordable alternative, work 80% of the time (or more). I have a motorized handle which will spin and charge the brushes without resorting to canned "air." They remove lint, mineral dust and residue left by wet cleaning above, out to the very corners and edges. You get one, two at the most passes before charging/cleaning must be repeated. NEVER touch the fibers with your fingers, or use them on lenses. There are better, cheaper tools for that.

 

I use a ThinkTank Airport backpack for my gear. They come in four sizes (I have at least one of each). They have a semi-rigid rectangular frame which holds its shape and is very space efficient, and three handles for handling in overhead bin compartments. The harness is okay, but there are better choices (e.g., MindShiftGear) for serious schlepping. The smallest model holds two Sony A7 bodies, seven lenses, a flash and stuff, for a total weight (including the bag) of about 22 pounds.

 

I have used several neckstraps, from ThinkTank (light but narrow), SunSniper (like Black Rapid, but better hardware), and most recently, ReallyRightStuff (Magpul single-point rifle sling with QR swivels). My back can't tolerate a neck sling even with a light (e.g., Leica) camera any more, but I can go all day with an over-the-shoulder strap with a 70-200 attached. The RRS strap uses a mini Arca clamp, which attaches to the RRS L-plate on my camera(s). It's strong, and much easier to remove for using a tripod. The idea of a swivel which slides on a stationary strap does not work in practice. The strap always gets twisted. The RRS makes no pretense in this regard. The camera is attached at one point on the strap, and the strap moves as needed. It's 1-1/4" wide and needs no shoulder pad.

Thanks Ed - have the Giottos blower in my shopping cart now. ThinkTank does make some nice bags as well. Will check out the RRS strap options. I want to be able to carry my camera on the way conveniently and comfortably.

The strap is expensive, but half the cost is for the strap itself. On some RRS plates, there is a hole for the military QR on the strap, rendering the mini-clamp unnecessary.

 

The smallest Airport bag is just deep enough (4.5") for a mirrorless camera like the Sony A7. The larger bags are at least 6" deep, and hold a pro-sized Nikon below the lip, or an Hasselblad 555ELD with a 45 degree prism in place. All of them hold a lot of gear. There's a photo of my setup in my gallery, which I can't seem to access at the moment.

Backpacks

 

When I am carrying my DSLR(s) and large lenses, I use a Thinktank Airport Commuter. When I am carrying mirrorless gear, I use either a Lowepro Protactic 350 or an Amazon Basics Hiker Camera/Laptop backpack.

 

The Lowepro Protactic sounds like it might be what you're looking for.

 

 

 

 

Have you pondered greasing your current backpack's zips? - Worked well for my jackets and similar. I'm not sure which grease to recommend but wisdom should be online.

One of the various dri lubes or silicone sprays should help.

Have you pondered greasing your current backpack's zips? - Worked well for my jackets and similar. I'm not sure which grease to recommend but wisdom should be online.

Plain margarine (just a finger tip, don't make it totally greasy) works perfectly for all zippers metal ones as wel as nylon ones

Renee,

 

1. Sensor cleaning kit or supplies?

My kit includes.

I use a Good blower (Rocket)

Copperhill brush that I can electrostatically charge (out of business)

Lenspen SensorKlear II with Articulated Tip (concur with previous comment, you need this item)

Photographic Solutions sensor swabs with Eclipse

I also invested in a jig to hold my camera at the proper angle and a illuminated loop that I could wear on my head while I am working on the sensor.

All these things were paid for with two cleanings that I would have paid $100 per sensor for locally.

 

 

2. I need a new backpack as mine is 10 years old. The zippers are not zipping too well.

Try bee's wax to lubricate the zippers. Its been tried and true on finicky dry suit zippers for diving for many years. I use it on mine.

I still us back packs that will allow for a long lens. Lowepro, Tamrac and Think Tank are all packs I own that will allow a minimum 500mm f4 and I like all of them for different reasons.

 

3. A neck strap or shoulder strap or harness with a reliable attachment to the camera.

I have liked the UPstrap design. Its all I currently use on my pro level gear. The Peak Design and Black Rapid straps about the same price. I want to try their systems.

 

Good hunting.

Sensor cleaning: I am pleased with DustAid. I own several blowers but DustAid makes shooting products at f16 possible and fun again. - My M8 has a pretty thin filter in front of the sensor, so dust shows up boldly. Buying a pair of supermarket +3 reading glasses (mine have tiny LEDs built in) to store with your cleaning kit is a good idea, if you are 30+. I didn't need to try wet cleaning yet.

Jochen, I concur with your comment. I have had some success with the DustAid dry sensor cleaning product and think it a good alternative to wet cleaning. Ten years ago while living close to the desert I was cleaning my Fuji S2 regularly and Nikon D2X occasionally because they were inherently harder to keep clean. The current systems have self cleaning sensors that work very well but when you stop down on a light background you really see the need to clean. Of course stopping way down is one of my checks after I have cleaned. I am not afraid to shoot macro/close-up at f16 and f22, even if the earth's axis flips in the process, so I like my sensor to be reasonably clean. Readers with LEDs. Great suggestion. I want one!!

One of my sensor brushes has LEDs, which are somewhat useful. However you can see particulate much more clearly using oblique light, not dead-on like those LEDs. For that, I use a high-intensity flashlight, which I carry religiously (for working in dark off-stage areas). Built-in LEDs are still useful for maneuvering inside the camera, making sure the edges and corners are covered. Shooting a blank surface, stopped down, is by far the most sensitive check method.

 

It really helps to dust off the back of lenses and occasionally vacuum the camera bag.