[BruceBanner]

Two very quick questions;

1) I have an oiless air compressor, not a can that blows out that very cold air, but a 'proper' home use air compressor (for inflating paddling pools, cleaning pc etc). You can adjust the pressure etc.
I was wondering, is it safe to use an air compressor at the right and sensible pressure to help blow dust and hair fibers off lenses (including the glass) and camera bodies (but not inside the the camera body near the sensor!)? I mean, I sometimes use a small vacuum to get to places, and of course glass clothes etc, but my home can be very dusty (I dust every day!) and was thinking actually blasting the dust off occasionally would be quicker and less painful.

Thoughts?

2) And the other thing I just thought of quickly off the top of my head (and I haven't checked my manual yet but will on the train later)... I have a K-1, if i use all the storage on 2 of my 32gb sd cards inside the camera, could i in theory buy a 128/64gb card, insert it one of the slots in the K-1, then keep one of the 32gb cards in the other slot, and copy the files from the 32gb full card onto the 64 or 128gb card? As a way to backup what was taken 'on the go' or allowing me to format the two 32gb cards and store the files onto the one 64/128gb card and allow me to keep going? I'm aware that as you're taking pics I think the K-1 allows for the same file to be written to both sd cards at the same time, I'm just wondering if I filled both 32gb sd cards with different pics on each card (ie non cloning), could i then if i had to visit a shop, grab a 64-128gb and then copy the contents across without the need for a pc etc.


Cheers,

Bruce

[Kozlok]

is it safe to use an air compressor

Not even a little safe. Unless you have a sub-micron filter on the intake, there will be particles in the air stream, and you will make tiny pits in your sensor.

Use a rocket blower. I also use and recommend the Clean Skies brand brushes they sell on e-bay, basically just nylon painting brushes sold without the sizing. You use canned air to blow the bristles, which charges them with static electricity, which then acts like a vacuum. It's especially useful with pollen on the sensor (I lived in Florida for a time). Haven't needed them much in the desert, regular dust responds well to the rocket blower.

[BruceBanner]

Not even a little safe. Unless you have a sub-micron filter on the intake, there will be particles in the air stream, and you will make tiny pits in your sensor.

Use a rocket blower. I also use and recommend the Clean Skies brand brushes they sell on e-bay, basically just nylon painting brushes sold without the sizing. You use canned air to blow the bristles, which charges them with static electricity, which then acts like a vacuum. It's especially useful with pollen on the sensor (I lived in Florida for a time). Haven't needed them much in the desert, regular dust responds well to the rocket blower.

Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about air compressing near a sensor!, the camera body would either have it's lens cap thing on, or an actual lens attached. I was just talking about using something a bit more powerful than a rocket blower (I have and use one of those already). You know, just something with a little more force to tidy up the external body of the camera, blow off those dust particles in the hard to reach places and stubborn areas like the rubber optical viewfinder cap etc.
And then of course on a lens externally, perhaps also towards the glass front and rear but obviously at a lesser pressure etc.

I'm not talking about using a ac powered air compressor, max setting and sticking the nozzle into the camera body lol. I'm wondering if you set to a certain pressure that is considered safe for cleaning up equipment. My issue is, even with a rocket blower and cloth there is still visible hairs and particles. But like you said I will try the Clean Skies brand brushes etc.

[jatrax]

Use a rocket blower.

This ^^^^^^^^^ While it might be 'safe' for some degree of 'safe' why take chances? All it takes is once to ruin your camera. I remember getting into a long argument here some time ago with someone who insisted it was perfectly fine to stick his vacuum cleaner nozzle inside the camera and suck out dust, ignoring the chance of a massive static discharge. I won't start that again, except to say that there are many things in this world that work perfectly fine 95 or 98% of the time. And for many things that is just fine. So if you are OK taking that chance who am I to argue with anyone? But I will use a rocket blower, thank you.

could i then if i had to visit a shop, grab a 64-128gb and then copy the contents across without the need for a pc etc.

I do not believe you can copy from one card to another in the camera. Why not just use the new cards and put the used ones in a safe place?
If you are looking to have multiple backups on the go I think you will need a laptop, perhaps a tablet or one of the portable drive backup solutions like this: amazon.com: RAVPower Filehub, 5 in 1 SD Card USB Reader, Wireless Hard Drive Companion WiFi Bridge Sharing Media Streamer 3000mAh External Battery Pack, White: Computers & Accessories?tag=pentaxforums-20& Just picked that at random as illustration, not recommending it.

[Alex645]

Even if youʻre careful, any compressed air can displace particulates into the lens and create new problems. Primes, zooms, and even AW and WR are not air tight and with enough force, the smallest of particles will enter.

