This isn't a review. It's more of a shoutout for the Giottos Rocket Air Blower size Large.
When I first started modding lights one of the many problems I ran into was dealing with small dust particles that got on reflectors and the inside of lenses. These small particles did not affect performance of the lights. But I am an obsessive fool and they bothered me.
The first thing I tried was compressed gas dusters.
I already had a few cans for dusting electronics so for me it was natural to use. They worked great. Blew the dust right off. But I soon found out that they leave a residue. The residue looked like fine droplets of sticky liquid and was difficult to remove. I found out later that that is one of the reasons why canned dusters are not recommended for camera optics. I stopped using the canned dusters after I ruined the reflector on one of my nicer lights.
Next I tried an inexpensive rubber bulb air duster.
I got mine off of eBay for around $3 and it was great. It wasn't as powerful as the canned duster and the nozzle had a tendency to wobble with each strong squeeze making it difficult to keep air bursts on target. But it did the job and I could use it as much as I wanted guilt free. And it didn't leave any residue. At least that's what I thought. The inexpensive duster was made of low quality rubber which started to decompose after a couple months. The blower sloughed black powder off on my hands and also blew it on to sensitive surfaces and created a mess. The powder could be cleaned off unlike the canned gas residue. But it was time to find something better.
So I finally bought a Giottos Rocket Air Blower.
This is the bulb air duster most often recommended for camera optics. It costs about $12 for the Large version and it is pretty rockin. It is more powerful than the inexpensive blower, is more durable, and the nozzle doesn't wobble when you squeeze making it easier to keep on target. Also the rubber is thicker and recovers faster after each squeeze making it possible to fire off rapid bursts not possible with the less expensive blower. It is not as powerful as a canned duster and not powerful enough to clean things like keyboards, cpu heatsinks, or exhaust fans. But it is strong enough to remove dust from reflectors and lenses. I sometimes clean my P60 lenses with soap and water and this blower is strong enough to blow the lens free of water droplets to prevent water spots. I recommend it highly for all modders and P60 owners and anyone else needing to clean dust on sensitive optics.
If you get one make sure that you get the Large (the most powerful) size. Also I've read some reviews saying that the black version can fall apart after a few years so I recommend the red or the blue version.
I have 74 other items 'saved for later'. 