Digital Sensor Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Well I felt like starting anew thread that might lead to some useful information sharing. Those of us that are digital shooters with DSLR's, we all suffer from the dreaded sensor dirt. There are a number of techniques out there, none of them perfect but some better than others. Lets share our techniques.

Mine, which I am not yet 100% satisfied with, is to use a blower bulb to first blow off any surface dirt on the sensor filter, I then use a Sensor Sawb with the Eclipse cleaning fluid and the recommended sensor swab procedure to clean the sensor. I then drop the mirror before putting the body cap on since the body cap is a primary source of dirt. this method is relatively successful but often it takes 2 or more sensor swabs at about $5.00 a pop to get things clean. I test the camera by shooting a normal lens focused at the minimum focus distance on a white wall at f/22 and then evaluate that shot on a computer.

So what are some of the other techniques out there?

My experience seems to be about the same as yours E.J. - it always takes me at least 2 sensor swabs!

The one other thing I use is CO2 cartridges from American Recorder (they have a little 'gun' for using them). They are much more effective than a regular blower but are also meant to be ultra clean.

cheers,
Eric

Being new to DSLR's, I will admit that I do not know squat about their sensors or how to clean them properly. Any information you guys submit within this thread will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for bringing this up E.J.!!

I do the same as E.J. but haven't needed to do it too often as far as the swabs go. A word of warning: Do not use too much cleaning fluid because it can cause residue only making matters worse. A drop or two will do ya! Always wipe in one direction across the sensor and never use the same swab twice. Be sure that you keep your caps clean and also blow out the back of your lenses. Be especially careful of push-pull zooms as they tend to suck dirt right into the camera.

Well, I tried the sensor swab with the 1Ds and it made things worse. Now there is a lot more dirt along the right and left edge of the frame than before cleaning. When I started there were several specks on the sensor near the center that would not blow off. I am certain that all of this new dirt was from the sensor pad. To say the least I was not happy. I am not certain what to do at this point. It takes a while to spot out all of the darn specks. How do you clean the edges of the sensor in a 1Ds???

That is my issue with the 1Ds as well although I'm pretty sure the dirt isn't coming from the pads due to the way they are made. The problem with the 1Ds is that the swab is significantly smaller than the sensor so dirt coming off of the edge of the pad is redeposited on the sensor at the edges. That isn't the case for the crop sensor cameras. A 1Ds requires 4 pads for a complete cleaning - that is pretty darn pricey.

Check out this link:

I haven't recieved all the materials yet but this method seems pretty nifty (and economical).
My 10D came with a lot of dust on the sensor.

After getting frustrated with dust on my 10D sensor and having tried a bunch of different techniques/products without sucess (yes even the sensor swabs did not work). I found the following method and have used it VERY sucessfuly about 3 times. The first time it's a little scary as you think you will ruin your sensor but don;t worry, if you are careful you should be ok.

Having said that let me say that when I notice dust on my sensor the first thing I do is try to blow it away with a blower bulb (I use the Giotto Rocket), never with compressed air. If that does not get rid of the dust/gunk on the sensor then I proceed to the method outlined in the URL below.

The best part is that it's very cheap. Give it a try, you will not regret it.

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

Just out of curiosity, if you only use a blower brush, and the dust still remains in the camera somewhere - does the sensor re-attract it once the power is on again?

Juan's reference is good in that it will reduce the price per pass. Basically the technique calls for wrapping part of a pecpad around a cut-to-fit spatula. However, at least for me, I'm still left with dust at least in one corner of the sensor of my 1Ds. Thus, my goal has changed a bit. Rather than try to eliminate all dust, I just remove what I can and sweep the remaining dust into the far upper left corner. Then I know where to look and adjust in post-processing. Not optimal, I know!

Rich

Just got back from the beach -- with quite a few pics I will post here over the next month or so.

I was shooting with a Sony 717 + WA and TC attachment lenses. And me and my equipment just got COVERED with sand, sand, sand! And some very fine-grained sand too. I can't imagine trying to deal with a dSLR under these conditions. It was all I could do to try to get the filter threads clean enough to put on my polarizer.

It will be interesting to see if the new Olympus E1 solution works well, and to see how long it takes for a good solution to get onto the other manufacturers lines.