The past 5 or 6 holidays I've taken I seem to have spent half of it cleaning my 5D sensor. Ok, maybe an hour or so every evening. Nothing collects dust like a 5D sensor. I've tried everything going. The Arctic Butterfly was a waste of time. It did nothing but drag oil from the edge across the sensor. Copious wet cleaning to try to wash the oil from the edges failed so I stopped using it. It was free with a mag sub so it was no loss.
I've spoken with a pro who runs a shop (in the US) and he says he uses cotton buds and has no problems. So what if it leaves a fibre on the sensor? Use a Delkin Sensor Loupe to examine it after cleaning and remove it.
I have cleaned my swabs and reused them. The price of them is just stupid. I have a good supply of free IPA to clean them in. 7 Dayshop have got swabs down to £1.50 each but always seem to be out of stock. Even at that price I still reuse them. Some of my cleaning sessions can use 5 or 6, and then all that cleaning can be undone by the end of the next day. If these manufacturers thing I'm going to spend 5 to 10 quid a day using a swab once they've got another think coming.
I've tried the Dust Aid sticky pads and they work ok. But of course they tell you to use them once only. Why wouldn't they? Anything to keep a steady income. Sod that. I put the peeled-off protective paper back on and use it several times.
A while ago on another forum I read of somebody using White Tac. This is like Blu Tac, but white, obviously, with the added quality that it doesn't leave an oily residue like the blue. I tried it and it actually works. It's a bit fiddly in that you need to cut workable sized pieces. Wearing some of those thin medical type rubber gloves (to prevent finger oil contamination) and a sharp craft knife it's not too difficult. To apply the tac to the sensor I stuck a small 1/4 in square to the end of the plunger from a tiny syringe. It works. Doesn't leave any mark whatsoever on the sensor. And it's a seriously cheap method of cleaning.
I've used a couple of other things not worth mentioning. One gadget worth its weight is a Delkin Sensor Loupe (not the Sensor Scope) for examing the sensor under a magnified light. Priceless.
No doubt there will be a few tut tuts and warnings about how easy it is to scratch a sensor, along with "I wouldn't dare touch mine, it always goes away to be cleaned". Some people may have had some bad luck but I honestly have no fear.
Earlier this year, the night before flying off to New Zealand I opened up the 5D to give her a quick clean. A speck was stuck on and wouldn't budge. Dry clean, wet clean, sticky pads - nothing worked. It was actually a speck of pollen. I did a photo test shot and it was a significant and sizeable black splodge that would have been a pig to clone out of thousands of photos. My last but one effort was to drip Eclipse fluid on and leave it to soak in, keeping it wet for an hour or so. That didn't work so it was down to my last resort. Given that if I couldn't shift it then the camera would have to go away. They would certainly use some force to move it, hopefully not damage the glass, and charge me for it. Or damage the glass and charge me a lot more to replace it. So really I had nothing to lose, as I would either have a clean sensor to take on holiday, or a damaged sensor glass that would be a lot easier to clone out than the massive black spot. I got a swab and wet it then used the corner to try to move the speck. Gently at first, but increasingly harder as it still wasn't moving. After a few seconds the glass was squeaking with the scrubbing action. Then the speck was gone. No damage whatsover done.
And that is why I have no fear of damaging my sensor.
I've also seen sensors with grease on which has either been dragged on by an Artic Butterly user or blown on by someone using a Rocket blower, whatever you do, once you've done it you'll wonder what all the fuss was about, I had no choice but to apply quite a bit of pressure with a wet clean to get rid of the water droplet.
they were made to attract it I reckon
