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Had a conversation with a retired repairman that changed my approach to cleaning sensor contacts
Ran into an old fellow named Dave at a camera show last Saturday. He used to repair Leicas in the 70s and 80s. We got to talking about stubborn sensor contacts and I mentioned I use isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip like everyone else. He stopped me right there and said I was probably doing more harm than good. Told me the cotton fibers from q-tips can leave residue that attracts dust over time. He showed me a trick using a pencil eraser instead - just a plain white Staedtler eraser, nothing fancy. I tried it yesterday on a Nikon D200 that kept throwing an error and it worked perfectly. First time I've had those contacts clean without any leftover fuzz. Has anyone else ever tried this method or am I just late to the party?
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jade5171mo ago
Wait, you've never heard the eraser trick before? That's wild because it's honestly one of those old school methods that works way better than you'd think. I've been doing it for years on everything from vintage film gear to modern digital bodies and it's never let me down. The key is to use a fresh clean eraser and not press too hard, you just want to gently rub the contacts a few times then blow off any tiny eraser bits. And yeah, the cotton fiber thing is real, I've had q-tips leave little strands stuck between pins that caused more problems than the dirt ever did.
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karen3611mo ago
Wait, did you actually say you've done this for YEARS on modern digital bodies too? That's wild to me. I have a D800e that I've been babying with q-tips since I got it and now I'm kinda freaking out thinking about all those little fibers I might've left in there. Honestly the thought of rubbing an eraser on something that delicate sounded so sketchy at first but hearing you say you've done it on everything from film gear to digital makes me want to try it on my old Canon 5D that's been acting up lately. I've got a fresh Staedtler sitting in my desk drawer right now and I'm seriously tempted to go grab that camera just to see if it fixes the intermittent error it keeps throwing.
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Lol I love how you're sitting there with a Staedtler in your hand like it's some kind of forbidden weapon. Honestly though, that D800e is a tank, it's not gonna fall apart from a gentle eraser rub. The q-tip fiber thing is real though, I've pulled literal cotton fluff out of contacts before and it made the camera act way worse than any dirt ever did. Your 5D with the intermittent error is actually pretty common for that era, I bet the contacts are just slightly oxidized or dirty. Just give it a couple gentle passes, blow off the crumbs, and see if it doesn't magically start behaving again. Worst case scenario you wasted 30 seconds and a slightly used eraser.
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