Giottos Rocket Blower

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: Price is a difference, but not the only difference.

The Long Version: They look like a gimmick. The little stand-up feet that give the Rocket its name come across as silly, but they do stop it from rolling and reduce the amount of space the blower takes up on a shelf. And far more important than its passing resemblance to a Nerf football, it has let a second-tier manufacturer of photographic accessories brand something that would otherwise be generic.

I don't normally worry about dust, since my Olympus SLRs are fairly resistant to it, and my shooting style doesn't bring it out. But it is nice to be able to clean off lenses and my rarely-used filters before using a microfiber cloth on them, and every six months or so I do dust out my cameras just to maintain some fellowship with my Canon-using colleagues. And there's nothing better for clearing off slides before I put them through my scanner.

I have tried other dust-removal methods. Canned air is a bad idea: even the 'dry' type can introduce more problems than it solves. I also frequently use a no-name blower bulb, and it's not as strong as the Giottos and the nozzle wobbles when the bulb is squeezed. Just blowing on something is risky for camera sensors - spittle kills - and is too much like work for everything else. I've even tried a turkey baster that needed a new career, and it just didn't do the job.

If you need a blower bulb, and practically everyone does, spend the few extra dollars on a Rocket. If nothing else, at least you can think to yourself: it looks like a Nerf football.