How clean should a sensor be after a shop has cleaned it?

D

Dylanlewis2000

Messages
965
Name
Dylan
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all,

After a bit of advice really. I have just paid a local company to clean my camera sensor. The cost was £35 for this service, however upon testing i can see that there is still a large amount of 'something' on the sensor.

Here is a shot at f22.

What do you think? Should I go back?
 

Attachments

  • sensor clean.JPG
    sensor clean.JPG
    14.5 KB · Views: 240
Definitly! They should have done a test shot themselves to make sure it was cleaned!
 
I would expect the sensor to be completey clean if done professionally and I suggest going back to them if you're not happy and see what they say.

Note: It might be my monitor (or eyes!) but I can't see anything in the image you've posted.
 
yep take it back, but just check your lens is clean first, the rear element can be dirty and give a similer look
 
I did a better job than that the very first time I did mine.

It only cost me £8 as well (£16 for a pack of 4 Visible Dust swabs and liquid, I messed up first time by not putting enough liquid on so had to use a second swab).
 
Looks like it's not been touched at all!
 
Here is a link to the image

14640483058


https://www.flickr.com/photos/11159503@N04/14640483058/
 
Presuming the image was taken straight after the `clean` & you haven't been swapping lenses, yes, definitely take it back!
It aint like they've just missed the odd spot........it appears filthy.
I'd ask for my money back & take it somewhere else tbh (or buy a kit & do it yourself)
 
drounding said:
I would expect the sensor to be completey clean if done professionally and I suggest going back to them if you're not happy and see what they say.

Note: It might be my monitor (or eyes!) but I can't see anything in the image you've posted.
Click to expand...

It's full of dust, this is the top right quarter of his image.

2m43ne0.jpg
 
Last edited:
I agree it looks like it is full of dust, however I make sure that you do as suggested clean the lens fully as at f22 you can see dust on the lens which when you do this test, & if you have LR 5 check with the in the develop module go to the spot remover then at the bottom tick visualise spots & turn it up this will most likely show even more spots, take a screen dump & show them how bad a job they have done
 
It may have cleaned perfectly and then picked up the dust during being posted back to you.
Do you have a dust pattern image of what the sensor was like before it was sent for cleaning?
 
Last edited:
redsnappa said:
It may have cleaned perfectly and then picked up the dust during being posted back to you.
Do you have a dust pattern image of what the sensor was like before it was sent for cleaning?
Click to expand...

I doubt a local company clean would entail any posting of the camera.
Dylanlewis2000 said:
I have just paid a local company to clean my camera sensor.
Click to expand...


Even if it had been posted, the amount of dust present would mean the camera would havehad to have been posted in a bag full of dust without a body cap on the camera.
 
Just to update the thread....

Thanks to all of you who replied. I made the trip back to the company (its a 25 mile round trip :() and the gentleman there apologised. He took another look at it and this time said it was 100% clean however, he did state that the camera's pentaprism may have a lot of dust inside it. He suggested that this was the cause for the dust on the sensor.

The sensor clean cost £35; a bit steep but the next camera shop wanted £59 and me to send the camera away.
 
It happened to me before. Send the camera in for a sensor clean and when I went to get it back it was well wrapped and the store confirmed that it was all clean. Got back home the sensor was as dirty as before sending it in. Went back to the store, showed them the the result and they were very sorry and got it cleaned the second time round.
 
Dylanlewis2000 said:
The sensor clean cost £35; a bit steep but the next camera shop wanted £59 and me to send the camera away.
Click to expand...

I suggest you do a little research and do it yourself, it seems daunting at first but is really straightforward. You can get 4 Visible Dust swabs and liquid from Amazon for £15.99.
 
But surely, when you contacted him to say the sensor wasn't clean, he just emailed you the photo he took with your camera immediately after cleaning - with the serial number and date/time helpfully embedded in the Exif data - to prove it *was* clean?

That's what we do. Every time we hire out a camera, we get proof that the sensor was clean. It might not be clean when the customer uses it - we can't control how they handle it - but we can prove it was 100% clean when we put it in the box. It's not rocket science.
 
