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Do you care that the sensor is exposed to the elements?

Do you care that the sensor is exposed to the elements?

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My D300 seemed to be a magnet for dust and I always kept the sensor swabs handy.

The sensor cleaner in my EM5 that I have had for three years has kept it remarkably clean up to now.
 
Exactly my thoughts. I wondered if the bottle of eclips would still be usable after a few years not being opened. However in dusty surroundings i take care not to let the wind blowing in when changing lenses.
 
Mirrorless cameras actually have better change to survive than DSLR does. Because there is no mirror slapping quickly around, moving a lot of air inside and throwing dust and small particles around behind the mirror.

Just do a smart thing and don't point camera upwards in rain when you are mounting lens.
 
No.

Despite being decidedly anal about keeping my shiny things shiny, everything I've read on the subject suggest that sensible lens changing practices plus the various anti-dust systems in MFT means that most of us will never be affected by particles on the sensor.
 
The dust cleaning function of all of the M43 cameras I have had has worked extraordinarily well. I just use normal caution when changing lenses, and don't worry about it.

When I had the Sony A7, now, THAT is a big chunk of sensor to get exposed during lens changes. Plus, it does not have nearly as effective dust cleaning. However, I found that I could pretty much get everything off with a sensor sweep brush, and after that I was good to go.

I've had to do a wet cleaning on only one of my M43 cameras, and that was the GH2.... and it was a bit of stuck on dust that was there when I bought it, new. After quaking in my boots for a while the first time I did the cleaning, I successfully got the dust off, and never had an issue with that camera after that again.

Just buy a Rocket Blower and a Sensor Sweep brush if you are worried about it, and face your camera down when possible when changing lenses (and blow the dust off the back of the lens before putting it on the camera. It's not a big deal.

-J
 
Achiron said:
I say those things because I had my EPL7 cleaned in a lab because of dust that made a spot on the picture. re: camera facing downwards -dust particles don't obey the rules of physics or logic. You can do it in a cpu factory clean room and some dust will still find it's way to the sensor I'm sure.
Click to expand...
It seems you read only the first sentence of my post. It also seems speculative exaggeration to assert that turning the camera downward does nothing. How would you know?

Some dust particles are bigger & heavier than others, and other falling stuff definitely obeys the laws of physics, including gravity. Try photographing swarming seagulls close-up and you'll see what I mean. It's not perfect protection, but turning the camera downward can only help.

Again, 3 years, no cleaning required. If you do get some dust specks, I like a Rocket Blower and/or LensPen's SensorKlear for removing them.

BTW, what does "SSWF" mean?

--
The way to make a friend is to act like one.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos
 
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Achiron said:
I personally feel anxious every time I change lens
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Don't, there is no need, unless you are in some harsh conditions.

I had my Olympus cameras mounted on a telescope for hours on end, in various conditions (warm, cold, freezing, dew, stuff like that). With a Newtonian telescope, there is nothing between the sensor and the environment. Yet, I have not had to do sensor cleaning for all those years. Magic?
Achiron said:
There's a picture on the front page right now that shows the new Fuji sensor. I can feel all the dust landing on that unit. I can only hope it was cleaned afterwards.
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That's what in-camera sensor cleaning takes care of. I don't know if other camera brands have such a thing. But I don't care. Olympus has it, so dust on sensor is something that happens to others, not me.
Achiron said:
It's not that having the sensor exposed when the lens is removed is useful in anyway, so why do it?
Click to expand...
Oh, it is useful. Can you imagine paying for replacing a shutter every time something touches it by accident or some piece of debris gets jammed in it?
 
Astrotripper said:
Achiron said:
I personally feel anxious every time I change lens
Click to expand...
Don't, there is no need, unless you are in some harsh conditions.

I had my Olympus cameras mounted on a telescope for hours on end, in various conditions (warm, cold, freezing, dew, stuff like that). With a Newtonian telescope, there is nothing between the sensor and the environment. Yet, I have not had to do sensor cleaning for all those years. Magic?
Astrotripper said:
There's a picture on the front page right now that shows the new Fuji sensor. I can feel all the dust landing on that unit. I can only hope it was cleaned afterwards.
Click to expand...
That's what in-camera sensor cleaning takes care of. I don't know if other camera brands have such a thing. But I don't care. Olympus has it, so dust on sensor is something that happens to others, not me.
Astrotripper said:
It's not that having the sensor exposed when the lens is removed is useful in anyway, so why do it?
Click to expand...
Oh, it is useful. Can you imagine paying for replacing a shutter every time something touches it by accident or some piece of debris gets jammed in it?
Click to expand...
Another point about shutters - they are moving mechanical devices that involve friction and require lubricant. I routinely had to clean gunk off the sensors of my Canon 1-series cameras that was not dust but oil from the moving parts of the mirror and shutter in the mirror box. Required extensive wet cleaning - not fun.
 
simply stays clean
 
No I don't want my sensor to get dirty, but that doesn't stop me from putting on the lens I want. In heavy salt spray I tend to turn my back to it, but other than that I don't worry too much. It is a tool and can be cleaned.
 
