Any Advice re: how I should be caring for my Pocket Cinemas?

Very general question. Everything is good. There is no issue or crisis to resolve. Just asking out of diligence.

I have a pair of Pocket Cinema cameras, both 6ks (one 6k Pro, the other just 6k). They're now officially out of warranty as I purchased them from April through June of '21. I think about taking care of stuff often though.

How often does anyone suggest cleaning anything from the body to lens to any other part? I freaked myself out early on finding threads on people with mold forming behind the sensor glass in humid environments, but here, they're consistently used in a house that is usually between 40-50%, with a dehumidifier during the summer months (keeping the room between 45-50%), and never taken outside, as all of my video stuff entails guitar videos filmed in-house, so realistically, my risk factor for such an event would already seem greatly mitigated since there is no out in the field humid environment that they are ever exposed to at all. When not in use I store the cameras in Arco bags/carrying cases from B&H.

Early on I got a lens cleaning kit (Sensei) but have never really had to use it since the footage has never had an issue.

What's the general advice and/or consensus around here? I understand the actual sensor is covered by the glass and theoretically nothing should ever be able to get in there anyhow? I'm weary of doing much of anything as long as there isn't a need to, but should I be cleaning anything periodically as routine maintenance or leaving it all be short of an obvious need?

Also, if anything ever gets on the glass cover for the sensor, what is the proper protocol? Is a hand pump blower safe to use on those for non stuck on pieces? Wet cleaning seems more of a concern to my novice mind, given the potential for streaks but I'm sure those more knowledgeable than I would know all about how to do so safely.

Left to my own devices, even seeing a little spec of dust on a lens, If it's not in the footage, I leave it alone. What do others suggest in general?

I usually wipe it down with a clean terry cloth (make sure mount cover is on or lens cans are on) if I was shooting outdoors where it’s a little dusty. I use a lens blower to blow ou any dust n lenses and the cavity of the sensor area, not directly on the sensor glass. Then I just store it in the bag with the pelican case. If I’m in between shoots, I just leave t on the tripod in my home studio. Just that simple. As long as you don’t abuse the use of the camera, and t should last a while. I just bring it out once in n a while and use it if there are long periods of downtime.

I leave my cameras with lenses on my desk or on a tripod or in a large cupboard . I don’t want to keep them in a bag, but want some air circulation. I keep some other lenses in a case occasionally but also in the large cupboard. My greatest fear is fungus or mould and thankfully it hasn’t been an issue.

I use a lens blower to blow ou any dust n lenses and the cavity of the sensor area, not directly on the sensor glass.

Cool. Thanks for all the other tips too. If I ever see a speck of dust on the sensor glass, what's appropriate to use? A dedicated sensor cleaning kit? I can't tell if there's a tiny speck of dust on the sensor glass or not, but if there is at all, it's certainly nothing that is impacting the footage. But if in the future I ever do need to clean that, would I need to use an appropriately sized sensor cleaning swab? (of course I realize the glass covers the actual sensor). No lens blower should ever be used for the sensor glass is what you're saying, correct?

I leave my cameras with lenses on my desk or on a tripod or in a large cupboard . I don’t want to keep them in a bag, but want some air circulation. I keep some other lenses in a case occasionally but also in the large cupboard. My greatest fear is fungus or mould and thankfully it hasn’t been an issue.

[*Edit -- Just did a deep search of this sub-forum and put a follow-up at the end of this note]

Thanks Rick (and for your help on the other thread last week too). You might have some advice about this then since I was wondering myself if my approach could be improved. I've probably answered my own question typing this out but if you'd do anything differently than I'm now proposing I do for myself, by all means, please feel free to make a suggestion! Ever since I got the cameras, I would set them up on tripods, carefully remove covers, put lenses on, shoot the footage, and then break everything back down again at the end of the day.

What you mention has me wondering if you'd advise changing that approach to something more like you do. With putting the lenses on and then taking them off later, and repeating day in/day out, am I realistically creating an increased vulnerability for everything from dust getting into the cavity of that sensor area, or on the sensor glass? (the question mark is probably unnecessary there)... to (obviously) stupid human accidents like dropping something (clearly that last part doesn't require a question mark at the end at all). Since I work in the same room and guard against the liability of cameras on tripods in walking paths, I could easily store rigged up cameras in an air-conditioned upstairs room that that never goes over 50%.

Given my disposition to beating myself up, I want to be OCD already and question if there's a little speck of dust on the glass cover for the sensor on the 6k Pro, but as I mentioned to Ellory above, if there is at all, it's invisible in the footage so I'm certainly not about to create an issue. If it ever became one, I'd have to learn how to safely clean that part or maybe just see if BM would (or could recommend a service center) but that would probably be overkill to ship it out for cleaning so long as it was on the outside or surface. Cleaning a lens I think I can handle fairly easily. Something about that glass cover for the sensor seems worthy of much more caution and discretion, but please let me know if I'm completely over the top or if that all sounds just about right.

