View Full Version : Sensor cleaning argghhh!
Gary Bagshawe
15-08-2006, 17:46
Sorry just got to vent before exploding!!!
Sensor covered in crap so goes to local camera shop and spends £60.00 on cleaning kit, Green Clean, has a hoover type thingy and can of air, as well as wet n dry pads,
Well the hoover thingy is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard
and all the pads do is move the crap around.:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:
Sorry just got to vent before exploding!!!
Sensor covered in crap so goes to local camera shop and spends £60.00 on cleaning kit, Green Clean, has a hoover type thingy and can of air, as well as wet n dry pads,
Well the hoover thingy is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard
and all the pads do is move the crap around.:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:
I was going to buy one of those kits but I don't think so now ...
So it might not cheer you up but you've just saved me £60 :thumbs:
whitewash
15-08-2006, 19:07
Buy digipads and eclipse fluid
http://www.digipad.co.uk/
Warspite
15-08-2006, 19:39
^^^^^^
What Whitewash says, www.warehouseexpress.co.uk also do them.
The bizarrely named "Artic Butterfly" here (http://www.visibledust.com/products.php?PID=201)by Visible Dust is highly recommended & sells for £70 @ W.E. (glowing review of it by Andy Rouse on the W.E. site)
Paul ;)
digipad are very good, cant fault his service at all
silkstone
15-08-2006, 21:23
The 'Copperhill' method (spatula with PecPads and Eclipse) works OK, but you have to be very careful to get right into the edges and corners.
These days I use brushes. Most dust can be removed without any liquid, and all you do is blow air through the brush with a bulb-type blower after each pass. I've been cleaning the 30D sensor this way for the last 4 months. It's much easier to see what you're doing, and you can wash the brush with ordinary dishwashing liquid, then rinse thoroughly under running water and allow to air-dry for a few hours.
If necessary you can apply Eclipse to the brush if there's any stubborn gunge, and then use a second brush to sweep dry.
Instead of paying silly money for sensor cleaning brushes, do a Google search on Daler Rowney SY21 System 3. These have fine, long nylon bristles which IMO are ideal for cleaning sensors, mirrors, lenses or anything else. They come in various widths, and the 1/2" ones cost about £4.00 each so you can treat yourself to a few. :)
Buy digipads and eclipse fluid
http://www.digipad.co.uk/
Just ordered some pads, fluid and a rocket blower. My new 5D is already a mess so I hope this sorts the problem. Will feedback results in a few days I hope.
Ray
I have to say I'm chickening out of cleaning the 30D's sensor at the moment - just give it an occasional blast with the rocket blower and then clone out the stubborn gungey bits in PS! :p
I took my dust to a famous high street photography store and paid squillions for them to add a little extra dust.
I then researched the DIY methods and decided the 'Copperhill' method was probably the best. I bought the bits I needed by way of a mini-travel kit as a starter pack.
Now bear in mind that I was a dust-cleaning virgin who had been robbed by jellops, I set about the task with a little trepidation only to find it was remarkably easy and efficient. But of an anti-climax really.
I took my dust to a famous high street photography store and paid squillions for them to add a little extra dust.
I then researched the DIY methods and decided the 'Copperhill' method was probably the best. I bought the bits I needed by way of a mini-travel kit as a starter pack.
Now bear in mind that I was a dust-cleaning virgin who had been robbed by jellops, I set about the task with a little trepidation only to find it was remarkably easy and efficient. But of an anti-climax really.
Glad to hear it. I'm about to embark on the same journey (sidestepping Jellops).
Ray
I posted what I do as a guide
here (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9766)
I posted what I do as a guide
here (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9766)
Yes I saw that yesterday. Very useful - thanks. I've ordered some stuff from digipad but I think I have some greasy stuff on the sensor not just dust so will have to see how it goes.
Ray
tirnanog
03-10-2006, 15:41
Perhaps one day all DSLRs will have sensor cleaning as standard. Just like my Olympus.
Yours sincerely
A Smugb......d
whitewash
03-10-2006, 18:06
yeh but then we would have to put up with all the downsides of the olympus that my canon doesnt have
yours sincerly
smug......d :wave:
:p
LOL
Self cleaning systems will be in most prosumer SLR's soon enough.
