The Arctic Butterfly

I know what you're thinking. The arctic butterfly isn't like a Spanish fly. I'm not even talking about an insect. What the arctic butterfly is a tool for cleaning your camera sensor. Let me explain a bit. Inside each camera is a sensor on which light is recorded through the lens. In the days of film, the sensor was a 24mm x 36mm sheet of film. In today's digital age, it is composed of highly sensitive materials mated with sophisticated electronics utilizing either CCD or CMOS technology.

Now dust is an amazing thing. It can get into every nook and cranny out there. So imagine this... you've got a DSLR camera and a variety of lenses for different purposes. Throughout the lifetime of your kit, you'll be changing your lenses a lot of times. Everytime you change lenses, dust gets in the camera. This happens more often in dusty and windy environments. As the dust builds up, it will hamper your camera's performance by producing spots on photos. Try taking a few shots of a plain white wall. If you see some little spots that are on every image in the same area, then you've got dust. 

Some modern cameras have a sensor that vibrates to get rid of dust but there would always be a speck of dust that would be hard to remove and when this happens, I let my arctic butterfly take care of things. It works by charging its bristles with static electricity which makes the dust jump off the sensor. When you take off your lens, have a look inside the sensor area of your camera. Use a light and a magnifying glass. I would recommend a loupe if you can get one. Once you know where they are, you turn on the arctic butterfly. Turning it on makes its bristles spin very fast inside a clear plastic tube. This process will charge the bristles. Then all you have to do is lightly brush the bristles in the affected area and it will make the dust jump off. I got the one with the light so I can avoid bringing my arctic butterfly to the sensitive areas that has oil. It's just brilliant!

the arctic butterfly comes in a cheap looking box.

inside the box, you'll find that your arctic butterfly comes with a vinyl leather travel case with a carabiner for attaching to your camera bag.

inside the travel case, you'll find your arctic butterfly encased in an impact-resistant plastic case.

the arctic butterfly lies snug inside the case. for a brush, it sure has great packaging!

the bristles are highly-charged fiber encased in clear plastic where you spin it.

my model is the 724 brite which comes with 1  LED light. the 724 super brite comes with 2 LED lights and the 724 doesn't come with any lights.

the fibers are super thin with nano-coating technology which prevents it from scratching your sensor.

if you change lenses often, the arctic butterfly is a great investment. it'll save you money from sending your camera to the service centre for cleaning.

Mind you, arctic butterflies are not cheap. These normally retail for over US$100. In Australia, be prepared to pay over $200 for one. Visible dust, the company behind the arctic butterfly makes quality products that really does a good job of cleaning your sensor. I highly recommend both their wet and dry cleaning products.