19 replies to this topic

[WB91]

Guys,

 

I wanted to share this with you in case you have experienced the same thing with this or other ZWO CMOS cameras.  When imaging the other night, I noticed marks at the top of the image, so I removed the camera and see what looks to be a separation happening at the sensor glass.  It almost looks like a liquid is seeping through the sensor but it has not gotten wet.  The following day I ran the camera again and it seems to be getting worse. My guess is some sort of delamination maybe??  The camera is still under warranty but will take weeks to get that sorted out. ZWO is not responding to me or the vendor I purchased it from. Anyhow, have any of you seen this before and can this be fixed?  Could this be caused by using the dew heater?

 

Regards,

Bill

 

 

P.S.   this is actually my second warranty replacement with this camera, the first time it failed was due to cooling system not working, so I had it replaced and now back in the same boat trying to get another replacement.  Hopefully this is not a flawed product line from ZWO, not that impressed with quality so far. 

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[pyrasanth]

I am sorry to read your post & the difficulties you have faced with all the issues.

 

I use the ASI6200 mono camera and it has been superb- I guess your having a run of really bad luck.

 

I would continue to put pressure on the dealer. It is their responsibility to get things moving and in the circumstances I would very strongly suggest that the dealer and ZWO pick up the freight return charges- it is not on to have 2 major faults and you picking up the return shipping costs.

 

Good luck with your attempts to get this sorted and I do have a lot of empathy with you. A couple of years back I sent £7000.00 worth of camera back to the OEM as it was not fit for purpose- it causes so much pain & anguish to go through these processes.

Edited by pyrasanth, 11 November 2020 - 01:51 PM.

[MikiSJ]

Protect your warranty rights and save your emails. I realize ZWO is in China, but I might send them a Fedex/UPS/DHL letter pak so you have a signature acknowledging receipt of your complaint.

 

ZWO is a reputable company and word of mouth complaints go far in impacting sales - so start yelling.

[pyrasanth]

Protect your warranty rights and save your emails. I realize ZWO is in China, but I might send them a Fedex/UPS/DHL letter pak so you have a signature acknowledging receipt of your complaint.

 

ZWO is a reputable company and word of mouth complaints go far in impacting sales - so start yelling.

I would still pursue the dealer initially as they have the responsibility to the consumer and have entered into a commitment with ZWO. Let them do all the work- they make a small profit so its good to let them earn the trust of both consumer and manufacturer.

Edited by pyrasanth, 11 November 2020 - 02:50 PM.

[MJB87]

Who is the dealer?  I'm going to be placing an order for this camera shortly, once supplies are again available.

 

Feel free to respond via PM if you don't want to make the information public in this forum.

[R Botero]

Bill

 

I had this issue with my ASI2600MC last week.  I spoke to ZWO directly.  This is silicon grease from underneath the sensor moving onto the glass.  The grease sits between the peltier coooler and the sensor.  I had similar issues to this when I built a Cookbook camera in the 1990s.  I was worried it was something to do with the sensor cover, a film on it peeling off or the sensor itself. 

The above is much easier to deal with as it can be cleaned easily with pure alcohol by following instructions here:  https://astronomy-im...e_desiccant.pdf

 

Your dealer could help clean the camera but mine was in China so I decided to do it myself!  It took a few passes of a cotton bud soaked in alcohol to clean and plenty of care not to bring in new dust onto the sensor before closing the enclosure.  I have been able to test the camera since and the issue has disappeared.   I actually only noticed it as a darker shadow in the images being downloaded from the camera once I completed a mosaic project I was working on (fortunately).  My camera is permanently mounted and I don't tend to look at the sensor often.  It could have been calibrated out with flats since the grease is quite sticky and does not "flow" but I preferred to deal with it before the longer nights of winter.

 

I was surprised by this leak happening some 6-9 months after the purchase of my camera.  Temperatures have actually been going down here and I would have expected for this to manifest in the warmer months.

