Nitecore recently released a whole range of camera cleaning products, amongst these products is the innovative BlowerBaby, a powerful, hand-held, electronic fan which is designed to remove dust from photographic equipment. Nitecore have also designed and produced a camera cleaning pen, a sensor cleaning kit (Wet swab type) and a Lens cleaning kit. 

I was skeptical when I first heard about the BlowerBaby, I had previously always used a rocket blower to remove dust from my cameras, lenses and camera sensors, and this worked well enough. However curiosity got the better of me, I had never used a lens pen before and I wanted to see what the fuss over the BlowerBaby was all about, so Nitecore were kind enough to send them out for me to try out, test and review.

Features of the BlowerBaby:

  • Strong directional air flow: The maximum air speed is 70kmh

  • Wide range of applications: I’ve actually found a surprisingly large number of uses for the BlowerBaby, such as removing dust from my keyboard, dust and lint from inside my computer and monitors. 

  • Super ease to use and very powerful: Built-in 1,500mAh lithium-ion battery can last for upto 90 minutes. for stable use. Rechargeable via a USB-C cable.

  • Built-in power indicator that shows the remaining battery power.

  • Lightweight and compact

  • High quality materials: Built from aerospace grade aluminum alloy.

  • Optional brushes (One fine and one more rigid) which are included with the camera cleaning pen to help brush off dust and blow it away at the same time

Specifications of the BlowerBaby:

  • Input: 5V = 2A

  • Rated power: 22.2W

  • Battery capacity: 1500mAh Li-ion battery

  • Speed: 26,000RPM

  • Air speed: 70kmh (With the standard filter)

  • Air speed: 50kmh (With the sensor cleaning filter)

  • Size: 137mm x 61mm x 30mm

  • Weight: 153g

Nitecore needs little introduction, they have recently become a grand-slam award-winning brand (IDEA, iF Design, Red Dot and G-Mark), and have built a reputation for themselves designing and producing top of the line torches, head lamps and chargers. NITECORE have made it clear that they are dedicated to ‘’Implementing the notion to “Keep Innovating” to reinvent the camera cleaning solutions.’’

The idea behind the BlowerBaby

For electronic devices (Specifically cameras and lenses), dust can be hugely problematic as it tends to find its way inside even the most well sealed devices. Frequent and thorough cleaning of your equipment will help make it function better and ultimately give you more value for money as they last longer. Prior to the BlowerBaby, I used 2 methods to deal with this issue, the first being a rock blower, the second being a canned air duster. 

Functionality

The BlowerBaby generates a strong and constant jet of air, similar to what you would get from a compressor. Nitecore claims the air stream can reach speeds of 70 km / h, whilst I have no way of testing this, I can confirm the airstream is pretty strong and impressive for such a small device. 

The directional air flow and the filter (Normal or Sensor cleaning) help to prevent any dust or particles being blown onto the object being cleaned, helping to prevent any damage. The sensor cleaning filter is sold separately and is a finer mesh to give added protection when cleaning a camera sensor.

Nitecore claims that the built-in battery provides 90-10 second cycles at full power, this is equivalent to a total running time of 15 minutes. I have used the BlowerBaby almost daily for 4 weeks now, and the battery indicator (Activated by pressing the power button) is still showing green (Over 60% Charge). The BlowerBaby comes with a Nitecore branded USB-C cable. A full charge for the BlowerBaby takes about 90 minutes. 

The BlowerBaby uses a 1,500 mAh Li-Ion rechargeable battery to power its motor, spinning fast enough to create a jet of air that travels at upto 70kmh, that is certainly much better than using harmful chemical propellants used in canned air or good old fashioned muscle power when using a rocket blower.

Ease of use

A one hand operable brush-and-blow cleaning process can be achieved combined with the Camera Cleaning Pen for basic cleaning, lens cleaning and sensor cleaning with an optimized cleaning performance. The user-friendly single button Interface is available with dual cleaning modes. In the Fast Cleaning Mode, press and hold to turn on and release to turn off. In the Constant Cleaning Mode, double press to turn on and press again to turn off.

Build Quality

Like with all other Nitecore products that I own, the BlowerBaby has a lightweight and rugged construction. It is made from aerospace grade aluminum alloy with HA-III military grade hard-anodized finish. It fits comfortably within the palm of my hand and has a good grip. It is small and light enough to travel. The soft silicon tip (Yellow) is perfect to avoid any accidental damage to whatever it is you are cleaning.

Camera Cleaning Pen

The camera cleaning pen comes with a magnetic carbon cleaning tip, and also includes 2 brushes which can be attached to the BlowerBaby (A stiff brush and a very soft brush). The strong jet of air and the action of these brushes help the BlowerBaby remove even the most stubborn dust on your delicate gear.

The camera cleaning pen does a really good job of removing grime and fingerprints from lenses. I found that it's best to first use the BlowerBaby and soft brush to remove any dust and loose debris, and then use the Camera Cleaning Pen to remove any oily residues or fingerprints. The carbon on the tip of the camera cleaning pen has been specially formulated to remove the fingerprint oils on camera lenses, filters, eyepieces and screens.

The fact that the camera cleaning pen absorbs and removes fingerprints without the need for any chemicals or solvents, this ensures that your precious lenses and their delicate coatings are protected. 

Price

The BlowerBaby can be picked up for about $80 USD or $100 USD with the camera cleaning pen kit. This is certainly not cheap, especially when you consider that a rocket blower is about $20.00 USD and you can pick up a can of compressed air for about $5 USD. However, both the rocket blower and cans of compressed air have their disadvantages. Cans of compressed air are pricey considering they don't last very long, and also create a lot of litter (Empty cans). Rocket blowers work well, I have been using one for almost 10 years without issues, but I don’t need to worry about gettings any more cramps or get tired of constantly squeezing the rocket blower whilst trying to clean my camera gear.

The Nitecore BlowerBaby doesn’t come cheap, but it is super easy to use, does a great job of getting rid of stubborn dust (Especially when using the brushes included with the camera cleaning pen). The BlowerBaby might not be for everyone, it certainly is a niche tool for anyone who really likes to keep their camera gear nice and clean, but I have found countless other uses for it around the house. 


Note: This review is not sponsored and is based entirely on my opinion and experience using the Nitecore BlowerBaby and Nitecore Camera Cleaning Pen. Although I am a Brand Ambassador for Nitecore, I always ensure that my reviews are impartial and a true reflection of my experience using these products.

All Nitecore products are available from here