DSLR Sensor Cleaning...

[5872]

Well I have no idea how it has come to this:

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/fredandtrains/DSC03356copy.jpg

hock:

Does anyone know how to fix it? Help much appreciated, thanks!

 

[Jordy]

And can we not go off topic before anyone starts please, if you wish to discuss Fred's choice of camera with him please do so away privately

Cheers

Jordy

 

[mbonwick]

Get a can of compressed air and give it a spray, it will probably say in the manual how to go about cleaning it. Well worth having a good read through and online.


Also, try not to change lenses in dirty environments. Might be worth keeping your main lense on all the time, and only swapping when necessary.

 

[Craig]

There'll be an option in the menu to clean the sensor which will lift the mirror out of the way for you. You'll then need an air blower or something to clear the sensor. I've also used a lens cleaning tissue to remove stubborn dusk, but I'd only do this as a last resort with extreme care as you don't want to end up with a scratched sensor.

 

[nath9425]

And can we not go off topic before anyone starts please, if you wish to discuss Fred's choice of camera...

I will discuss how Fred uses the camera instead then.

'We all told you so'

But as the above have said, your best bet is the can of compressed air. If not use sensor cleaning swabs/tissues and if then that doesn't work, I think your a bit fooked. Also, I know on my Nikon at times dust can get into the 'Focusing Mirror' (The one in the camera at the top) so I sometimes remove that and get rid of fragments, but this can be a bit dodgy - and in your case I seriously advise NOT TO TOUCH THE CAMERA ... could do more damage than it's worth and another thread appearing on this forum about it

 

[D306]

should have got a canon. sensor clean each time you switch the camera off

 

[5872]

Get a can of compressed air and give it a spray, it will probably say in the manual how to go about cleaning it. Well worth having a good read through and online.


Also, try not to change lenses in dirty environments. Might be worth keeping your main lense on all the time, and only swapping when necessary.

Where would I be able to get one of those cans?

 

[devon_metro]

Fred, I thought you were a DSLR expert. All I can say is hahahaha

 

[BJMorley]

You can clean the sensor of your Sony DSLR, it is in the Setup menu.

 

[Jordy]

Fred, I thought you were a DSLR expert. All I can say is hahahaha

I did say in the second post can we please keep this to help for the problem only please.

 

[5872]

should have got a canon. sensor clean each time you switch the camera off

The Sony does that too...

 

[mbonwick]

So why is it FUBAR'd at the moment then?

 

[5872]

So why is it FUBAR'd at the moment then?

I have no idea, I did the blowing thing when taking the lense of, yes it was in cleaning mode, and then put the lense back on and I went out this morning and saw all the dust devils...

 

[mbonwick]

As I said before, just leave the lense on and don't touch it unles you have to!


As for getting hold of the compressed air - I got mine from Screwfix Direct (building trade suppliers), as my dad frequently orders from them for his DIY project. £2-50 for 3 500ml cans! (They are *supposed* to be for cleaning gas boilers thoguh )
I guess you might be able to get them on the high street - an electronics shop like Jessops is probably your best bet.

 

[D306]

an electronics shop like Jessops is probably your best bet.

before they go into administration

 

[Craig]

As I said before, just leave the lense on and don't touch it unles you have to!

That's not particularly useful if you have more than one lens


Out of interest, how long did it take for all that to build up? I've had my 20D for a couple of years now and have only ever had a few spots of dust to remove.

 

[mbonwick]

Leaving it n is a good idea. If there's one lens you use more than the others, surely it's better to leave that attached and only change when necessary?

 

[D306]

or when you finished with your camera, take the lens off and put the cap over the sensor back on immediatly. thats what I do

 

[5872]

On Monday morning it was fine, by Tuesday Morning all that had came. I think it must have been when I dusted it off with a blower Monday Night - but causing all that to go in, well I have no idea. I took some test photos this morning and I can't see much on the photo - but that is becuase I am blind and I am probably not looking.