**Post Deep-Search Follow-Up: Still no plans to go poking around there myself, at least without talking first, but in what I pulled up for a "cleaning glass sensor cover" search of this forum, dating back to 2012, it looks like the hand-held pump/blower (not to be confused with compressed air) is what was appearing as a first line of defense, well before any sensor swabs/wet cleaning (at that point I'd probably just call BlackMagic and give them more money if they would service it, but of course none of that is necessary right now). I got confused because in a previous reply it was advised specifically to not use a blower on the sensor glass. It's okay to then, just as long as it's not compressed air and is a gentle hand-held one? Also, Rick, I specifically found one of your replies from years back stating that things like dust would tend to be less visible anyhow at wide apertures, and more visible at narrower ones. In any event, I'm shooting quite wide since my shutter speed is so high to eliminate motion blur in slowed down footage. I may shoot something at a really small f-stop just to confirm all is rosy but there's also no point in me searching for a problem so I have to keep my OCD tendencies in check).

I leave my cameras with lenses on my desk or on a tripod or in a large cupboard . I don’t want to keep them in a bag, but want some air circulation. I keep some other lenses in a case occasionally but also in the large cupboard. My greatest fear is fungus or mould and thankfully it hasn’t been an issue.

Interesting Rick. I still have my old JVCHD101E that has been kept in a Pelicase since new, usually there were a couple of Silica gels in the case with it. It still looks new in every respect, with no tarnish, mould or fungus, after 17 years and until recently that case could go 2-3 years without opening! The Broadcast G2, with B4 lens and mic is too big for this case and so it sits nicely in an ENG PortaBrace bag that I had for my old eng DSR570s. My worry about being in the open would be dust with these cameras.

Steve, thanks for the reminder as I also use silica gel packets in my Nanuk cases and in the cupboard. Essential.

When I bought my old second-hand Fujinon Cine Zoom 20x7.8 BRM six years ago, it shipped in a strong case but had foam all around it. That cut foam was in horrible condition and I took the lens out which thankfully appears to have been protected from mould and so on. I always have it mounted ready to shoot or in a bag with gel in the cupboard.

In 2018 had a job on Kauai during the epic flooding (over 52 inches of rain in 24 hrs).
One of the original pockets developed mold on the sensor glass that was not cleanable.
BM service in Fremont took care of the fix.
Humid environments like Hawaii are something that require special enclosure storage that have controlled humidity... the humidity packets can't handle the job in high humidity environments over months.

… Ever since I got the cameras, I would set them up on tripods, carefully remove covers, put lenses on, shoot the footage, and then break everything back down again at the end of the day.
…I could easily store rigged up cameras in an air-conditioned upstairs room that that never goes over 50%.

Breaking things down is a great ‘professional’ approach so you always know where to find your bits and pieces. I leave everything mounted but if the next shoot requires a different setup, a day or two ahead I make the necessary changes as part of my prep and testing before a shoot. Every time you remove a lens, it could be a problem, but if you want to continue to do that, be sure everything is done with the equipment turned off and cooled so no (static) charge attracts dust.

As for cleaning, I only use an old photographer’s bulb blower with or without a soft long bristle brush. Never needed to use any chemicals but I rarely film at a beach nor around desert dust.

… dust would tend to be less visible anyhow at wide apertures, and more visible at narrower ones...

I think you’re safe if you shoot with the best apertures the lens provides which is likely around T2.8-T5.6. Depending on the lens and sensor, T2 and T8 may be fine too, but T8 isn’t recommended if you can avoid it.

By the way, great you are reading older posts. Usually they’re accurate and cover hundreds of topics, but occasionally better advice is more recent.

Every time you remove a lens, it could be a problem, but if you want to continue to do that, be sure everything is done with the equipment turned off and cooled so no (static) charge attracts dust.

This is great. Thank you Rick. It's why I continue to post (hopefully without being too redundant or asking things already answered elsewhere in the archives). I continue to learn valuable things! Hadn't thought about static charge before so your reply above is very useful and helpful.

I live in an island where it's usually around 65% humidity, so I bought a big Ikea airtight box and keep my lens and camera inside with plenty silica gel when not in use.

As I use a speedbooster with the 4k, my worries of dust getting in the sensor are pretty low (I don't use native lenses). The lens I blow and clean with lens liquid if there's a fingerprint, and before storing the equipment it gets checked out. Pretty OCD, but I intend to take care of my investment.

