DSLR Cleaning

[Zee 0]

Everything you ever wanted to know about cleaning the sensor on you digital SLR.

After shooting for a day at the race track on a bright and sunny day and having to spend another couple days in Photoshop cleaning up one nasty spot on all 800+ shots, I decided it was time to get that freakin' thing off of my sensor.

I tried several different recommended methods but they only added to the particles and to my frustration.

After reading through this guys site I picked up this kit and was very pleased with the results. It took me 3 tries but now it's perfectly clean and I can't find a single spot on my pictures.

Saves a ton of time in PS.....



http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

Action©Sports

[Miami 0]

I picked up my supplies (for a fraction of the price)from eBay...personally I prefer the Sensor Swabs, which are individually packaged and prewrapped on the sticks. Dampen it with the Eclipse fluid and wipe off the crud!

Miami

[Cashmanimal 0]

wow, what was on your sensor that required swabs for cleaning?

I was told as long as the camera was under warranty to never touch the sensor. Having experienced foreign objects on my sensor many times, as I ten to do a lot of lens changes in my photography (no $$ for a second body), I have stuck to a pretty simple method.

I am using a Rebel XT, and I simply use the 'sensor cleaning' feature, and then use a little mini turkey-baster to blow air across the sensor. (I don't know the technical name... i probably should). It has always worked wonders for me. Your not supposed to use canned-air because the chemicals could deteriorate your sensor....

Hopefully I didn't just reiterate what was mentioned in the link above, or what most already knew. I obviously did not take the time to study the link. Just thought I would get my bit of input in there...

Still, curious what was on your sensor. Pollen? Dirt chunk? No idea?... amazing.

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[Miami 0]

Dust and particles left from the friction of the lens in the lens mount most likely. I've had to clean my 20D a couple times (and now that I think about it, it needs another cleaning now!)...the air blaster gets some dust off, but not all of it.

The sensor cleaning feature (for canon) on anything other than the 400D does nothing but lock the mirror up so you can get to the sensor to clean it.

Dust will show up mostly when you are at a low (hope I'm not getting this backwards) aperture (higher numbers) and shooting against a bright, evenly lit background (like blue sky). If you're shooting subjects with busy backgrounds any dust will be pretty much undetectable.

Miami

[goobersnuftda 0]

Yes do you have to clean your sensor. My 20D came from the factory with some gunk on it and the very first vacation I went on from changing lenses, dust collected.

Sensor Brush

Here is just one but there are tones of companies that have cleaning products and with web page instruction videos as well.

[Calvin19 0]

i thought all canon bodies have a sensor vibrator for cleaning? at least the newer ones.

[PhreeZone 20]

Only the XTi has the vibrator. It only gets the loose stuff off, if it got on while the sensor was charged then you need to clean it to get it off.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Cashmanimal 0]

Quote

The sensor cleaning feature (for canon) on anything other than the 400D does nothing but lock the mirror up so you can get to the sensor to clean it.

Sorry... I wasn't very clear on my process. Although I WAS aware that is all the sensor cleaning does... flip the mirror up... I was NOT aware that the XTi had a vibration feature to clean itself... of loose stuff, at least. That's amazing... or a good idea, at least?

A little misunderstanding led to a little bit of knowledge. Does anybody have experiences with that feature? Does it actually work, or is it just a good idea, in theory?

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[pilotdave 0]

Here are some test results, comparing the different cameras that offer that feature.

http://pixinfo.com/en/articles/ccd-dust-removal/

Their test shows that it works poorly on the XTi and does nothing on the Sony Alpha, but works pretty well on an Olympus camera.

Edited to add: They think it worked poorly on the XTi due to the CMOS being charged, and it might work better if it was discharged... but there's no way to do that on command.

Dave

[Cashmanimal 0]

AH, very good to know, thank you.

I'm the type of person that would pawn off my XT to somebody so I could buy the XTi, even though there is no real gigantic advantage to switching... not worth justifying the purchase for a college student, at least.

I'm trying to find more and more reasons to NOT purchase the XTi. I think this should be enough. (But 2 MP is very tempting... but not worth it. for me)

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[pilotdave 0]

Hehe I just did that. I wasn't really looking to upgrade... I thought about it a little and figured I might if the right deal came along. Well, I ended up giving someone a pretty good deal on my XT and upgraded to the XTi. Haven't gotten any visible dust yet, which either means the sensor cleaning works or I haven't needed it yet.

