After 10 years of using canned air, I finally caved and got a compressor for lens cleaning

I always thought a little dust blower or those aerosol cans were good enough for sensor cleaning and bellows work, but last week I spent 3 hours trying to blow out a stubborn piece of debris from a vintage Pentax mirror box. Borrowed a buddy's pancake compressor with a moisture trap and it took 30 seconds flat. Has anyone else switched and noticed a big difference in how clean their repairs come out?

3 comments

3 Comments

danieljenkins5d ago

That "stubborn piece of debris" part got me. It's funny how we'll fight with the wrong tool for way too long just because it's what we know. I see this all the time in my own life with stuff like kitchen knives or even my car's tire pressure gauge. We get comfortable with something that barely works and don't realize how much easier things could be until we finally try the proper gear.

sam_harris684d agoMost Upvoted

Oh, @danieljenkins you're so right. I spent two years using a dull paring knife to cut bell peppers because I "knew how it handled." Finally bought a decent chef's knife and felt like an idiot. It's the same with my old phone charger that only worked at a specific angle. We just put up with the nonsense because switching feels like a hassle until it's too annoying to ignore.

joel2804d ago

Why do we do that though? Like is it some weird mental block where we convince ourselves the struggle is normal so we dont have to spend the money or time to fix it? Ive been guilty of the exact same thing more times than I can count.