Customer Reviews

Giottos AA1903 Rocket Air Blaster Large (Red)

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Rocket Air Blower is an indispensable product, first step in cleaning DSLR camera sensors,lenses, computer keyboards, etc. This air blower uses a hand-squeeze to generate a very strong burst of air pressure. The blower generates a burst strong enough to remove particles that might scratch a camera lens or filter, safer than wiping it with lens tissue or a lens cloth. The Giottos Rocket Air Blower is actually quite soft made of strong rubber material. A light hand pressure is enough to generate a good burst of air. I constantly use this item to clean laptop keyboards as well as LCD display. I highly recommend this product to photographers with DSLR cameras and hobbyists in general. There are about 3 different sizes of this device, I highly recommend the largest unit for computers and cameras.

This Giottos RocketAir Blaster it's that; a BLASTER.

This is a huge blower with a long nozzle that is large enough to reach within a camera's mirror box without needing you to insert the bulb inside the camera as well.

Since the blower is so big, every squeeze releases a strong thrust of air that should be enough to remove any lose dust particles laying on places they dont belong.

It's design makes it stand on its own, no worry it will roll over or need to keep an eye on it.

Maybe the only down point of this blower its the size, it may be too big to carry around in a tight place, the instructions tell you not to move it around in a tight place, so if you got a small bag, you may not be able to carry it. But if you got a big enough bag, by all means take it with you! If you're looking for an item that will remove particles that shouldnt be on your camera, this is the one you need.

You can also use it to blow air into keyboards or musical equipment.

It's big, powerful and good looking. A must have.

I was expecting something a bit smaller i guess, maybe the size of one of those deals you use to get boogers out of babies noses.

i got this thing in and i wondered if i needed to get clearance from NASA to use it.

Ok, yeah, that is a slight exaggeration, but this is big enough that i cannot fit it in my lowepro flipside 200 with my d40, 55-200 lens, speedlight, and camera. lol..

if yer looking for something travel size go down a notch.

that aside, this thing works very well. i used it once it arrived and it got most of the dust off my mirror and focus screen.

i give this a 5/5.

just remember, this thing is big. ..... about the size of a real fat lawn dart for those old enough to remember lawn darts, or "jarts" as we called them.

Glance through my reviews and you'll see I'm hardly inclined to give a product five stars without a good reason. In this case I have no choice: the large Giottos Rocket Blaster is an item of such flawless quality and functionality that I literally can't think of a single way it could be improved.

In its standing position it has approximately the proportions of a large drinking glass. It's not small; in fact it's about as big as it can be while still fitting comfortably in your hand. That's an important detail: squeezing it is easy enough but because of its size it moves enough air to direct a strong, smooth blast at whatever you're attempting to clean. I've spent half my life trying to blow dust off lenses with junky little blower/brushes that don't do a thing, and through size alone the large Giottos blaster is a vastly better tool for the job.

Beyond that, there are lots of design details that help the Rocket Blaster do its job. The materials, particularly the expensive silicone rubber used for the blower bulb itself, are of obvious high quality. The bulb has a separate intake valve at its rear, so that it can fill more quickly than would be the case if the small blower nozzle were its only source of intake air. And of course its freestanding "rocket" design is itself simple, useful and unique. Look closely at the blower nozzle: the hole through which the air is forced is not round, it's an obviously-deliberate triangular shape, and if you think about it a moment it might occur to you that a this interesting shape might very well be more efficient at generating a coherent stream of air than a simple round nozzle. Just another detail.

The end result is an item that is deceptively simple but so nicely made that it just doesn't have any competition. It's a flawless little piece of Italian design that anybody can buy, appreciate, and put to good use. It might cost five times as much as a junky little blower/brush, but it must be at least a hundred times better.

Miscellaneous notes:

- This is the "large" Rocket Blaster. There is also a small model, and in some cases here on Amazon it has not been perfectly clear what you're getting from the item photograph or description. Here's how you tell difference: the small blaster has a round (spherical) bulb, the large one has an elongated, more or less elliptical bulb.

