Sensor Cleaning

[Austin Vinar]

Do you have to have any special tools to clean your camera’s sensor?

[Austin Vinar]

Here’s a shot that shows dirt on my sensor. I’m wondering if I need to buy anything special to clean it off.

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[Joseph Camuso]

Hey @austinvinar, Here are some resources from right here on Lespriation to help get you started 🙂

https://www.lenspiration.com/2016/03/how-i-clean-my-camera-sensor/

https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/dslr-cleaning/

[Ezra Morley]

Ouch! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sensor that dirty! 🙁

Definitely invest in a rocket blower, I use mine quite often for blowing loose dust off of lenses (and sensors too, occasionally).

I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with sensor cleaning other than using a blower. I’ve never had it badly dirty enough to need to use a swab or a sensor-pen. Definitely check out James’s post that @joseph linked to.

[Mr. Quebec]

Yikes! Is there a smear on your sensor? I’ve never dealt with stains on my sensor yet, but if your sensor is stained, it will probably take a thorough cleaning.

[Austin Vinar]

I don’t think it is stained. I edited it to make the spots show up more.

[Austin Vinar]

What kind of cleaning solutions do you use or recommend?

[James Staddon]

Rocket blower is awesome. Research Pec Pads, Sensor-Brush, Sensor-Wand. Touch on it a bit in Lesson 1.5, Choosing the Right Accessories.

[Austin Vinar]

Thank-you! @jamesstaddon, Do you use the wand and the pec pads together? If so, what is you strategy?

• This reply was modified 56 years, 8 months ago by .

[Austin Vinar]

Thank-you everyone for the help! Here is a pic of my sensor now.

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[James Staddon]

Yes, much better. What did you end up using?

[Austin Vinar]

I used a wand and pec pads, along with eclipse cleaning fluid.

[James Staddon]

That’s great, Austin!! Was it not possible to get it 100% clean?

[Austin Vinar]

No, I tried several times to get it perfectly clean but it seemed that the dirt just moved around.

[James Staddon]

Same thing here. For me, I blow it a few times first, then use the sensor wand 2-3 times before it’s actually all gone. But I’m usually able to get all of it.

Perhaps using too much liquid? Also, perhaps the angle of the camera when you cleaned it. From Earthbound Light: “When you can’t or don’t have a full compliment of cleaning supplies with you on a trip, a good blower brush such as Giotto’s Rocket can help some. Be careful with blowers though as they have a tendency to just move the dust around if you’re not careful. If you must use a blower, fasten your camera on a tripod so the body opening faces down to help make sure anything you dislodge will find its way out of your camera rather than landing elsewhere inside it.”

Might find more reasons why it didn’t work completely here: http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm

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