DPReview TV: The right and wrong way to clean your camera's sensor

I cried when you destroyed those cameras.

Would be better and shorter without the humor. That said there was some useful information.

Hi
Great video and very informative. Sadly my camera too suffered from water ingress after using the toilet method to clean the sensor, off to buy some rice!

Sensors are covered by a protective layer of glass. Cleaning that surface is not really any more complicated or frought with risk than cleaning a lens. The idea that you’d only switch lenses in a bathroom as a few have posted here is just goofy. Why the bathroom. Less dust from the shower ? Did you know that bathrooms have micro particles of feces floating around from flushing the toilet … eeewwuu! Or the need to send your camera in for professional cleaning - what ? Swabs do not just push dust aside. The particles generally adhere to the swabs. This is not rocket science even tho many people use a rocket blower. Ha ha. One of the good reasons to have an ILC is exactly because you can self clean the sensor. Had a number of Canon G series cameras early in the digital era and two of them essentially died because of dust or whatever on the sensors and they were not repairable.

Flamethrower works always perfectly. Never had to try anything else. Well done Chris!

Surprised Chris didn't mention the vacuum method. It works for fixed-lens cameras, and I think it's the only at-home solution for fixed-lens camera. Well, it worked for me. Requires a strong vacuum cleaner with a small end nozzle to focus the suction. You place the nozzle at a junction of the lens barrel that moves in and out, then you need to cup your hands around the nozzle and around the lens to further focus the suction, then you may need to operate the lens such that it moves in an out while the vacuum is on. Removed a few spots of sensor dust from my LX100 after several attempts.

I stopped watching @ the propane method. Gathered enough info for the job..

I never change lenses. Just buy a camera for each lens you own. Problem solved ;-)

Visible Dust Sensor Cleaning Brush has always worked well for me.
I'm surprised that type of brush cleaning is not included???

How about using a rocket blower between changing lenses?

Also, never used compressed air, as some people may be tempted to do so.

Lesson learned to not Quick scroll trough videos …now im sitting here with a camera full of toilet water

I mainly use sensor swab, but they are so overpriced for a glorified q tip and cleaning solution.

Enjoyable vid.

The dust removal system on my OMD is flawless. It was flawless on my E-1. Just returned from a mountain holibob and over 600 raw files, multiple lens changes, not a spec of dust. Can't say the same for my Leica, Canon and Sony cameras.

A friend of mine from CERN swears by a method for those stubborn dust specks that uses transient black holes. The equipment for that is kind of expensive though, and rather tricky to take on a plane too.

Chris and Jordan, I'm rather disappointed that you didn't mention the classic vacuum cleaner method, which is amazing for day to day use. The best results are to be had with those industrial heavy duty vacuum cleaners. You just place the end of the pipe on the lens mount and do a quick run at full power. Afterwards, there is typically no dust left on the sensor, or in the camera. (electronics, remember, is often made out of silicon, which is also dust! exactly what you want to get rid of)

Gotta admit it, Chris, that gentle psycho impression was top notch! Haha... Wasn't it?

Pro

Thoroughly enjoyed the video.

Absolutely mo-ron-ic video. About two minutes of useful info. with the rest a production of toxic landfill waste material.

In all seriousness, I wish you would have spent more time on dust on the sensor on a high end, non-interchangeable lens camera. Folks at KEH tell me, when I told them that the that the leica X2, which had dust on the sensor, was to be expected and get used to it. Also could you address what camera manufacturers could do in R & D to help with the dust on the sensor. If a Sony RX1 gets dust you'll have to replace the lens unit. So, manufactures should do more to endure no dust on their high end non interchangeable lens cameras.

After the Rocket Blower, my Step 2 is an Arctic Butterfly brush. This does a great job on dust that isn't actually stuck but just held in place by static electricity. For more stubborn dust, my Step 3 is a Sensor Klear pen, which is basically a tiny Lens Pen with a triangular tip that's better at reaching into corners.

I haven't needed to do wet cleaning in about a decade, since I switched from DSLRs (which had a nasty habit of spraying mirror-box lubricant onto the sensors) to mirrorless cameras. I've NEVER needed to clean the sensors in the Panasonic Micro Four Thirds bodies I've used for 8+ years, but my Sony bodies need regular TLC with a Rocket Blower and occasionally the Arctic Butterfly.

What? No mention of the Arctic Butterfly method?

all a bit Digital Rev and Kai this is

I'm a timelapse photog (amongst other genres), so I need to clean my mirrorless and DSLR sensors before every shoot (it's arduous to remove spots from high res moving clips). I've gotten pretty good at it. I check before & after with an illuminated loupe, and I use a combo of blower, SensorKlear and, very rarely, handmade pecpad swabs with eclipse fluid. But, back when I was new at it, I used the "close the aperture point at the sky" method to see if there was dust (not as effective as a loupe), & I used exclusively pecpads & eclipse fluid (key: no rocket blower). Well, when I finally did get an illuminated loupe, I spotted a sensor-long scratch in one of my cameras! I must've dragged a tiny piece of sand along that sensor once. Interestingly, I never noticed any artefacts in my shots due to that scratch (and I checked carefully after I discovered it). Still, a harsh lesson: always use a blower first, and look very carefully (since then: hundreds of cleanings with no problems, phew).

This video is 29 days late...

Chris I noticed your Canadian accent comes out more when you are destroying cameras. Things that make you go hmmm.

I wouldn't put the Pentax sticky stuff nor the swipes. I tried them both with bad results, Just use the blower, and any dust still stuck use a brand new microfiber cleaning cloth and clean the sensor like you would clean a pair of glasses. any leant left can be easily cleaned with the blower.

Warning.
This video contains cruelty towards small cameras.

None of the digital interchangeable lens cameras I've owned over the last 16 years have been Sony, so I have had to own a vacuum cleaner but I've never had to clean a sensor. No doubt the day will come so, one question about the blower ball, how can I be sure there are no dust particles ---- inside the blower ball!!!! Indeed how do I know I'm not blowing the dust off the sensor, sucking it into the blower ball as it falls, then blowing it back onto the sensor, dooming myself to a modernised labour of Sisyphus?

I can't believe Chris didn't mention using Windex on the sensor for a wet clean. I think I am going to head out to the garage to make a mini squeegee for such a project. If any of you steal this idea and get a patent on it, I'll be mad.

I ran my smart phone through a heavy cycle of the washing machine. Surprisingly, it did power up after I let it dry for a couple of weeks. The phone part didn’t work. Neither did the camera, come to think of it. But interestingly the screen worked. Turns out that the colours were washed out!

What does Hollywood do? THEY have the same issue.

I find having the dog lick it off works best. Dogs are very experienced licking things. Use smaller breeds for M43, and maybe something like a St Bernard for medium frame. If the dog expresses reluctance, using a a bit of peanut butter on the sensor will get the process started. Cheaper than buying one of Elon's flame throwers.

Chris, I normally enjoy your videos.
But this one was on a very serious subject, and I think some people may be confused.

I would occasionally clean the sensor of my old Olympus DSLR. When they switched to mirrorless m4/3 where the sensor is exposed most of the time, even when changing lenses, I was horrified. However, with the SSWF (whatever that means) dust reduction system, dust is a thing of the past. I don't even bother to check anymore. Before heading out to take pics, I'll give the sensor a quick burst of the rocket blower just in case and that's all.