Achiron said:
I say those things because I had my EPL7 cleaned in a lab because of dust that made a spot on the picture. re: camera facing downwards -dust particles don't obey the rules of physics or logic. You can do it in a cpu factory clean room and some dust will still find it's way to the sensor I'm sure.
Click to expand...
It's a known fact that dirt under a car falls into your eye at a 60 degree angle, but really...just keep a lens on your camera and everything will be fine - even with the incredible amount of dust that collects on the lens flange. In three years with three mirrorless cameras, I've had to clean sensors twice - and I keep my cameras in the room with the crosscut paper shredder!
 
Jacques Cornell said:
Achiron said:
I say those things because I had my EPL7 cleaned in a lab because of dust that made a spot on the picture. re: camera facing downwards -dust particles don't obey the rules of physics or logic. You can do it in a cpu factory clean room and some dust will still find it's way to the sensor I'm sure.
Click to expand...
It seems you read only the first sentence of my post. It also seems speculative exaggeration to assert that turning the camera downward does nothing. How would you know?

Some dust particles are bigger & heavier than others, and other falling stuff definitely obeys the laws of physics, including gravity. Try photographing swarming seagulls close-up and you'll see what I mean. It's not perfect protection, but turning the camera downward can only help.

Again, 3 years, no cleaning required. If you do get some dust specks, I like a Rocket Blower and/or LensPen's SensorKlear for removing them.

BTW, what does "SSWF" mean?
Click to expand...
 
Wayne Beaumont said:
Jacques Cornell said:
Achiron said:
I say those things because I had my EPL7 cleaned in a lab because of dust that made a spot on the picture. re: camera facing downwards -dust particles don't obey the rules of physics or logic. You can do it in a cpu factory clean room and some dust will still find it's way to the sensor I'm sure.
Click to expand...
It seems you read only the first sentence of my post. It also seems speculative exaggeration to assert that turning the camera downward does nothing. How would you know?

Some dust particles are bigger & heavier than others, and other falling stuff definitely obeys the laws of physics, including gravity. Try photographing swarming seagulls close-up and you'll see what I mean. It's not perfect protection, but turning the camera downward can only help.

Again, 3 years, no cleaning required. If you do get some dust specks, I like a Rocket Blower and/or LensPen's SensorKlear for removing them.

BTW, what does "SSWF" mean?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Poll didn't have the right options for me, either "my sensor never seems to get dirty", or "that's what the sensor-shake cleaners do, and they work". Edit: Oh wait that's option 3, voted now.
 
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The shutter is very likely more delicate than the sensor cover glass, so it makes sense to leave it open. Adding a retractable cover would make for a more complex and expensive camera, and very possibly add some size.

I have used m43 since 2009 and even out here in the dusty Texas Panhandle have never had to clean a sensor. I fact, there have been no more than 2 or 3 times I've even had to run an extra cleaning cycle.

Gato
 
Gato Amarillo said:
The shutter is very likely more delicate than the sensor cover glass, so it makes sense to leave it open. Adding a retractable cover would make for a more complex and expensive camera, and very possibly add some size.

I have used m43 since 2009 and even out here in the dusty Texas Panhandle have never had to clean a sensor. I fact, there have been no more than 2 or 3 times I've even had to run an extra cleaning cycle.
Click to expand...
I didn't know you could put them in the dishwasher! ;)
 
I make a point to protect the sensor (usually face the open mount downward) when changing lenses. I have owned M43 since the G1, both Olympus and Panasonic, and find that the internal shake system works very well. It makes no sense not to be careful with an expensive piece of equipment. I am equally careful with the lens surfaces and the mounts.
 
zuikowesty said:
Gato Amarillo said:
The shutter is very likely more delicate than the sensor cover glass, so it makes sense to leave it open. Adding a retractable cover would make for a more complex and expensive camera, and very possibly add some size.

I have used m43 since 2009 and even out here in the dusty Texas Panhandle have never had to clean a sensor. I fact, there have been no more than 2 or 3 times I've even had to run an extra cleaning cycle.
Click to expand...
I didn't know you could put them in the dishwasher! ;)
Click to expand...
But for washing machines, please, no front-load, top-load only. And for God's sake, use the "gentle" cycle and a "special care" detergent.
 
Gato Amarillo said:
...... there have been no more than 2 or 3 times I've even had to run an extra cleaning cycle.
Click to expand...
Apart from the wash, rinse & dry jokes, the only way to get sensor cleaning cycles is by turning the camera on (and holding it level), or by running the pixel mapping (and again holding it level) - which is recommended anyway for pixel problems or every year or so as a routine thing.

Occasionally I take an f/22 shot of a blank painted wall (no bricks please) or the sky to look for spots, usually a couple of insignificant little blobs that disappear when I get back to f/11 anyway. I use wide open to f/8 for 99.999999% of shots so never see anything that matters.

In a prior life I used film and a 4,000 dpi film scanner and was totally plagued by dust no matter how careful. Usually took 30 minutes a frame to get the dust cloned from a scan - until I realised that most dust never is seen on a print, only the major chunks. Thus taking dust removal down to maybe 5 minutes per frame.

So after seeing early DSLRs and how filthy they get I waited for Olympus and their dust removal and 8MP as a minimum, the Oly E-300 started my 4/3 then M4/3 journey. Never ever had a dust problem in what must be 11 years now of interchangeable lens Oly bodies and mucho lens swapping along the way.

Regards..... Guy
 
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