- The large blaster is not ideal for carrying in a bag: it's a bit too big. Buy one of the small models for keeping in your bag, and the large one for home. The large one is probably two or three times as effective as the small one, however, so if you only intend to buy one, buy the large one. Honestly, by the time you have a modest sum invested in camera gear, you really ought to have both.

- It's hard to quantify the strength of the airflow - too subjective. Here's my attempt anyway: Putting a penny down on a smooth surface, the airflow from the large blaster from a distance of about three inches will make it jump. At about the same distance, aiming the blaster at the palm of my hand will create a depression in the skin of the palm. I can make a piece of ordinary copy paper flutter by using the blaster from about 2-1/2 feet away. Compared to the small blaster, for those who have it, the large blaster seems to provide about double the force of air for about double the amount of time.

But it really does do a pretty nice job getting dust off of the sensor of my D700.

It didn't get it 100% clean, but pretty close. Maybe 90%. And even the more visible dust specks weren't quite as visible after cleaning.

It even works nicely as a lens cleaner, keyboard cleaner, dashboard cleaner (those hard to reach places piss me off! haha).

Good product. Well worth the money.

Nice device for dusting cameras. Some have commented on the large size. I prefer this as you can wrap your whole hand around it, and thus, squeeze harder and create a stronger blast of air.

The rubber is thick and soft. Kind of feels like those old red rubber balls they used to use in Phys.Ed. classes when I was a kid. I imagine it will last a long time, and should stay free of cracks in the rubber.
The tip is made of thick, sturdy plastic, and is well secured to the bulb.

The stream of air generated is sufficient to clear dust from cameras and lenses, and for those inexperienced in cleaning a camera, it can prove much safer. I still keep micro-fiber cloths on hand, but rarely ever use them.

As far as using it for computers, it would serve well for clearing dust and crumbs from a keyboard.
In case you're thinking of using this for the inside of a computer, the air pressure generated would not be enough for a task such as that. Even with a computer equipped with air filters, some dust always gets in, and to clean off intake, exhaust, and cpu fans, as well as power supplies, video cards and heatsinks, you'll need something that creates a stronger, sustained blast of air.
However, for camera bodies, sensors, lenses and other small electronics, it's a great tool.

The price? Considering what you spend on camera equipment, this is a solid investment.

Alright, so obviously you know what it does and you're probably wondering if it is powerful enough. I also wanted to know this before buying the product.

Here is what most people do before buying this product:

Many people out there may try to blow air through their mouth. This is a bad idea since you will obviously get small specks of saliva on the lens which will make it harder to clean.

Some people decide that they will only use a lens pen or microfiber cleaning cloth. From what I understand (and this is purely unscientific) excessive cleaning will actually degrade the quality of the front element over time (or even the rear element). Don't get me wrong. I use a microfiber cleaning cloth as well. However, I use it as a last resort if the air blower doesn't remove the visible particles.

This leads me to this product. Is it powerful enough? I mean it is intended for optical and computer equipment (keyboards). Yes and no. Some people will like the quick rush of air. I personally do not think it is nearly as powerful as it should be. It has served me well so far but on occasion it proves to be rather unpowerful. You may find some dust particles stick to the lens even after use. That is when I pull out the microfiber cloth.

Recommendation:
Yes, I'd buy it bearing in mind that I may have to whip out my trusty microfiber cleaning cloth. This is a moderately powerful blower that I'll probably be keeping. I hope Giottos comes out with something more potent in the future since I don't like cleaning down the lens by hand (for reasons mentioned above).

Great for cleaning computers, keyboards, pretty much anything you would use canned air for, but it is reusable over and over.

Just so you know, this rocket is big so if you have tiny hands, go with the next size down. That being said, it is amazing how many times it helps to have some air to clean something off. I use it clean out my keyboard, all over my computer case, the top and other areas of my monitor, the lens on the camera of my iPhone etc etc. While it packs a punch, I still need a bit more power to blow out the inside of my computer though it does get some angles that get left behind with canned air. Honestly though, I use far less canned air so it saves both money and time.

I was hoping to use this to clean out the gunk in my keyboard instead of compressed air in a can, but it wasn't powerful enough. Perhaps it does work well to get dust off a lense, but don't be fooled by the word "blaster"--it doesn't really "blast" air. I would have called it an air "puffer." Will likely return.