Giottos AA1903 Rocket Air Blaster Large (Red)
by Giotto
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List Price: Our Price: $8.77 You Save: $8.22 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Giottos AA1903 Rocket Air Blaster Large (Red)
Customer Review: Must-have DSLR accessory
Summary: 5 Stars
The Giotto blower works very well. You would never want to jamb the nozzle into the camera sensor or lens, and indeed, you can give this unit a firm squeeze and there is no tendency for it to move toward the lens or sensor.
I'm a bit puzzled by the design, however. When you squeeze the bulb, a check valve at the bottom air inlet closes so air goes out the nozzle. When you release the bulb, air enters through the nozzle and the bottom air inlet to refill the bulb. What's the purpose of the bottom air inlet? Why not just let the bulb refill via the nozzle?
There is no filtering of the air you squirt into the camera body or lens with this device. The force of the air flow may dislodge particles from the sensor and lens, but it may shoot new dust pieces in to replace them. Maybe any new dust going in tends not to stick because of the moving air?
What I would really like is for this unit to shoot filtered air into the camera or lens. I achieve that by putting a couple layers of flannel cloth over the bottom air inlet and hold them on with a rubber band. Because air can enter the bulb from the bottom air inlet or the nozzle, I put my finger over the nozzle when releasing my grip on the bulb. This is an awkward move, not quite possible with one hand and the other hand should be holding the camera or lens. But, it can be done.
What the unit really needs is a check valve in both the bottom air inlet and the nozzle so air only enters via the bottom and only exits via the nozzle. This would be complemented by a filter over the bottom air inlet.
Until Giotto or someone makes these improvements, I can live with this unit.
Customer Review: It Blows Air. Yes, I'm Captain Obvious. But Powerful Enough?
Summary: 4 Stars
Alright, so obviously you know what it does and you're probably wondering if it is powerful enough. I also wanted to know this before buying the product.
Here is what most people do before buying this product:
Many people out there may try to blow air through their mouth. This is a bad idea since you will obviously get small specks of saliva on the lens which will make it harder to clean.
Some people decide that they will only use a lens pen or microfiber cleaning cloth. From what I understand (and this is purely unscientific) excessive cleaning will actually degrade the quality of the front element over time (or even the rear element). Don't get me wrong. I use a microfiber cleaning cloth as well. However, I use it as a last resort if the air blower doesn't remove the visible particles.
This leads me to this product. Is it powerful enough? I mean it is intended for optical and computer equipment (keyboards). Yes and no. Some people will like the quick rush of air. I personally do not think it is nearly as powerful as it should be. It has served me well so far but on occasion it proves to be rather unpowerful. You may find some dust particles stick to the lens even after use. That is when I pull out the microfiber cloth.
Recommendation:
Yes, I'd buy it bearing in mind that I may have to whip out my trusty microfiber cleaning cloth. This is a moderately powerful blower that I'll probably be keeping. I hope Giottos comes out with something more potent in the future since I don't like cleaning down the lens by hand (for reasons mentioned above).
Customer Review: Effective and durable
Summary: 5 Stars
Nice device for dusting cameras. Some have commented on the large size. I prefer this as you can wrap your whole hand around it, and thus, squeeze harder and create a stronger blast of air.
The rubber is thick and soft. Kind of feels like those old red rubber balls they used to use in Phys.Ed. classes when I was a kid. I imagine it will last a long time, and should stay free of cracks in the rubber.
The tip is made of thick, sturdy plastic, and is well secured to the bulb.
The stream of air generated is sufficient to clear dust from cameras and lenses, and for those inexperienced in cleaning a camera, it can prove much safer. I still keep micro-fiber cloths on hand, but rarely ever use them.
As far as using it for computers, it would serve well for clearing dust and crumbs from a keyboard.
In case you're thinking of using this for the inside of a computer, the air pressure generated would not be enough for a task such as that. Even with a computer equipped with air filters, some dust always gets in, and to clean off intake, exhaust, and cpu fans, as well as power supplies, video cards and heatsinks, you'll need something that creates a stronger, sustained blast of air.
However, for camera bodies, sensors, lenses and other small electronics, it's a great tool.
The price? Considering what you spend on camera equipment, this is a solid investment.
Customer Review: It Did the Job and Cleaned the Sensor on my DSLR
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a Nikon D5000 DSLR, and after changing lenses outside one day, I noticed some debris on the sensor, which showed up when I took photos with an aperture setting of f22 and above. I tried using a little blower-bulb that my wife owned to remove the debris, but it had absolutely no effect. Thus, I decided to get this rocket blaster.
When it arrived in the mail, I was amazed how big and sturdy it was, but, I guess that was the reason I bought it in the first place! I followed the instructions for locking the mirror on my D5000, which exposed the low-pass filter that sits in front of the sensor, and I shot a few blasts of air into the camera body (taking care *not* to touch the sensor). Sure enough, when I re-started the camera, the debris was removed. Success!
This will be my first line of defense when cleaning dust and debris off my sensor in the future. I hope this will allow me to avoid having to resort to cleaners that actually come in contact with the low-pass filter/sensor itself. While the size is necessary to do the job right, it does make carrying the rocket blaster with me a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, it just barely fits in my camera bag in an upright position, but its size means I don't have room for another accessory in that same spot. This is all right, because the rocket blaster is an inexpensive, and easy, way to get dust and debris off my sensor.
Customer Review: I want more air power
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this is the large version, I want more air power. This blaster was described by other reviews as being able to float a piece of paper or a penny -- that's just not true in my case. The blaster does provide a niece stream of air for cleaning something delicate like a camera lens, which I have successfully done.
However, this product has not surpassed compressed air for cleaning other objects like dirty fans on my computer (or even my keyboard). If the product would be made even bigger -- or if a bigger model could be sold -- say about the size of a 16 oz. glass, then I think I would have enough air power for everything from the computer to the camera, which would be ideal (and environmentally friendly -- after all, unnecessary consumer consumption is not good for the environment too).
The product overall is good. I like the environment-friendly factor. It sure beats constantly blowing air out of my own mouth. For medium to small jobs, I think it deserves probably five stars. For tougher jobs, this blaster may fall woefully short on your power expectations.