Sensor cleaners

[lucasledge]

My SLR has had dust in it for months now. I'm guessing it's on the sensor but I guess I can't be certain, I can see it when I look through the view finder and I can see it on the photographs too.

I've tried with my blower blowing at it from all directions for ages but nothing get's rid of the dust or dirt that it spoiling my photographs.

Seeing as a blower is not working I'm wondering what else can I try to shift the dirt and clear the sensor.

What do you use, what have you used that has been useful. I've searched and found things that sweep the sensor but I know you're not supposed to touch the sensor so even with a cleaning product I'd be wary.

Thanks for any help you may be able to give me.

 

[RejiP]

Many web sites describe the different way to clean the sensors, my favorites are:

http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/index.html

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml

http://www.beauphoto.com/frames/digital/news/cleaning.html

 

[PHXAZCRAIG]

What do you use, what have you used that has been useful. I've
searched and found things that sweep the sensor but I know you're not
supposed to touch the sensor so even with a cleaning product I'd be
wary.

Sometimes you HAVE to touch the sensor. (Or more technically, the filter covering the sensor).

You, or someone else you pay to do it...

I bought a cleaning kit from Copperhill that works fine. I have a rocket blower as well, but if that fails, I have Pec Pads and Eclipse2 cleaning solution from the Copperhill kit. Works fine.

 

[lucasledge]

Alright thanks guys, do you know where I can buy the equipment from? I'm not from America but if you could show me the American equivilant I'm sure I'll be able to find something online for here in the UK.

I've got a rocket blower, but it still won't shift it. Is there anyway I can be sure that the dust/dirt is on the sensor before touching it? I don't want to clean it and then find out that it wasn't dirty in the first place, that the dust was on the mirror or something.

 

[Warren_L]

I got a cleaning kit from visible dust which worked great on my D3. Check them out at http://www.visibledust.com . The sensor wipe with cleaning solution and arctic butterfly are fantastic. I bough also the sensor loupe, which is great to examine the sensor to see where the dust is.

--
http://www.warrenlophotography.com

 

[David Bookbinder]

If you can see dust in the viewfinder and dust on your images, then you have dust in the viewfinder (on the focusing screen) and dust on the sensor. To see how much dust you have on the sensor, set the ISO to the lowest value, set the aperture to the highest value, set the focusing mode to manual, and take a picture of a clear blue sky (out of focus). Then, look at the image on your computer monitor. You'll see out-of-focus blobs and squiggles that are the dust on your sensor.

It's not clear to me that you have been going into "sensor clean" mode before you use your blower. You need to lock up the mirror and be able to see the (greenish) sensor in order to clean it.

I have had great success with a SensorKlear pen, much easier to use than the Copperhill method.

 

[nunatak]

it matters. not all sensors are the same, and some might be made worse using some of the techniques described here.

for a primer, read: http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm
--
the born 2 design
design guy

 

[lucasledge]

OK thanks, how do I clean the focusing screen as well then? I've not seen that described any where.

 

[lucasledge]

It's a D80.

I'm considering buying one of those cleaning swabs from VisibleDust but I'm as yet not sure which to get.

 

[lucasledge]

I just did the paper photograph trick. (Where you take a photograph at your smallest aperture of a blank sheet of white paper) and the amount of dirt and dust that is apparent on my sensor is quite shocking. And this was directly after putting the camera into cleaning mode and blowing with my rocket blower in a vain attempt to get rid of the dust.

 

[David Bookbinder]

Then you have stuck dust. If I were you (and I was you, a year ago), I would try the following techniques, in the following order:

1. Rocket blower (which you have done)
2. Sensor brush (with static charge), several charged passes

3. (If the above don't do it) wet cleaning with any of the swab/liquid combinations
4. (for future cleanings) rocket blower followed by SensorKlear pen.

I needed the wet cleaning to get the sensor clean the first time around, as it came from the factory with a lot of stuck dust. I used the brush to remove any particles that I might otherwise possibly scratch the sensor with, then did a few passes of the wet cleaning. I touched up what was left over with the SensorKlear pen. Since then, the blower and sensorklear pen has been sufficient for cleaning my sensor. When half a dozen or so specks appear at small aperture, or any appear at the apertures I normally use, I blow the sensor, check where remaining dust is, then use the SensorKlear to remove it.

 

[Warren_L]

With the Visible dust stuff I got some focusing screen swabs as well. Haven't had to use them yet, but they are designed specifically for focusing screen cleaning.

--
http://www.warrenlophotography.com

 

[lucasledge]

I don't even know where the focus screen is.