 

See the picture I sent to ZWO here:  https://zwo-common-e...1344434831.jpeg

 

HTH

 

Roberto

 

PS - I have had 8 ZWO cameras since their first ones came out for planetary.  They are "budget" cameras.  I am actually very impressed by how much they have progressed over the years.  I do agree this is disappointing but their response to my enquiry was immediate.

Edited by R Botero, 12 November 2020 - 04:39 AM.

[WB91]

Thanks for the response guys!   The dealer I purchased from was Agena Astro Products and my experience with them has been really good so far.   I sent them the camera and they are sending it to ZWO, but unfortunately they said it could take 6 weeks to get it back, which sucks with all the cool targets coming up right now.  They haven't shipped it to china yet, so I could ask them to send it back and I could clean it per the instructions Roberto advised, but would hate to void the warranty if I do it myself.  Will contact them now and see what my options are now that we know what the problem is.     Thanks again!

[Holltim4103]

Thanks for the information. I’m glad I was forwarded this thread. I had my ASI2600 stored inside, on its side, in a container with desiccant packaging. I just took it out to swap cameras and noticed an oily substance running down the sensor. 

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[pyrasanth]

I'm quite horrified that this can happen to multiple people. ZWO really do need to look at their QA processes- this is a real no no & should never happen with a device of that value.

[SonnyE]

Well, this really sucks.

Appears someone on the assembly line is quite heavy handed with the grease.

Big trouble for ZWO.

[Holltim4103]

That was a simple 5 minute cleanup. It was definitely an oil. When I wiped it up, it smeared across the sensor. I used PEC PAD non-abrasive wipes and Eclipse Optic Cleaning Fluid. It cleaned up nicely and looks like new again.

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[R Botero]

Thanks for the response guys!   The dealer I purchased from was Agena Astro Products and my experience with them has been really good so far.   I sent them the camera and they are sending it to ZWO, but unfortunately they said it could take 6 weeks to get it back, which sucks with all the cool targets coming up right now.  They haven't shipped it to china yet, so I could ask them to send it back and I could clean it per the instructions Roberto advised, but would hate to void the warranty if I do it myself.  Will contact them now and see what my options are now that we know what the problem is.     Thanks again!

I doubt you would void your warranty.  ZWO told me to clean it myself instead of sending it.  I would be more worried about a dealer that cannot even clean a camera in store...

My camera has been clean for over two weeks now and I'm back to imaging with it, no problems so far.

 

Roberto

Edited by R Botero, 20 November 2020 - 04:01 AM.

[Holltim4103]

I verified with flats the cleaning was a success. No dust or smudges. Just like new.

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[WB91]

Guys,

 

I wanted to give you all an update on my Camera.   After reporting the issue to Agena, Agena contacted ZWO and asked them if they could clean the sensor for me at Agena and if ZWO would maintain the product warranty if they did.   ZWO advised they would continue to cover the warranty, so I shipped it back to Agena and within a day they cleaned it and had it on its way be to me.  Very good support here!   So it does appear, depending on who you buy it from, it can be cleaned at home, by Agena or sent back to ZWO (6 week lead time) to have it fixed.   

 

 

Bill

[WB91]

Update, apparently this will be a reoccurring issue with these ASI2600 cameras, it happened again, ugh.   This time I will clean myself and figure out where this oil is coming from to prevent it from happening again.

 

 

Bill 

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[EmeraldHills]

Yikes - just ordered this camera last night from Agena. It arrives Tuesday. Now I'm nervous.

[NoDarkSkies]

I have yet seen this on my Camera.

[Roger123456]

Good to know this can happen and to keep an eye out for it by taking a look at stretched debayered flats.  At least it is simple enough to fix using standard sensor cleaning wipes.

[Jvtucke]

I have a now discontinued 1600MC Cooled and in  the 3 years since purchasing this camera had now had to clean my sensor four times; forget about trying to get ZWO clean up a problem from manufacturing.  I will NEVER buy another ZWO camera.  Paid $1100 for the camera new and disgusted with such sloppy manufacturing processes.

[Vigo79]

Is that an actual problem or is it solved by ZWO? Does anyone know that?