So it's not visible in footage *at all* but rigging things up for a shoot just now, I shone a maximum brightness flashlight on the sensor glass of the 6k Pro and there are definitely 3 little tiny specks of dust on the glass. I'm not impulsive enough to rush into anything without proper research and advice first. Would you leave it alone and do nothing if as long as it's not on the footage or would you suggest a course of action to get the little specks out of there? I found this link in my search of the archives on this sub-forum last night (http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com) and understand that lens bulb blowers run the risk of little bits of rubber coming off. I have a cheap-ish Sensei kit that has a hand-pump blower with it but have gotten the impression from archives here/that other website/BH reviews that the Giottos Rocket Blower is preferable/better.

Can someone conclusively advise the smartest thing to do at this stage, of my three first thoughts? (1) Nothing. If you don't see it on the footage, don't mess with it at all. (2) order Rocket Blower and use that. (3) If so, not directly blown on the glass itself if I'm understanding Eliory's reply earlier above.But then, would using something like the Giottis on the cavity of the sensor area be enough to get little of non-stuck on specks off of the glass itself, and if not, what then? I'd like to avoid wet-cleaning which seems unnecessary as long as nothing is stuck on.

I actually called BlackMagic to inquire on some of this stuff and found out that while they will sell replacement glass, they won't install it and I'd need to take it to a 3rd party repair shop to swap out the glass, but of course that would seem completely overkill and seem idiotic to remedy a few specks of dust on top of the glass cover.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

One more follow-up....so this is where I am currently at. BlackMagic emailed back and says I could order a replacement glass filter but would then need to take it to a 3rd party repair service to install it and perform a sensor cleaning, all of which seems ridiculously overkill (and perhaps even wasteful; replace the entire glass to remove a few specks of dust on the outer top!!!??) when I'm talking about three specks of dust on top of the glass cover. I found this website via another resource linked to from a thread deep in the archives of this sub-forum and just called the company. Anyone else have experience with them or any further advice? At this stage I'm leaning towards just going ahead and ordering an Ultimate Cleaning Kit sized 24mm Full Frame even though probably all it needs is a pump on a hand-held Rocket Blower, and I've read enough now to be fully aware that wet cleaning is a very last resort. But I may order the kit anyhow in case I ever need it.

I was almost inclined to just use the blower I have in the Sensei cleaning kit but has come to my attention that cheap hand blowers (it was a cheap kit) can blow out chunks of rubber, so in the interest of not being dumb, I decided to wait.

https://www.thedustpatrol.com

https://www.thedustpatrol.com/products/ ... 6116273218

Bumping my old thread with an update a couple months later....

After much research, reading, preparation and caution, I just (sparingly) used the most over the top kit I purchased for sensor cleaning from The Dust Patrol. I didn't perform a wet cleaning because it wasn't necessary and I was being exceedingly cautious.

My update for now is that magnification and light revealed that there may be a speck of dust beneath the glass, on the actual sensor, and......I've never once noticed it nor does it really matter, but I suppose is now one more thing to keep an eye on. Once the cameras were out of warranty with the project I've given 4+ years of my life to now literally depending on cameras (meaning a pair; leaving no real backup; guitar videos shot 60fps at high shutter speeds with metric sh*t-tons of lighting and hand close ups), I got a little paranoid late last summer but all continues to be well insofar as the footage looks good when shot and imported. There are no shots outside of a lone basement in a home. The cameras never even go outside for a moment. I should be at a fairly low risk for issues but after this much energy and this long once can go a little OCD approaching the finish (or rather, mere starting, when it comes to getting anything out into the world) line.

I suppose if catastrophe struck, I'd deal with it then. I am prone to overthinking which makes me question if looking with magnification was worth it at all in the end or if I would have just been better off using the lens blower, getting the big speck off (which it did) that was visible to the naked eye, and moving on. In any event, it's much cleaner now. Last I heard from BM, the news was if it ever developed an issue, they'd sell me the glass cover replacement and I'd have to take it to a 3rd party shop for it to be replaced. But as Tom [Petty] said, most things I worry about never happen anyways.

Generally, Don’t get it wet so try not showering with it, don’t expose to excessive dusts and heat, don’t drop it.

I'd say with good control of humidity you are already doing the most important thing (apart from being cautious when changing lenses). A simple silica bag is not enough in a humid climate, and if you keep that in a Pelican case, refresh it from time to time.

Living most of the time in a humid climate, I use a dry cabinet and keep my wonderful collection of vintage glass around 50%. They are even more endangered, since there'll always be some dust in older lenses and fungus is nourished by that. Until now, they are all good.

And then, if you have been in an air-conditioned room, keep your stuff in a sealed bag until it is at environment temperature.