I would recommend using a clean brush and gravity. If there are stubborn particles that wonʻt come out, then a conservative amount of 70% rubbing alcohol and a lint-free swab.

[Kozlok]

You know, just something with a little more force to tidy up the external body of the camera,

LOL, misunderstanding for sure. I don't know which body you have, but when my K30 or KS-2 get dirty, I put on a WR lens and wash it off in the sink. I've washed My K30 in the sink on 2 separate occasions, just very gentile drips of water (not a stream), a wet towel, and then dried it right off. Made sure not to zoom the lens while washing. My KS2 has never needed more than a dry wipe down.

Pentax WR works! I had my K-30/18-135 out in a Florida monsoon for 3 days, absolutely pouring on it the whole time, not a drop of problem.

[calsan]

could i then if i had to visit a shop, grab a 64-128gb and then copy the contents across without the need for a pc etc.

I've done exactly this once while on holiday with my K3 and upgraded my cards. There's an item in the playback mode "Image Copy" showing a little icon of two SD cards and an arrow pointing from one to the next. Very handy.

[BruceBanner]

LOL, misunderstanding for sure. I don't know which body you have, but when my K30 or KS-2 get dirty, I put on a WR lens and wash it off in the sink. I've washed My K30 in the sink on 2 separate occasions, just very gentile drips of water (not a stream), a wet towel, and then dried it right off. Made sure not to zoom the lens while washing. My KS2 has never needed more than a dry wipe down.

Pentax WR works! I had my K-30/18-135 out in a Florida monsoon for 3 days, absolutely pouring on it the whole time, not a drop of problem.

Good point! Ok, so no to air compressors, but yes to damp cloths

I've done exactly this once while on holiday with my K3 and upgraded my cards. There's an item in the playback mode "Image Copy" showing a little icon of two SD cards and an arrow pointing from one to the next. Very handy.

Ah! Yes I found it, excellent, just what I was looking for, cheers!

[Wheatfield]

Two very quick questions;

1) I have an oiless air compressor, not a can that blows out that very cold air, but a 'proper' home use air compressor (for inflating paddling pools, cleaning pc etc). You can adjust the pressure etc.
I was wondering, is it safe to use an air compressor at the right and sensible pressure to help blow dust and hair fibers off lenses (including the glass) and camera bodies (but not inside the the camera body near the sensor!)? I mean, I sometimes use a small vacuum to get to places, and of course glass clothes etc, but my home can be very dusty (I dust every day!) and was thinking actually blasting the dust off occasionally would be quicker and less painful.

Thoughts?

2) And the other thing I just thought of quickly off the top of my head (and I haven't checked my manual yet but will on the train later)... I have a K-1, if i use all the storage on 2 of my 32gb sd cards inside the camera, could i in theory buy a 128/64gb card, insert it one of the slots in the K-1, then keep one of the 32gb cards in the other slot, and copy the files from the 32gb full card onto the 64 or 128gb card? As a way to backup what was taken 'on the go' or allowing me to format the two 32gb cards and store the files onto the one 64/128gb card and allow me to keep going? I'm aware that as you're taking pics I think the K-1 allows for the same file to be written to both sd cards at the same time, I'm just wondering if I filled both 32gb sd cards with different pics on each card (ie non cloning), could i then if i had to visit a shop, grab a 64-128gb and then copy the contents across without the need for a pc etc.


Cheers,

Bruce

I wouldn't use an air compressor, as they can build up water in the tank and shoot it through the line. I routinely use canned gas (Dust-Off) for sensor cleaning if I get something on the sensor that won't fall off with the built in cleaning routine.
Canned gas is dry and filtered, and being gas and all, dissipates rather quickly.
Common sense and the understanding that these little machines are made of sterner stuff than wet tissue paper goes a long way.
Cue the mewling kittens....

[jatrax]

Cue the mewling kittens....

Meow. Meow......

I don't use canned gas as I had a bad experience with it when cleaning a computer. I must have tilted the can too much and got some raw propellant on the computer board. At any rate it no longer worked and I had to buy a new MB. Whether that was the gas or something else, I don't know but it left me skeptical. So I don't use it on my camera sensor. Others do, and that's fine with me.

[rechmbrs]

I've done exactly this once while on holiday with my K3 and upgraded my cards. There's an item in the playback mode "Image Copy" showing a little icon of two SD cards and an arrow pointing from one to the next. Very handy.

Calsan,
Great post.

See K1 operating manual page 81. Seems like it works with both jpg and DNG/PEF as well as folders. This is a copy not a move operation so you will need to delete the original yourself if you don't want it.

RONC