The Ceremuga Family - Product Reviews
Sensor Cleaning Kit Review.
First let me preface this by saying that I do not work for either company and I do not endorse either product. I was not given either product, but chose to buy each product for the sake of finding out which is a better bargain and which one is of better quality. As a note, the owner of CopperHill refunded my purchase which I did NOT request. He felt that if I was not happy, that he would rather just refund my money. I still do not understand, because as you will see, I prefer some aspects of the CopperHill swipe. I believe that the person who runs CopperHill will do whatever it takes to ensure satisfaction with the purchase. Both companies have really good websites and are very instructional. I give a point to CopperHill for being much quicker in replying to email enquiries and ability to support the end users. This may be a defining difference between the two as you will NOT get personalized service from Micro-tools. Personally I like the CopperHill website as it mixes a bit of humor with well worded instructions. It makes good sense. The Micro-Tools site is more for reference and has some great information!Update: When you follow instructions properly, using the proper amounts of eclipse, you will have no streak marks or residue. It will leave your low pass filter completely clean.You can click on the thumbnails to get a full sized image. If you are on dial up, I do not recommend trying to view these large images. Let us first compare what you get for a cool average of $40.00.
CopperHill Kit:
1 sensorswipe pre-wrapped with a PEC*PAD
1 bottle of Eclipse fluid which includes 10 PEC*PADS
1 package of 100 PEC*PADS Micro-Tools
(DigitalCameraCleaning):
1 sensorswipe pre-wrapped with a PEC*PAD
1 bottle of Eclipse fluid which includes 10 PEC*PADS
1 package of 100 PEC*PADS
1 foot powered high power air blowerBoth come well packaged, but the CopperHill will ship quicker on
average. (Based on the feedback I've gotten from the dpreview forums).Both the CopperHill and DigitalCameraCleaning kit come with the following
100 Pec Pads
In all honesty, that is where the similarity ends. There is a sufficient difference in the swipes to warrant a closer look.Here is a picture of both swipes, how they come. Pre-wrapped with a PEC*PAD. The top one is the one that comes from DigitalCameraCleaning and the bottom one with the logo is from CopperHill.
Here are the same swipes removed from the packages and the PEC*PAD removed. Once again, the CopperHill is the one with the logo on the swipe. Take a close look at the tips of each swipe. You will notice that neither look machine cut, as they are a little uneven. The DigitalCameraCleaning swipe has what appears to be a more uniform cut and a nice "sharp" flat end. The CopperHill appears to have a little disadvantage at this stage. We all know that a flat tip will make the best contact with a flat surface. One that is not quite straight will require more pressure to make complete contact with the flat surface.
Here is a close up of the CopperHill SensorSwipe. As you can see from the side, the angle of the cuts look fine.
Here is the close up of the DigitalCameraCleaning swipe. Again, the cut looks good.
Let us look at both in action. This is where it all gets interesting. I applied whatever amount of pressure was necessary to get the entire cleaning surface of the swipe to make complete contact with my test glass. First is the CopperHill SensorSwipe. Notice that it flexes at the tip, where it should. It was able to make contact with minimal pressure.
Here is the DigitalCameraCleaning swipe in action. I had to apply more pressure, and notice that the tip does bend, but the end is made from a firmer material and the handle had to bend a little to get the swipe in good contact with the glass. I really felt uncomfortable applying this much pressure. Though in all honesty, I so not think it is enough pressure to damage a sensor.
You know that I am not going to declare one better than the other. That is for you to decide. Let us look at some other differences. The DigitalCameraCleaning swipe tip is glued to the handle, while the CopperHill tip falls off without much effort. This is a strike against the Copperhill swipe. I think they should glue the tip. I got frustrated a few times when it came off while removing a pad, making it a pain to remove the PEC*PAD. I also found that the tip of the CopperHill wiggles just a tad. Is this a plus or a minus, that is for you to decide.
The last difference is for about the same price, the Micro-Tools (DigitalCameraCleaning) kit includes a rather powerful foot pump air tool. This is very nice and is great at cleaning all the dust from between the seams of your camera, camera controls, and lenses. I am not sure I would rely on this for cleaning sensors. I will not make a judgment on this aspect of this air pump.
Conclusion:I won't make a recommendation of one kit or another, only my personal observations. Here you have a big company like Micro-Tools that can buy products directly from the manufacturer and sell the product at quite a reduced price compared to an individual or small number of individuals who are running a small company like CopperHill, that has to pay substantially more for the exact same product. This is like shopping at Wal-mart verses a small camera shop. Personally, I would rather give my support (if I can afford it) to the small business man, as long as there is not much of a difference in price.On the surface, the Micro-Tools kit is a much better deal, as you get the exact same products as the CopperHill with a added bonus of a powerful foot powered air blower. But you HAVE to factor in customer service, quality of the website and the quality of the support. I have had a lot of contact with the individual who runs CopperHill. While I find him a bit edgy about my wanting to compare products, he is genuine and does care about making people happy with their purchase. I don't think you will ever get this kind of a service from ANY large company. On the other hand, Micro-Tools offers a really educational website and you are pretty much on your own.The choice is yours, I am just supplying you with information to base your purchase. Either way you go, this is absolutely the most effective way to perfectly clean your sensor, just like they do at the factory.
If you feel I missed something that needs addressed, please drop me an email.