There seem to be a lot of fairly lazy places out there. I took mine to the Canon authorised place over here a few years back. Came back just as bad as I took it in, looked as if they just rearranged the dirt. Took it straight back, and they did a better job second time round, but still not perfect.

So then I went out and bought some sensor swabs. Quicker, cheaper and more effective to do it yourself.
 
Jackwow said:
What a lot of nonsense!!
Click to expand...
The thing is there is always some dust in the camera and it can very soon find its way back on a clean sensor.
If you do it yourself you often see a couple of bits appear again almost immediately.
There are loads on this though, maybe the person who did had dandruff. :rolleyes:
 
Why the hell do people insist on paying £30 or £40 to have some numpty do what you can do yourself?


Please people... just do a bit of research, buy some swabs, and do it yourself. It's not difficult, or dangerous.. and there's no skill required.

http://www.cameraclean.co.uk/Sensor_Swabs.php

As they say though.. you may have to actually read your camera's manual... so that's clearly a barrier to some people :banghead:
 
Not everyone has a steady hand and good eyesight.
Remember the first time you did it - scary wasn't it...
 
DIY with some swabs and cleaning solution - it will save you loads in the long run. Also buy some form of sensor loupe - much easier to see what is going on. The illuminated ones - whilst often expensive - are very useful.

Looking at the image, I also call BS that it's shaken off the pentaprism. Dust doesn't easily move around as it is attracted to surfaces by static. Looks like they just did a bad job and are making excuses. If it isn't clean after the second attempt, I'd be demanding my money back.
 
4wd said:
Not everyone has a steady hand and good eyesight.
Remember the first time you did it - scary wasn't it...
Click to expand...

No.. it wasn't. I went abseiling once.. that was quite scary. Having my brakes overheat at the end of Kirby Straight at Mallory... that was quite scary too. I can't say cleaning a camera sensor was particularly scary. You wipe a piece of plastic with a swab. Making a steamy hot beverage is actually more scary.

If anyone was scared by cleaning a sensor, they've been misled by people talking BS.. usually in forums.... usually the type that will reply to sensible comments like this with some other BS.

You wipe a piece of plastic with a swab. It is not scary.
 
Last edited:
The only scary bit for me the first time was the thought that the shuttter might just decide to close while I was still in there swabbing the sensor (even though I had read the manual thoroughly- Pentax K5- and made sure the battery was fully charged, etc):eek:
 
Dave1 said:
I suggest you do a little research and do it yourself, it seems daunting at first but is really straightforward. You can get 4 Visible Dust swabs and liquid from Amazon for £15.99.
Click to expand...

I have. I didn't myself last year, however there was still dust on the sensor which was apparent on lots of photos.
 
I have found that there tend to be minute fibrous particles that do not easily succumb to wiping, and for them I remove the lens, hold the camera facing down, and give it a blast with a Hurricane blower, but never "canned air" :grumpy:. (Alternatively, for that type of debris, some like the statically charged type of brush like the Artic Butterfly :geek:.)
 
Last edited:
Lenspen sensorklear...simple effective and a lot more cost effective than £35 every fortnight!
 
As mentioned above... aerosol compressed air blowers are evil. When full, if inadvertently tilted too much, can actually expel the propellant as liquid, and that stuff is COLD. It can actually freeze your sensor. While no harm will befall the sensor, the severe shock of sudden sub zero temps CAN de laminate the optical/low pass filter assembly and get condensation between the layers. That's not good.

Avoid aerosol compressed air cans.
 
Last edited:
HoppyUK said:
Not tried one of these, Eyelead gel sticky thing, but it looks rather good http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0046VBEE0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AFADE2CQKBW5A

Review here http://petapixel.com/2014/02/03/sensor-gel-stick-safely-clean-sensor-like-service-center/
Click to expand...


I'm sorry but that looks terrible. You just use it once and throw it away? I hope so, otherwise you're dabbing away at your sensor with something with an ever increasing amount of crap stuck to it. How is that a good idea?
 
Pookeyhead said:
I'm sorry but that looks terrible. You just use it once and throw it away? I hope so, otherwise you're dabbing away at your sensor with something with an ever increasing amount of crap stuck to it. How is that a good idea?
Click to expand...

You've checked the links?
 
If you do the test on a white wall the marks/dust are easier to see
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top