A repair shop owner in Ohio told me I was cleaning sensor contacts all wrong...

I used to use isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip to clean sensor contacts on old film bodies. This guy at a shop in Akron said I was probably leaving residue that caused intermittent issues later. He showed me to use a dry cotton swab first, then only the tiniest drop of DeoxIT if the dry swab didn't work. I tried it on a Nikon FE that had spotty meter readings, and it worked perfectly the first time. Has anyone else gotten a basic cleaning tip that completely changed their workflow?

3 comments

3 Comments

vals3826d ago

Funny how @grantl94, same dry swab trick changed my whole cleaning routine too.

kevin_hernandez831mo ago

Dude same thing happened to me with my old Pentax K1000. I was using alcohol wipes and thought I was being careful but the guy at the camera shop in Cleveland showed me the exact same trick. Its wild how much those tiny bits of cotton fluff and leftover alcohol can mess with the electronics over time. Now I always start with a dry swab and just barely touch it to the contact points first. That DeoxIT stuff is like magic for the stubborn ones but you really only need a drop. Ever since I switched methods my old Nikons and Pentaxes just work way better with no ghosting issues. You ever try it on a camera that had battery drain problems?

grantl941mo ago

Notice that same idea shows up everywhere, not just cameras. I started applying the dry swab trick to my game consoles and even the battery terminals in my old truck, and the results have been just as solid. It makes me wonder what other simple fix like this could save people from buying expensive replacements too.