This Spring has been golden. Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week's edition of IRL is geekier than usual because really, only the nerdiest of you would be reading a tech site when you could be pretending to be Irish. On tap (har!) we have James and Andy talking about their favorite ways to charge gadgets on the go, while Darren, a man after serious photographers' hearts, tells what happened when he took his beloved D3S in to have the sensor cleaned. If you're going to be on the road for any amount of time, the added security of being able to power up your tech or run the Sat Nav for hours while charging another is great, especially if you're relying on connected apps to find points of interest, read TripAdvisor or just augment reality — as you do. I struggled for well over a year with this. I knew that spots were creeping in on the sensor of my Nikon D3S, and each time my wife shot another beachfront wedding or we traveled to a place with gobs of salt in the air, I noticed it getting a wee bit worse. Hardly anyone outside of professionals would notice, but I noticed. And it bothered me. I read hundreds of horror stories from those trying to make things better — people attempted to use liquid solutions without any guidance, and ruined their sensors. The debris on my sensor was so serious that no brush or air pump would fix it; I knew I needed liquid, and I knew I didn't trust myself to do it. I found a local Nikon repairman while in Honolulu, and figured I'd let him have a crack at it. Fifty dollars out of my pocket and a few hours later, the spots were completely gone. But not all was perfectly well. The liquid residue had left a few very minor smudges, which I had to go in myself and polish off with a sensor brush. All in all, it required a fair amount of work, but it's worth it. Not seeing any stray specs in a gorgeous landscape shot is delightful; my only regret was not getting it done sooner. If you're considering it, get a professional to do it — the toughest part will be deciding on 24 to 48 hours in which you can actually afford to relinquish command of your rig. Andy Bowen, AndyBowen, charger, chargers, Darren Murph, DarrenMurph, IRL, James Trew, JamesTrew, nikon d3s, NikonD3s, Rayovac, rayovac heavy duty batteries Mobile Power Pack, RayovacMobilePowerPack, sensor, sensor cleaning, SensorCleaning, sensors, TomTom, TomTom High-Speed Multi Charger, TomtomHigh-speedMultiCharger. Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required. Summer is almost here, and like every other parent, I With Summer right around the corner, I will admit I am getting antsy. My daughters only have one week of school left and then we can focus on getting ready for our family vacation. We just told the kids last week that we will be spending a week in Disney World and we couldn This Spring has been golden. Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week's edition of IRL is geekier than usual because really, only the nerdiest of you would be reading a tech site when you could be pretending to be Irish. On tap (har!) we have James and Andy talking about their favorite ways to charge gadgets on the go, while Darren, a man after serious photographers' hearts, tells what happened when he took his beloved D3S in to have the sensor cleaned. If you're going to be on the road for any amount of time, the added security of being able to power up your tech or run the Sat Nav for hours while charging another is great, especially if you're relying on connected apps to find points of interest, read TripAdvisor or just augment reality — as you do. I struggled for well over a year with this. I knew that spots were creeping in on the sensor of my Nikon D3S, and each time my wife shot another beachfront wedding or we traveled to a place with gobs of salt in the air, I noticed it getting a wee bit worse. Hardly anyone outside of professionals would notice, but I noticed. And it bothered me. I read hundreds of horror stories from those trying to make things better — people attempted to use liquid solutions without any guidance, and ruined their sensors. The debris on my sensor was so serious that no brush or air pump would fix it; I knew I needed liquid, and I knew I didn't trust myself to do it. I found a local Nikon repairman while in Honolulu, and figured I'd let him have a crack at it. Fifty dollars out of my pocket and a few hours later, the spots were completely gone. But not all was perfectly well. The liquid residue had left a few very minor smudges, which I had to go in myself and polish off with a sensor brush. All in all, it required a fair amount of work, but it's worth it. Not seeing any stray specs in a gorgeous landscape shot is delightful; my only regret was not getting it done sooner. If you're considering it, get a professional to do it — the toughest part will be deciding on 24 to 48 hours in which you can actually afford to relinquish command of your rig. Andy Bowen, AndyBowen, charger, chargers, Darren Murph, DarrenMurph, IRL, James Trew, JamesTrew, nikon d3s, NikonD3s, Rayovac, Rayovac Mobile Power Pack, RayovacMobilePowerPack, sensor, sensor cleaning, SensorCleaning, sensors, TomTom, TomTom High-Speed Multi Charger, TomtomHigh-speedMultiCharger. Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.



