This German-manufactured brush may look like a typical paint brush, but in actuality is specially made to serve as a dust removal system for digital camera sensors. It's not cheap: at nearly thirty dollars, you're not going to purchase this on a whim. However, an unfortunate reality for DSLR's and mirrorless camera systems is the tendency for dust to collect on the sensor, creating those "blobs" of darkness on photos at certain focal lengths (dust specs don't always show at every focal length, even though the dust is on the sensor, not the lens; they may not show at all if you not shooting blue sky or consistent white backgrounds), and this means that, eventually, odds are you are going to need to remove the dust off the sensor. You can send your camera in to have this professionally done (and, truthfully, some circumstances may require this), but if you want to do it yourself, there are two routes: the so-called "wet" method, and the so-called "dry" method. The "wet" method makes use of a special liquid and a special type of pad (or sponge) where you wet the pad, then lightly drag it over the sensor to remove dust particles. It's a technique that requires practice, and, although you can do it yourself, it's not cheap, due to the cost of the pads (which are not reusable) and the liquid. Before going done the "wet" path, however, there are a few "dry" techniques that you can try. And this is where this special brush comes in. However, this brush--as contradictory as this will sound--is not made to "brush" dust off the sensor. To understand why this is not the case, you first have to understand why dust often appears on your sensor in the first place. Beyond the normal amount of dust swirling around most any setting, there is a small amount of electricity on the sensor (obviously, it is an electronic device), and any electric current can cause an electrostatic charge. Modern sensors are coated with anti-electrostatic compounds, and the self-clean function on modern cameras employ a high-frequency vibration with an anti-static electrical process to help dislodge dust. But it doesn't always work, and it doesn't always work completely. And that's where this "brush" comes in. Rather than using this brush to "brush" the dust off a sensor, you run air (optimally from a Giottos AA1910 Medium Rocket Air Blaster (6.6) or equivalent) through the bristles to build up a static charge on the bristles. After you have done this a few times sufficient to build up the charge, you very lightly draw the bristles over the camera's sensor so that the static charge on the bristles attracts the dust from off the sensor. You repeat this process as many times as you need to. In some cases, this may be all you need to remove dust from the sensor. If it isn't, you can move to a "wet" cleaning method. But if you are on a trip and not wishing to carry around wet cleaners, this dry method can be a great tool to have. So, in the end, it's actually not as expensive as it first seems. Particularly when you consider it is a German-made tool. Five stars. Note: A good compromise wet cleaning method for travel is Sensor Swab Plus Type 2 w/Eclipse (Pkg of 4) . Make sure you order the correct size for your type of camera (1, 2, 3, or 4; the size "2" is good for many crop-sized sensors).
