Dust on my sensor? What to do

teddyt72

teddyt72

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Name
Eddie
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Hi all,

I recently bought a 40D from another forum member and have been out trying it. I was looking at some shots from Richmond park and on some I think I can see dust marks - weirdly I can only see them on several photos I took of cyclists going past (but always in the same position on the photo) whereas on my pics of deer and other things I can't see them.

Can you say if this is definitely dust and if so is this easy to clean? Would I need to get a shop to do it, or is it easy to do at home?

TP-1-4.jpg


Thanks,
Eddie.
 
Ah yes I hadn't noticed this was f22, I was on shutter priority. Thanks.

I haven't ever cleaned a sensor before, any recommendations on what to use?
 
I think shop is a good idea, I'd be too scared of damaging it. I live in London so I'm sure there are plenty, will google. Cheers
 
In London have a look at London camera exchange or fixation. There a number of thread on this. Search for dust bunnies. You could try a blower to see if that helps. If not you might need a wet sensor clean.

I have done the one on my Nikon D80 and it is fairly straight forward with sensor swabs. Don't know about Canon.
 
You could try using a rocket blower, that removes some of the loose dust on the sensor. But for anything more stubborn, a wet clean should take care of that (either with swabs, or get it done at a shop if you aren't comfortable with doing it yourself).
 
teddyt72 said:
I think shop is a good idea, I'd be too scared of damaging it. I live in London so I'm sure there are plenty, will google. Cheers
Click to expand...

Actually I think you're wrong there Eddie.

It's no big deal either way of course, but sensor dust with DSLR's is pretty much a fact of life. I suppose living in London you'll have a fair choice of where to go and a fair chance of getting it done straight away too. Unfortunately a lot of us would have to send the body away with all the hassle of posting and delays on top of the cleaning cost.

For the cost of a single clean you can probably buy the kit you need to DIY any time you want to. Check out this LINK and it'll give you a fair bit of info on the subject. Hope it helps anyway.

cheers
 
I usually do the sensor clean myself although I have had it in for a deep clean before.

Two products I have used with great success are the PEC Pad system from Warehouse Express, they use a cleaning solution and a swab on a wand to wet clean the sensor, I was dubious about using this at first as its a wiping motion and the potential for scratches is obviously there. However after using them and following the instructions to only use a swab once they were fine.

My latest, cheaper and less offensive option has been to use the Dust-Aid system which uses a silicon pad to lift the dust from the sensor rather than wipe, you then clean this on a sticky pad.
This works very well for simple dust and fluff which can get blown onto the sensor and i would definitely recommend it.

Hope you get it sorted, Lightroom or Photoshop will soon get rid of any dust that you have already shot.

Hope this helps
 
I've never had a problem with a Giotto rocket blower. Remove the lens, put the camera into cleaning mode, and hold so that the lens throat is facing downwards to allow dust to float away. Aim the blower nozzle at the four corners of the sensor in turn giving a sharp blast of air. Do not allow it to touch the sensor. This removes dust nine times out of ten in my experience.
Don't use: blower brushes, cotton buds, canned compressed air.
I keep the rocket blower in my camera bag as it's also useful for keeping lens surfaces free of dust.
 
teddyt72 said:
Ah yes I hadn't noticed this was f22, I was on shutter priority. Thanks.

I haven't ever cleaned a sensor before, any recommendations on what to use?
Click to expand...

Hi

A lenspen SensorKlear works a treat and is relatively easy to use - just follow the instrctions and take your time. Make sure your in a well lit room and as dust free as possible - bedroom not best place to do it.

Take a shot of a white wall or piece of paper (fill viewfinder) at F22 say, then upload the photo on the PC and look where you need to clean - don't forget it's a mirror image.

Clean the sensor, and repeat the above until your happy.


By the way, great shot, ammused me as it looks like the cyclist is looking at the dust bunnies following him :lol:
 
scottthehat said:
also rocket blowers can sause more problems and blow dust in other unwanted places.
its worth paying £35 for a sensor clean once or even twice a year, and just take care in changing lenses.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Scott took the words out of my, er, fingers :D

I always find that a rocket blows more crap ontot the sensor.
My advice would be the same as Scott, take it to a shop if it bothers you that much.

Oh and don't shoot at f22!
There's no need to, and it will make your images softer.
Don't let dust bother you or it will take over your [photography] life, and cost a fortune.
Just keep the f number no higher than f11 and learn how to use the clone tool ;)
 
andy_fozzy said:
Totally agree. Scott took the words out of my, er, fingers :D

I always find that a rocket blows more crap ontot the sensor.
My advice would be the same as Scott, take it to a shop if it bothers you that much.

Just keep the f number no higher than f11 and learn how to use the clone tool ;)
Click to expand...

+1 for the rocket blower. Use mine all the time, just make sure you give the blower a good couple of blasts away from the camera to loose anything its picked up in your bag.

If not happy take it to a shop, or camera show. Nikon always seem to do sensor cleaning for free. Buying swabs and fluid can cost nearly as much as a shop clean

Edit: just noticed your a canon shooter so the free clean at shows by nikon won't apply
 
Get some pec pads and eclipse fluid and watch a tutorial on youtube if it needs it. Thats what I done all for £15 and mine was filthy, it's easier than you think.

Good luck :thumbs:

P.S I still have enough pads and fluid for another 4 cleans.
 
Agreed on rocket blower. I've cleared all but one dust particle using mine. I've also got a stash of Digipads but not bothered with them yet as one dust particle isn't much to edit out.
 
I've had to do a wet clean on around half a dozen occasions on two bodies. I bought 100 pecpads and a bottle of Eclipse II fluid for about £15 and made a wand out of a plastic fork with the prongs cut off and sanded smooth. One pecpad does one clean so that's 100 cleans for my £15 assuming the fluid lasts that long. Eclipse II is ok for the tin-oxide coatings on Sony sensors whereas Eclipse I is not. It's worth checking which is appropriate for your particular sensor.
It's really not difficult to do, and to be honest I'd rather trust myself to do it properly than someone like Jessops.
 
Treat yourself to an Arctic Butterfly. Not cheap but simply the best way to get fluff and dust off your sensor or mirror. Not for grease though.
 
Virtually all the pros I've heard on the topic say they use a rocket blower. Most of the time that will do the job perfectly well. Like Tom said, give it a few quick blasts pointing away from the camera first, just to remove any bits that may have got in there.

So far I've not needed anything else for my 7D.
 
I would never go for swab cleaning myself as I took camera in to be done when I was on me holls in minehead to a photo ray shop and the shutter snapped closed on him resulting in shutter broke .. So he had to send it away to be replaced and he had to pay for it . If it had shut when I was cleaning it I would have had to foot the bill
 
If you take it to the shop, id they cock it up there covered aswell, my 50d was a nightmare to keep clean. The rpcket blower as suggested previously is also a great idea :-)
 
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