Sensor cleaning, what do you do?

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diggerz

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I recently realised that I had an issue with dust on the sensor of my D80 and after reading all about the cleaning pro's and con's and performing a test shot that was shocking to say the least I decided a "self " clean was the way to go. So off to the local camera shop and was skanked for £35 for a cleaning kit (yeh I know but I was expecting to need my camera today) I tried it out last night, firstly blowing out the chamber in front of the mirror before locking up the mirror and repeating the process, which did shift some of the crud but I had to then resort to the solvent on swab method. After about 8 attempts and consequent test shots I settled for 1 small fragment that only shows up after the test (setting auto levels).
So back to my original question, what do you do/recommend? Is it worth just blowing the sensor off as a matter of routine or what?

Cheers Paul
 
why blow it if you can't see the dust? i suppose a check to see if you have dust ever so often or after a particularly dusty trip would be more prudent and act accordingly thereafter

you are right in thinking that dust oil spec etc left long will become stubborn.
 
I did my D80 - Eclipse E2 fluid and Sensor Swabs type 2.

I used about three swabs, followed instructions to the letter and got it spot less. Here is a handy how to LINK. If its the first time you have done it I would expect it to take a few more passes to get it spotless.

You are aware that a spot top of your picture is on the bottom of the sensor

Got to say that I have had my D300 since they came out Nov 07, and have not had to wet clean the sensor, just use the inbuilt clean function every now and then, seems to work really well.
 
Hi Martyn
Yes thats the site I read the speck I've got I seem to have either pushed around or reintroduced and after 8 tests I was getting a little browned off to say the least.

Cheers Paul
 
diggerz said:
Hi Martyn
Yes thats the site I read the speck I've got I seem to have either pushed around or reintroduced and after 8 tests I was getting a little browned off to say the least.

Cheers Paul
Click to expand...

Make sure that you only use each side of the swab once, then discard it.

Leave it a couple of days then have another go at it, try and locate the speck on the sensor. Get the swab a little wetter, and move it a bit slower over the area where the speck is.
 
Thanks Martyn
Will try that, I was hoping somebody with better eyesight would help me out inspecting it visually but she disappeared upstairs for nearly 4 hours.

Cheers Paul
 
A Visible Dust Sensor Loupe is the best accessory you can buy to help you see dust on your sensor.

Dust Aid sticky pads work well.
 
Copper hill method, swabs and E2 for my Nikon D3. Check which liquid you have to use for your camera
 
My old thread on cleaning is here

Still works for me :)
 
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