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 Not worth the cost Nov 23, 2009
By ML
This is my experience cleaning my Nikon D80 sensor with Visible Dust's:
VDust Plus
Ultra MXD-100 (Fabric) Sensor Cleaning Swab
A generic blower
The short story:
VDust liquid worked without smearing but those last little dots of dust were frustratingly difficult to remove. The Visible Dust sensor swabs were a waste of money. Get Pec Pads.
The longer story:
My sensor had about 3 large and a handful of small dust specks that were showing up in my photos. Cleaning the sensor with a blower got a few of the small dust dots off but the rest wouldn't budge. I like Do It Yourself tasks and was looking for an excuse to upgrade my D80 so I bought VDust Plus and their special sensor cleaning swabs. I read everything I could find about performing the cleaning, took extra care to keep the work area clean, room air free of extra dust, etc. I was also cautious after adding the VDust liquid drops to the swab, allowing them to partially dry for 30 seconds to avoid any streaks on the sensor. I was also careful not to press too hard when wiping the swab, and I used one side per wipe, so as not to add back any dust I took off. I used blue and white LCD monitor test images that clearly exposed my dust spot problems. (You'll find similar tips on the cleaningdigitalcameras dot com site.)
Despite all this care, it took me 8 swabs and nearly an hour of frustration to get my sensor mostly dust free. Each time I seemed to remove some major dust spots, only to leave a few little spots in new locations. At around swab #5 I somehow added a large dust spot, and by the time I hit swab #8 with a few little spots left, I was ready to scream at the poor defenseless swabs.
Advice:
The consensus seems to be that Eclipse sensor cleaning liquid with Pec Pads is the way to go. Though I don't find fault with the VDust liquid cleaner, the Visible Dust swabs were frustrating to use. Note that many reviews I read warned that VDust left smearing -- I have to wonder if those users got the swab too wet, or did not wait for it to dry a bit first. In my 8 sensor wipes, I did not have any issue with smearing.
The Ultra MXD-100 (Fabric) Sensor Cleaning Swab was a complete rip off; it cost as much as the VDust liquid and seemed to be the cause of my frustrating cleaning experience.
The sensor does not appear as fragile or easily scratched as most of the cleaning guides lead us to believe.
Next time I do this, I'll likely try a static brush and Pec Pads in conjuction with VDust or Eclipse liquid. Also note that liquid cleaning may not be necessary if you have a sensor brush or powerful blower.
If you can get warranty service, I'd advise you to take advantage of it. If not, don't be scared of getting in there to clean your sensor. Block off a good chunk of time, though, especially if you have not done it before. Worst case is you have to buy a new camera.
 I will use these from now on. Jul 23, 2011
By Brian Palmer
Visible dust swabs.. 1.3x
I bought some cheaper sensor cleaners from my local camera shop . They were a soft paper type tip that comes a part.
The visible dust tip seems to be made of a cloth like a micro fiber cloth or something. It doesn't leave any fibers at all. I made one pass on the Leica M8 sensor with minimum amount of visible dust liquid. It did not leave hardly any residue at all. There was a very tiny amount of residue maybe 1mm long that I cleaned easily with a lens pen. I also use a 5X lighted magnifier to inspect the sensor and it was perfect.
Super job from visible dust.
best fabric for picking up dust particles Jul 12, 2011
By B. Stenman
I used the Pec Pads for 5 years and was always frustrated by how many times one Pec Pad would leave debris behind and the second pad would simply move it around on the sensor so it was a case of one step forward and two steps back, going through a half dozen Pec Pads to clean one camera's sensor. The Eclipse solution was nearly as bad and would not remove the oil residue that was often present on a new camera's sensor.
The Visible Dust pads primary advantage is in the fabric that they use. It is much better at actually picking up and holding the bits of stuff from the sensor instead of merely moving it to one edge. The patented plastic holders add nothing to the process as it is capillary action that moves the cleaner through the fabric and only 3-4 drops are needed to cover the edge area that is going to be in contact with the surface of the sensor.
Visible Dust also makes a V shaped swab that is perfect for full size sensors as the edges do not touch the sides of the light box which with other swabs causes more dust to fall onto the sensor. The 1/4" wide sensors are useful for the small particles that sometimes get trapped in the corners and work better than a full size swab to clean these small sections.
 Too expensive but did the job May 04, 2011
By Pablo
"Pablo"
I just now finished cleaning a Nikon D7000 using these swabs (which arrived a day late from the vendor, so much for overnight delivery) and the Eclipse fluid (from another company, which I already had on hand). There are 12 swabs in a box, and it took me 2 swabs (2 passes per swab) to get satisfied with the cleaning job. The 1.6x size is a perfect fit for the D7000. Look at the video on visibledust website, it'll just take a few seconds and there is an art to turning and inserting the swab, angling it, sweeping across, etc. Thom Hogan is another good resource for generic sensor cleaning instructions. The D7000 has a little lip around the sensor, you have to get under to reach the plane of the sensor beneath, I don't recall this on the D70 or D80 I used to have. But this swab will fit in there as you prepare to sweep across the sensor.
I should say I might have gotten done in one swab but I also tried a Sensor Brush by same mfr. that I already had on hand, trying to get one last speck, and just introduced more dirt to the sensor so had to re-swab. And I have not used the Visible Dust fluids, I am very satisfied with Eclipse, it leaves no residue.
These are overpriced for the materials involved but I hope to recycle mine using Pec Pads I'll wrap around their "stick" eventually.
There is a lot of panic and anxiety about cleaning sensors. And that's just at MY place! Just keep in mind, you may see dust at f/22 or f/25 that virtually disappears (goes out of focus) at f/11...it may not be worth it to get every speck if you don't often shoot stopped down all the way. Often you just get more dirt in there while the chamber is open. Do take steps to work in a relatively clean environment. Close the door, don't answer the phone, kick out the dog, clean and wipe down the table, take a deep breath and proceed.
Neat cleaning liquid Nov 05, 2009
By Girish Venkataraman
I bought this to clean my EOS Rebel sensor. Instructions on the cover were pretty simple and lucid. Worked like a charm at cleaning the dust spots on my sensor.
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