Sensor cleaning

J

jmc41

Suspended / Banned
Messages
107
Edit My Images
No
Noticed last night my sensor has a spot on it, it's only a real problem above f11, but is visible from about f7 and I'd rather not limit what I can shoot.

As I only have a small blower I decided to wait and today had the Giottos one I've been waiting for delivered. However I've just noticed it says "Not recommended for CCD sensor cleaning!" which concerns me a little.

I was planning on holding the camera facing down in the bathroom, locking the mirror up and giving it a blast (which I read somewhere on here) but is the Giottos too powerful for this?

Never cleaned a sensor before but don't want the expense or time of sending it off. Plus I have heard rumours of sensors coming back from Canon dirtier than when they went in.

Thanks!
 
Hiya

I clean my sensor a lot myself and it might be that a blower wont do the trick anyway as often oil spots develop on it. I use a very small soft lint-free cloth, with a dot of methanol on it and wipe once across the whole sensor. A glue stick i find is perfect for for holding the cloth. It is quite hard to damage the sensor itself as it has plastic coatings but care is needed.

Also, expensive but useful is the Arctic Butterfly kit, a charged soft brush that lifts dust off the sensor.

Hope this helps

Rich
 
I've just cleaned my sensors on my 3 cameras with my trusty Arctic Butterfly brush. In one go its saved me over £100! Over the years it's saved me tons. Just do it yourself, no hassle and easy to do. And you don't have to be without your camera too.
 
I use a Giotto rocket blower and it gets most dust spots off with no problems. Before you lock the mirror up it is worth giving the mirror box a good blow out with the opening facing down, l normally give it a few blows, leave it for a while and then blow it out again. You can then lock the mirror up and give the sensor a few good blows, make sure that the battery is fully charged before you start. If you have a tripod then mount the camera body on the tripod, it saves you having to hold the camera :)
 
Thanks for this guys, I'll set up the tripod in the bathroom and give it a few careful blows when I get back; and then have a look at one of those butterfly kits of the future, they look quite good but are pricey
 
Unfortunately the mark still appears despite a few good blows :( The mirror is fine, but it must be something more instrusive than dust, perhaps one of the oil spots Rich mentioned :s

Will have to look into getting some proper cleaning glue-stick type things i guess; have to say some of the reviews of the artic butterfly brush do terrify me a little!
 
Thanks for this guys; bit of a delay as WEX or ParcelForce didn't read the 'Saturday delivery' aspect and delivered today instead, but borrowed some cleaning stuff from a friend and with a Loupe and some visible dust swabs (a little pricey aren't they) success after two attempts.

IMG_7915x.jpg

IMG_7916x.jpg

IMG_7919x.jpg


ISO100, plenty of movement, F22, 30 sec exposure at 105mm.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top