My dad has ordered a kit - so we are going to see what that turns out like, hopefally it will get rid of all or most of the dust, as I am 100% a blower and swab will get that off as it is just dry dust, nothing else.

 

[nath9425]

That's not particularly useful if you have more than one lens


Out of interest, how long did it take for all that to build up? I've had my 20D for a couple of years now and have only ever had a few spots of dust to remove.

As I recall he was boasting about his camera on 26th December 2008

So what was that?

4 Days ... hock:

I have had my DSLR for a couple of months and only ever had one speck of dust appear which was soon rid of

 

[mbonwick]

I have had my DSLR for a couple of months and only ever had one speck of dust appear which was soon rid of

I've had mine for a since early August, and I've yet to encounter dust...fortunately (touch wood)

 

[Craig]

Leaving it n is a good idea. If there's one lens you use more than the others, surely it's better to leave that attached and only change when necessary?

Obviously it makes sense to only take the lens off when you need to change it. But unless you do it in the middle of a dust storm it shouldn't make much difference.

I think it must have been when I dusted it off with a blower Monday Night - but causing all that to go in, well I have no idea. I took some test photos this morning and I can't see much on the photo - but that is becuase I am blind and I am probably not looking.

Sounds like the blower was full of crap and has blown it onto the sensor. Have you tried cleaning both ends of the lens too?

 

[curly42]

Good grief - that's as bad as I've ever seen.You really do need to be careful if that's dry dust as it could easily scratch delicate surfaces.
My old tutor at college said he only had two rules regarding photography - 1) Never ever take a picture without using a lens hood and 2) The best way to clean a lens or camera is never get it dirty.
There you go - we all live and learn.

 

[EE Type 3]

And I am so glad my E500 has a dust reduction system, my sensor has been spotless ever since I got it (Over 2 years ago)

8)

 

[Matt Taylor]

Whatever you do please be careful, three years ago I was cleaning the sensor on my 10D and put a scratch on it about three quarters of an inch long-that happened because I failed to prepare the cleaning swab correctly but it was terminal as far as the 10D was concerned and I never used it again. This happened about 12 hours before boarding a flight to Los Angeles for a photo shoot, fortunately I had a 300D as backup which saved the day.

I now own a 30D and a 40D and use a completely different method for sensor cleaning. A rocket blower and a Lensklear pen, the results are are excellent.

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/32860/Show.html?

http://www.lenspen.com/403/377/


The above products have been a massive help for me, especially as I use several lenses including the Canon 100-400mm which has a reputation as a dust magnet.



Matt

 

[16CSVT2700]

My 400D spends its not being used life snug in my Lowepro bag where no dust can get it

 

[5872]

I am just going to use a Rocket Blower, As I need to make sure its healthy enough to take photos, as I will be using it a lot in the future to come.

 

[507 001]

would suggest with that amount of dust that you get it cleaned professionally, but be careful because some companies will charge around 70-80 pound for it when really it should only cost around 40-45.

I would take EXTREME care when using a swab kit because you risk damaging it more.

I would also take extreme care using a lensklear pen because they are designed, as the name suggests, for lenses and not sensors.

I am afraid though that I'm going to have to have a little snigger at our "D-SLR expert"

 

[Mike McCormac]

STOP!!!!

Do not ever use compressed air cans to clean DSLR sensors. The air is propelled by some sort of liquid (shake the can if you don't believe me) that they promise won't come out with the air. (And if you believe that, you'll start believing the Government cares about us next.)

This may sound barking mad - and no I'm not taking the p**s - but use a vacuum cleaner hose held over (NOT touching) the camera.

And a thing called a 'Butterfly' brush (not cheap) is the ONLY thing you eve let anywhere near your sensor.

If you're using a Nikon (don't bash me Mr Moderator) I can give you some more specialist advice - send me a PM.

 

[507 001]

thats why i suggested professional cleaning, its the safest option.

Swab kits can be safe but you have to be really, REALLY careful not to scratch the low-pas filter, which is the bit you have dust on, not the sensor btw.