Sensor cleaning

tomwazza

tomwazza

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Tom
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Hi All,

I'm sure that this has been asked many many many times before and I'm really sorry for bringing it up again, but...

I've just spotted some dust on one of my photos, so I did a quick shot to show it all up and after a little processing I can see that the sensor is absolutely filthy!

4332655977_d44712899c_o.jpg


Being a newbie I'd like some advice on what to use. Should I use a blower, a can of compressed air or some kind of cleaning fluid? I could really do with some suggestions.

Cheers for all your help,

Tom.
 
Try a blower first you would be surprised how effective they can be, next step would be the swabs FITP sells.

More suggestions to follow :D
 
Same as above...

I think that you should try a Rocket blower (or similar) first. I don't think that a can of compressed air is a good idea as you might squirt God knows what into your camera. If a blower doesn't clear everything you might need to do a wet clean with a cleaning pad. Personally I use a Pec Pad wrapped around a slice cut from an old credit card and a drop of Eclipse cleaning fluid.
 
being a whimp, i sent my old 30D off to canon through the place i bought it from, they cleaned the sensor upgraded the firmware and cleaned up the entire body for the grad sum of just over £20 plus they gave a six month warranty after...

just my 10 pence!

and certainly what ill do again in future, although im hoping 40D will keep cleaner than 30 with the built in system!
 
Cheers for the advice chaps.

I'll probably try one of the rocket blowers first and then if that doesn't work go to camera shop and get it cleaned.
 
I wouldnt use a blower. That can just blow the dust around and not actually remove it, worse still you can actually blow dust from the sides onto the sensor...

As a starting point, use a dry cleaner, I'd recommed something like Dust Aid Platinum, it actually lifts the dust out.
If they are stubborn marks, like pollen, etc then you need a wet cleaner, again something like the Dust-Aid Dust Wand product.
I use both and find the results excellent....
 
I tried a blower and it did nothing, they only seem to be effecting for small and light dust particles.

Mine was like your pic above, a mate cleaned mine with some sensor swabs and a cleaning solution (propper camera sensor one!).
 
So what exactly should i be cleaning?

The mirror, the sensor or the focus screen?
 
I have to say that cleaning your 1st sensor is a scary step, my 30D body is a real dust magnet, I can't count the number of times I have had to clean it, or removw obvious dust from images. I've not actually felt the need to clean a sensor with the self cleaning sensor yet, though one does have a tiny bit of dust in the upper patr of the frame so it will probably get done soon.

Don't use compressed air in your body, unless you have a vacuum attachment, try a rocket blower first with the body facing downwards, gentle puffs though, see how it goes, if you're happy fine, though I think that you'll be looking at a proper clean, either take it somewhere reliable if you don't want to do it yourself or invest in some decent swabs and take the plunge.
 
I'd be very careful touching the mirror or focus screen, the focus screen in particular could easily be damaged. Dust on either might be visible through the viewfinder but will not appear on your pictures.
 
ozyboyross said:
being a whimp, i sent my old 30D off to canon through the place i bought it from, they cleaned the sensor upgraded the firmware and cleaned up the entire body for the grad sum of just over £20 plus they gave a six month warranty after...

just my 10 pence!

and certainly what ill do again in future, although im hoping 40D will keep cleaner than 30 with the built in system!
Click to expand...

hmm that is exceptional value for money in my view. Does it have to be in warrantee before you send it off, or will they stil clean and give the 6 mth warrantee if not? :)
 
lawrenceots said:
hmm that is exceptional value for money in my view. Does it have to be in warrantee before you send it off, or will they stil clean and give the 6 mth warrantee if not? :)
Click to expand...

Mine was about two years old which is why it was chargeable, I do work there, but i dont think any special favours were done for me, as the invoice etc is in my fathers name (who i bought my 30D from)

Contact Warehouse Express if you bought your camera from there, and im sure they can give you more info on it! If possible ask to speak to the returns dept, as they deal with sending things off to be repaired/cleaned inspected etc.

Only thing was it wasnt mega quick, about 2-3 week turn around i think it was.
 
Seems ages ago but I wrote up the wet method here -

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9766

Your picture looks like pollen which is sticky and does not come off too easily with dry methods. Wet is wrong really as it involves barely damp swabs. It works for me but there may be alternative methods available now which are safer to do. Not something I have looked into for a few years :)
 
Hi,
Could you provide more info on where you sent your camera to?


ozyboyross said:
being a whimp, i sent my old 30D off to canon through the place i bought it from, they cleaned the sensor upgraded the firmware and cleaned up the entire body for the grad sum of just over £20 plus they gave a six month warranty after...

just my 10 pence!

and certainly what ill do again in future, although im hoping 40D will keep cleaner than 30 with the built in system!
Click to expand...
 
nikolarun said:
Hi,
Could you provide more info on where you sent your camera to?
Click to expand...

