D800E and cleaning

I was doing a wet cleaning on my D800 yesterday and as most of you know you're really not cleaning the senor, per se, and instead are actually cleaning the OLPF (ie - anti-aliasing filter) that's sitting on top of the light sensor. Then it occurred to me that both the D7100 and D800E do not have such a beast. Give this fact, what, if anything, is in between the sensor and the outside world? When you are cleaning it, what are you in fact cleaning? I can't imagine you'll be cleaning the sensor directly, would you?

That's a great question, The good thing about the OLPF is it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace should you screw it up somehow.

I was wondering this too, just in case I end up with a d7100 at some point. I googled 'd800e sensor cleaning' and 'd7100 sensor cleaning' and could not find an authoritative answer, but I did find mentions on various forums from just regular guys. They believe that there is plain glass over the sensor. No mentions of anyone ruining their 800e with wet cleaning.

Rick M said:

That's a great question, The good thing about the OLPF is it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace should you screw it up somehow.

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That's exactly what I was thinking. That sensor is the bulk of the cost of the camera and the most expensive part in it.

I do not know about the 7100,, but the D800e actually does have a piece of filter on the sensor, actually I think two peices,, on the D800e,, they did counteracted the anti alias filter.

Here is the description from Nikon


Nikon engineers have developed a unique alternative for those seeking the ultimate in definition. The D800E incorporates an optical filter with all the anti-aliasing properties removed in order to facilitate the sharpest images possible.

so there is still a layer between you and the sensor, I do not know how the 7100 is designed.

A major reason why I decided to go for the D800 and not the D800e. After the D7000 and D600, call me gun shy

stmv said:

I do not know about the 7100,, but the D800e actually does have a piece of filter on the sensor, actually I think two peices,, on the D800e,, they did counteracted the anti alias filter.

Here is the description from Nikon


Nikon engineers have developed a unique alternative for those seeking the ultimate in definition. The D800E incorporates an optical filter with all the anti-aliasing properties removed in order to facilitate the sharpest images possible.

so there is still a layer between you and the sensor, I do not know how the 7100 is designed.

Click to expand...

Ah... that makes sense.