Sensor cleaning troubles.

Matt Taylor

Matt Taylor

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Matthew
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I have just purchased a used 5D which needs a sensor clean and I my 30D could probably do with one too. I have been using DSLRs since 2002 and have always done my own sensor cleaning, initially with swabs and fluid until I made a basic error in failing to prepare the swab properly which resulted in putting a scratch on a 10D sensor.:(

Since then I have used a rocket blower and lenspen which initially had excellent results, but in the last year or so this method has become very good at moving dust around but not so good at actually removing it. I purchased a new lenspen at the weekend and gave it a go but all that has happened is that the dust has been pushed into the corners. I used a swab (provided by a friend) on the 30D a couple of months ago and that worked a treat, so now I'm not sure how to proceed. I reckon swabs are the answer but I'm not sure where is best to get them from, alternatively it might be that the lenspen and rocket will do the job if they are used correctly which I don't seem to be doing at the moment. Or maybe there is just too much dust for the lenspen/rocket to deal with at the moment.

Can I have some advice please?
 
Try an Arctic Butterfly. It is a brush spun by an electric motor. This gives it an electrostatic charge which attracts the dust. You then withdraw it from the body and spin it again. This ejects the dust and recharges it.
 
Sounds like wet clean is needed, kits aren't cheap but do a good job otherwise local specialists charge around £35
 
A customer write up not mine.

I went a bit mad after doing weeks of research on the web about the various cleaning devices available, and bought a handful of different products, all recommended on various forums, all of which I have tried, so have some way to compare them.

I have a Nikon D300, and being an inquisitive type (always dangerous), and one who changes lenses quite a bit, I decided it was probably due for a sensor dusting. I'd taken a defocussed blue sky picture at f22, and there were two or three noticeable specks on there. Following guidance in the manual, I got my blower and gave the sensor a good few strong puffs to try to remove them. Unfortunately this had the opposite effect, and I ended up with rather more dust on the sensor than before. Presumably blown in off the sides of the mirror box.

I have a VisibleDust Sensor Loupe made by the same company as the Arctic Butterfly, and was able to clearly pick out the dust with it. The loupe is an excellent product, by the way, even if the brush isn't. But we'll get to that.

So, having tried several times to get rid of the dust with the blower and failing miserably, it was time for plan B - the Arctic Butterfly 724. Of all the methods at my disposal, I figured it was the least potentially damaging to the sensor. I followed the instructions to the letter and brushed over the sensor once, twice, several times - each time giving it a twirl in between to re-charge it with static and remove adhered dust particles from its filaments. It did move the dust around a little bit, but it had almost zero effect in removing it. In fact, it had the rather undesirable effect of smearing a couple of grains of something sticky (pollen?) across the sensor. So after using it I was worse off than when I started! I gave it a few attempts, but no joy. I cannot, therefore in any way endorse this product, and would not buy one again.

So I gave up on that little exercise. Next, I reached for my Dust-Aid Platinum - a silicon pad on the end of a stick which is supposed to lift dust off the sensor. It's supplied with special cleaning strips to clean it between uses. To cut a long story short - it did remove one or two of the dust particles, but there were still quite a few stubborn ones, plus the smears left by the Arctic Butterfly which needed removal. So I guess it might be more effective than the Arctic Butterfly, but it's not a magic bullet by any means.

I had also bought a Photographic Solutions Sensor Swab pack sized for the D300 plus a bottle of their E2 cleaning solution, which they recommend for the D300 and other Tin Oxide coated sensors which could reportedly in rare cases be damaged by their original cleaning solution. I was a trifle nervous about using a wet cleaning product on my lovely (and not very old) camera, but I figured I had nothing to lose at this point so I dove in. Worse case, I'd have to drop it off at a Nikon dealership for a professional clean.

I laid the camera on its back and surveyed the damage with the VisibleDust sensor loupe, leaving the loupe sitting over the lens mount to keep any dust from falling in until I was ready to go to work with my sensor swab. The loupe is really very good, even if the butterfly brush made by the company is worse than useless. I squeezed 3 drops of the E2 fluid onto the first swab and drew it across and back over the sensor as it details in the instructions (and on the YouTube video). It really wasn't as fiddly as I was expecting, but you do need to be a little careful to keep it flat. I disposed of the swab and checked again with the loupe, and saw that most of the dust was gone, but there was still a small deposit where the smear had been. So I repeated the process again, this time pressing slightly harder (I was a bit timid the first time), and bingo - the smears and all but two tiny grains of dust were gone. By this time, I was quite prepared to live with that.

So there you go - my recommendation would be to get the Photographic Solutions Sensor Swabs, a bottle of E2 (or the other cleaner if you don't have a Tin Oxide coated sensor) and a VisibleDust Sensor Loupe. I spent a small fortune on all this stuff, and at least half of it is next to useless. Don't make the same mistake yourself.
 
Good post Jock...