As I said earlier, i sent off through my work (warehouse express) but i could only do it using my dads invoice (as he bought it originally) and no special treatment was given as far as i know!

If you bought the camera from warehouse express then ring them up and ask to speak to the returns dept about having your camera sent off to canon for a clean.

Only thing is as said earleir, the turnaround wasnt hugely fast, think it was 2-3 weeks.

If you didnt buy the camera from warehouse express they wont be able to send it off, or you'll have to pay ALOT of money for them to send it off.

but who ever you bought it from should be able to send it to canon for you....

the six month warranty comes from canon too.
 
Just went into the camera shop in Pershore, they quoted me £150 to clean the sensor!

I nearly told her where to stick her quote.

I think I'll look for another camera shop...
 
tomwazza said:
Just went into the camera shop in Pershore, they quoted me £150 to clean the sensor!

I nearly told her where to stick her quote.

I think I'll look for another camera shop...
Click to expand...

That’s a CON you can clean it yourself in your menu you find a setting for cleaning it will lift the mirror and open the shutter you can then start with a rocket blower NEVER use compress air. if you still need some cleaning you can get a lens pen it has a brush at one end and a cleaning pad at the other Don’t use the pad until you have One blown dust off then a light brush before the pad.
Remember you are cleaning a glass filter and not the sensor. Take care you be OK
Don’t let others make money out of making it sound like a major job.
 
tomwazza said:
Just went into the camera shop in Pershore, they quoted me £150 to clean the sensor!
Click to expand...

Jeez! That's utterly mad. Note to self: when I'm next in Pershore, don't stray into any camera shops. (I think there's only one IIRC. In the high street, isn't it?)
 
It's really not that difficult to wet clean your own sensor, It only takes a few seconds & there are plenty of online tutorials on how best to do it.The thought of sending my camera body off in the post for what could be weeks at a time just to have a piece of glass cleaned that could have been done in a few seconds & a few lens changes later have to do it all again No thanks

Toonie
 
Toonie said:
It's really not that difficult to wet clean your own sensor, It only takes a few seconds & there are plenty of online tutorials on how best to do it.The thought of sending my camera body off in the post for what could be weeks at a time just to have a piece of glass cleaned that could have been done in a few seconds & a few lens changes later have to do it all again No thanks

Toonie
Click to expand...

I agree with Toonie on this. I did a lot of online homework on this subject before tackling the job. Far too many scary things are written about the process. If you take your time, it is fairly simple. If you're sensible, there's not much you can do wrong.
 
tomwazza said:
Just went into the camera shop in Pershore, they quoted me £150 to clean the sensor!

I nearly told her where to stick her quote.

I think I'll look for another camera shop...
Click to expand...

I spoke to Clifton cameras recently when I bought a lens from them - they quoted £40+ to wet clean the sensor and this had a turnaround time of 24 hours. They said there was a waiting period of about a week before they could do it, though.

They are reasonably close to you, so you might want to give them a call.
 
I tried cleaning my sensor with a blower and ended up with even more dust on it. I took it to Fixation in Kennington and they did it while I waited for just over £30. It came back spotless.
 
Troglodyte said:
I tried cleaning my sensor with a blower and ended up with even more dust on it. I took it to Fixation in Kennington and they did it while I waited for just over £30. It came back spotless.
Click to expand...

For £19 you could have bought 100 pec pads & Eclipse Lens and CCD Cleaning Fluid (59m) from warehouse express Thats enough to clean your sensor 100 times.............Er no contest, it aint rocket science

Toonie
 
ozyboyross said:
being a whimp, i sent my old 30D off to canon through the place i bought it from, they cleaned the sensor upgraded the firmware and cleaned up the entire body for the grad sum of just over £20 plus they gave a six month warranty after...

just my 10 pence!

and certainly what ill do again in future, although im hoping 40D will keep cleaner than 30 with the built in system!
Click to expand...

thats great service i wonder how much [more] nikon would charge.
 
I had a few specs of dust on my sensor, so I stuck a rocket blower in there and gave it a few squeezes.

The blower was brand new and squirted out what I can only assume was a manufacturing grease, which went all over the sensor.

I drove to Jessops and bought a 'Lens Pen', a pen shaped thing with a felt end, and with the aid of a torch I cleaned it up without problems.

Have since used this Lens Pen to clean the sensor several times, it's easy.
 
tomwazza, cleaning's a pain but it's worth it when you get a shot you don't have to spend the next day cloning dust out. Having it professionally done is probably worth it if you can either have it done while you wait, or can afford for the camera to be away for a few days, but doing it yourself at home is just as easy.