How *good* they are all going to be is a different question though. Sure I suppose they'll all be enough to do the job of getting rid of most of it, but I doubt they'll be good enough to eliminate the most stubborn of crud.
Keltic Ice Man
03-10-2006, 20:12
I have all sorts of crud on my sensor - but just not got the nerve to clean it yet. I've tried blowing it but its still there. I got a kit from ebay but not got the nerve to use it yet. - Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&item=160002440213&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1) Link
Any advice - or even volunteers to come to Cumbria for a day to do it - very welcome :)
Allan
whitewash
03-10-2006, 20:30
just do it, if your careful you';ve got little chance of actually doing any damange!
unless you go about stabbing the swab into the sensor, which lets face it, isnt something anyone in thier right mind is gonna do!
WetSparks
03-10-2006, 20:34
Taking the advice from RobertP's excellent guide, practice on a lens filter first. That way you will get used to the feel of handling the kit etc.
Just make sure the battery is full charged or plugged into mains power as the mirror is locked up throughout the operation and the shutter is open. You don't want the mirror coming down halfway through the operation, or the shutter closing on your pec pad! :lol:
I have looked at the sensor with a low battery and the 20D beeps at you to warn that the battery is low. Wouldn't suggest you rely on hearing a beep though ;)
tirnanog
04-10-2006, 16:44
yeh but then we would have to put up with all the downsides of the olympus that my canon doesnt have
yours sincerly
smug......d :wave:
:p
Which are?? And don't say lenses, please, there are more and more four thirds ones coming on the market and now, including from Leica.
whitewash
04-10-2006, 18:05
oooh lets think....range of lenses... *whistles then runs off* :p
also canon cameras nail olympus cameras for high ISO noise, which to me would be a hugh disadvantage, all a bit subjective, i personally dont have a problem with manually cleaning my sensor :)
tirnanog
04-10-2006, 18:51
oooh lets think....range of lenses... *whistles then runs off* :p
also canon cameras nail olympus cameras for high ISO noise, which to me would be a hugh disadvantage, all a bit subjective, i personally dont have a problem with manually cleaning my sensor :)
There isn't a lens I would want or could use which is not available in four thirds.
My E500 has no significant ISO noise in the settings I use.
I would find the bother and expence of cleaning a sensor a big minus and it is surely only a matter of time before Canon catch up with their own system (if they haven't already, with their more recent models).
Still ,each to their own.
There are good and not so good things you can pick on with any make. In the end its just a tool - its the picture that matters.
FWIW if I hadn't seen a super deal on the 20D when I was thinking DSLR then I might have been an Olympus user too. I was seriously considering one at the time as my previous compact was an Oly and very good.
There are good and not so good things you can pick on with any make. In the end its just a tool - its the picture that matters.
:clap: Oh so true.
I may make jocular comments about "Dirty Nikon Users" and things like that, but only as a bit of fun, I REALLY don't buy into this "My brand is better than your brand" malarky, as there inherent plus points and negative points for either side.
Like has been said, each to their own. For me, Canon suits, for others, it may be Olympus, Fuji, Hujimakawotsit or something, in the end, it's the picture that matters ;)
whitewash
04-10-2006, 20:52
Hujimakawotsit or something,
its pronounced "Ni-Kon"
:bonk:
i do find myself reccomending nikons to other people as the deal on the d50 as a starter is so damn good! its what bests suits the person and their uses, i dearly love my canon and dont think i could replace it with any other product from another manufacturer at this time :)
Just follow RobertP's guide and all will be cool.
In the end its just a tool - its the picture that matters.
Agree completely with that one.
I'm going to clean my sensor soon but not so sure that I'd feel comfortble doing it if not for Roberts tutorial - cheers for that one mate :thumbs:
It's not too horrible - it just takes a couple of goes to get all the fluff off. I must say it's a lot less traumitic knowing it's not actually my own cameras I'm playing with... still a certain amount of trepidation ***'
Gary Bagshawe
05-10-2006, 09:31
It's not too horrible - it just takes a couple of goes to get all the fluff off. I must say it's a lot less traumitic knowing it's not actually my own cameras I'm playing with... still a certain amount of trepidation ***'
Yeah but all you have to do is flip up the mirror and shout "right you lot, out NOW" and all the little dust mites will run for cover.:D
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