I use the Arctic Butterfly and the same loupe. I found the brush gave similar result as you,,,I was told by one of the guys at the flash center that you can wash the brush on the AB, but just make sure it is thoroughly dried afterwards....It sounds like you may have had some lube grease on the sensor prior to cleaning it.

I too use the swabs and the e2 solution and find it to be very good..Advise would be to go very easy on the e2 solution...dont be tempted to put on more than 2-3 drops.

When I use the blower I invert the camera body so the aperture is facing down so any loose debris that is blown out will fall out of the body and not settle back down inside.

And lastly ,,, Be patient...Very patient

Tug
 
When i am going to do maybe just a rocket blow i put the camera on my tripod & face the camera to the floor.
When i am using my rocket blower in one hand i also have the hoover in the other hand catching any loose debris.
But dont be tempted to put the hoover pole inside the camera as you could cause damage.:)
 
I cleaned the sensor in my 5D2 the other day the same way as I have done for years...

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9766

and still using the same supplies. Another 2 years and I might have to buy some more :)

The sensor had a few pollen grains on it which the self clean could not shift. First 'wet' (barely damp) clean left smudges but by the 3rd try it was spotless.
 
I am interested to hear that other people have had such a difference in effectiveness with Arctic Butterflies.

I have to say I have only used it on my Pentax (I have only one Canon lens and that has been on my 50D since it arrived) and I would not expect it to remove sticky or greasy debris.

I wonder if there is something different about the Canon sensor that makes it less effective.
 
i have had smears when using the artic butterfly,,and have had the misfortune of putting a very slight sratch into a d200 sensor which cost nearly as much as the camara to get fix...it was using a wet clean method..

the butterfly is a very good way to clean a sensor but i find it has to be washed every few times to keep it working in good condition
 
I just bought a Delkin Kit from Jacobs, expensive at £80 but then I thought thi will probaly need to be done several times during the life of my camera.
I had a nasty speck that was showing on most of my photos and at the weekend a hair had got in there making it look like the was a big stick at the bottom of every picture!.
I used the kit whch comes with a small vacuum cleaner and some swabs and all is now clean.
 
I bought one of those too. The sensor scope is useful, but the vacuum is a joke.
 
I agree the vacuum isn't brilliant but it did suck up up some of the dust from the surrounding areas, Wasn't brave enough to actually touch the sensor with the brush on the end of the vacuum.
 
Arctic Butterfly here too, but again that first clean did move some grease onto the sensor which then required a wet clean.
Since then I'm careful to only let the filaments go onto the visible part of the sensor - tucked away under the edges is more greasy stuff...
 
One thing concerns me about the Arctic Butterfly and that is the use of static electricity. Electronics products are assemble in strict static controlled conditions due to the fact that the static can damage the internals of ICs and some other discrete devices. I haven't looked but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a warning about static in the user manuals of the cameras.
Personally I would rather wet clean mine.
 
tramp92 said:
One thing concerns me about the Arctic Butterfly and that is the use of static electricity. Electronics products are assemble in strict static controlled conditions due to the fact that the static can damage the internals of ICs and some other discrete devices. I haven't looked but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a warning about static in the user manuals of the cameras.
Personally I would rather wet clean mine.
Click to expand...

I think we'd have heard about it by now if it were a problem.
...besides you're actually cleaning the bypass filter, not the sensor.
 
RobertP said:
I cleaned the sensor in my 5D2 the other day the same way as I have done for years...

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9766

and still using the same supplies. Another 2 years and I might have to buy some more :)

The sensor had a few pollen grains on it which the self clean could not shift. First 'wet' (barely damp) clean left smudges but by the 3rd try it was spotless.
Click to expand...

I use Robert's method, exactly as described, whenever I think that it is time for a wet clean.
Thanks Robert :)
 
tramp92 said:
One thing concerns me about the Arctic Butterfly and that is the use of static electricity. Electronics products are assemble in strict static controlled conditions due to the fact that the static can damage the internals of ICs and some other discrete devices. I haven't looked but it wouldn't surprise me if there is a warning about static in the user manuals of the cameras.
Personally I would rather wet clean mine.
Click to expand...

Although your concerns about static electricity and electronics are well founded, it is not an issue in this case.

As Arkady says, you are not cleaning the sensor. You are cleaning a filter in front of it so you need not worry.

Personally if I had grease on the filter I would not use the butterfly, not what it was designed for. I would go for a wet clean, but I would avoid wet cleaning if I could.
 
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When you take your photo out of focus make sure you zoom in on the mark.

A lot of newer Canon's and I can now confirm Nikon's have too much oil on the the internal moving parts . When you zoom in, if you see a circle with a dot in the middle this is oil and you should NEVER use the artic butterfly, which is brilliant at moving dust, but will of course smear oil. Having used the butterfly on oil you will need to clean it before using it again.

Oil can only be successfully removed with fluid and pads. Make sure you use a very small amount of cleaning fluid otherwise you will end up with streaks across the sensor.

Best regards

Chris
 
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