I use one of those Delkin wet clean systems with the big, flat swab thingy that you put the liquid on and rub the sensor with. Does the job fine and I carry one of the dry swabs with me through the day just for odd cleans when I need to. The kit comes with a little USB-powered vacaum, which works a treat, as unlike air, your not blowing dust particles around the shutter chamber. The odd shake with the camera facing down when you change lenses doesn't hurt either - dust will fall out this way too.

My camera is in use 5-days-a-week for mag shoots so I cant afford for it to be away at all, which is why the DIY route works for me. It takes two minutes to do, the biggest pain being that of making sure I've got enough battery power to do a mirror lock-up!!
 
loplyg said:
I had a few specs of dust on my sensor, so I stuck a rocket blower in there and gave it a few squeezes.

The blower was brand new and squirted out what I can only assume was a manufacturing grease, which went all over the sensor.

I drove to Jessops and bought a 'Lens Pen', a pen shaped thing with a felt end, and with the aid of a torch I cleaned it up without problems.

Have since used this Lens Pen to clean the sensor several times, it's easy.
Click to expand...

:plusone: for the lenspen here, really simple to use, I have done my 350D a few times myself.
 
I've finally caved and decided it's time to clean my sensor as I have a large 'moon shaped' mark appearing on some of my pictures which on closer inspection seems to be 4 or five splodges which are really close together.

Problem is, I am rather stretched financially at the moment (to the point where a blower or cleaning fluid/ pen would be an unjustifiable luxury before pay day - which is more than a month away)

I don't fancy waiting that long and have been toying with the idea of trying out my wife's hair dryer on a cool setting as a blower...

does anybody have any experience of doing this? Anyone able to explain why I shouldn't?
 
chis101 said:
I don't fancy waiting that long and have been toying with the idea of trying out my wife's hair dryer on a cool setting as a blower...
Click to expand...

You are joking! How much dust is that going to blow in!!
 
Wipe in one direction with one side of the swab and backwards with the other side. This will minimize the risk of scratching the sensor.

Don't saturate the swab.

Let the alcohol dissipate fully before turning camera back on.

Make sure battery is fully charged.

Apply pressure so the swab bends but don't force it. Applying too little pressure won't do anything.

Lastly, its not that hard.
 
chis101 said:
No idea that's why i'm asking!

....A bit too much then?
Click to expand...

Well you can always try and let us know! but i would not recommend a hairdryer. All the dust being sucked out of the air and blown in to your camera, as well as all the dust already in the dryer.

I hope i didnt sound rude, i really didnt mean to. But if id been drinking something and read that id probably be cleaning it off my laptop now.

Do you know anyone with a rocket blower etc?
 
Euan said:
Well you can always try and let us know! but i would not recommend a hairdryer. All the dust being sucked out of the air and blown in to your camera, as well as all the dust already in the dryer.

I hope i didnt sound rude, i really didnt mean to. But if id been drinking something and read that id probably be cleaning it off my laptop now.

Do you know anyone with a rocket blower etc?
Click to expand...

Don't worry I didn't think you sounded rude!

I knew there was probably a reason why I shouldn't but couldn't think of any off hand, It's just as well I'm at work and thought to post on here as had I been at home when I had this moment of 'genius' I think curiosity may have gotten the better of me...

As for a rocket blower, unfortunately I only know one other tog and like me he is a relative beginner and hasn't got round to investing in one yet. I suppose I will just keep cloning the mark out in PS untill payday!
 
"...cloning the mark out in PS untill payday!"

Blowers are only a few quid. You can buy them from pretty much any camera shop or off the net. The Rocket is popular because when you're not using it to clean your camera you can play with it :)
 
woof woof said:
"...cloning the mark out in PS untill payday!"

Blowers are only a few quid. You can buy them from pretty much any camera shop or off the net. The Rocket is popular because when you're not using it to clean your camera you can play with it :)
Click to expand...

I know, it's a sad state of affairs, but it is going to have to wait!

on closer examination of a blower's construction, I am now theorising about a rubber duck with a thin straw duck taped to it's air hole...
 
Hi Everyone,

I must say I'm really pleased that everyone’s chipped in with their advice and experiences, I must admit that I was half expecting 2 or 3 replies saying "Use the search function...". Anyway I've now narrowed it down to exactly what I'm buying...

  1. Giottos CL2810 Q.Ball Air-Blower
  2. Eclipse Lens and CCD Cleaning Fluid (59ml)
  3. PEC-PADs 10x10cm (100 Sheets)

I'm fairly confident that I can do it, especially after watching some YouTube videos.

Not sure what to use as an applicator though, any suggestions for a product that isn't a spatula lol.

Thanks again,

Tom.
 
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