I knew it wasn't really worth upgrading. If you want to, read a lot of reviews of the XTi. It does have some differences, but picture quality really isn't one of them. The pictures are bigger, which means you can fit less of them on your memory card. The LCD screen is bigger (and has a much better viewing angle). That's actually a big improvement in my opinion... but it also uses more power, so you get fewer shots on a battery charge. So it takes fewer pictures, which have bigger, less convenient file sizes (longer downloads from the camera, longer uploads to the web), with no appreciable difference in image quality. Don't expect to be able to crop images farther... you see softness long before you see pixels, if you know what I mean.

Oh and it's also a few grams (about a hundreth of a pound, if I remember) heavier.
As I said, read the reviews... many reviews have found that it produces more noise (speckles in the pictures) than the XT and maybe has a little less sharpness. Some reviews don't agree with that... but I can tell you that I can't see any difference.

Worth upgrading from an XT? Probably not... but it's always fun to get a new toy. Woulda been nice if I could have upgraded to a fancier lens instead, but selling the body kind of defeats the purpose...
Dave

[Zee 0]

Quote

I picked up my supplies (for a fraction of the price)from eBay...personally I prefer the Sensor Swabs, which are individually packaged and prewrapped on the sticks. Dampen it with the Eclipse fluid and wipe off the crud!

The sensor swabs work really well too from what I hear but, they're $5,00 a piece and they're generic in size. Also, if you don't get the crud off the first time you have to use new swab each time. That adds up quick.

I tried the little blowers too but only blew the crap around on the sensor. The PecPads and Eclipse solution worked really well - it's just feels so damned good to get that crap off of there

Action©Sports

[Miami 0]

They are somewhat generic...however the number 2 fits the sensor on my 20D perfectly. Since Canon is only making 3 sensor sizes I would assume the others match as well. Also you get two swipes per swab per cleaning...you can flip it and use the other side.

If I remember correctly the sensor swabs I got on eBay ended up costing about $1.25 each for a pack of 12, and the eclipse ran me about $5-6. I did have to use 2 swabs the first time I cleaned my sensor, but only needed one per cleaning since then.

Per Photographic Solutions, Inc. Pec Pads are not supposed to be used to clean the sensor, just lenses and filters.

Miami

[namgrunt 0]

anyone going to SKYFEST

I would be glad to do a training on cleaning your sensor.

..

59 YEARS,OVERWEIGHT,BALDIND,X-GRUNT
LAST MIL. JUMP VIET-NAM(QUAN-TRI)
www.dzmemories.com

[Zee 0]

Quote

anyone going to SKYFEST

I would be glad to do a training on cleaning your sensor.

..

Anything in particular that you do differently? Do you use different solutions, pads, etc?

I was just really pleased with the info this guy provided - he even says you can buy the stuff and make your own tools cheaper if you want to (I'd just rather spend the extra bucks as opposed to doing the e-bay thing, but that's just my personal opinion)It took me a few tries but it works very well.

Action©Sports

[yuri_base 1]

Cut an expired credit card to sensor's width. Wrap a piece of PecPad around the edge, fix with tape. 2-3 drops of Eclipse cleaning solution on the edge.

Works like a charm!

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[Zee 0]

Quote

Cut an expired credit card to sensor's width. Wrap a piece of PecPad around the edge, fix with tape. 2-3 drops of Eclipse cleaning solution on the edge.

Works like a charm!

That actually sounds like a pretty cheap and effective solution .

Action©Sports

[BrianM 1]

Here's a good site with lots of info about sensor cleaning. It discusses just about every cleaning method there is, and has good instructions with photos.

http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/warnings.html

I use pec pads and eclipse, it works great for me.

"It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

[Zee 0]

Good site.

Action©Sports

[Icon134 0]

Quote

anyone going to SKYFEST

I would be glad to do a training on cleaning your sensor.

I would like to go this year... so... I might take you up on that offer.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[linestretch 0]

I've been using the pecpads with the eclipse solution as well. As for holding the pads, i have an old rubber spatula (the kind for totally cleaning out the peanut-butter jar) that's cut narrow enough to get the sensor. Same concept as the credit card.

my pics & stuff!

[Calvin19 0]

oh. well it made me feel better about a 650 USD purchase. 20D is next.

[avenfoto 0]

hey guys. if you wantto know how to clean your sensor.. perhaps read that little book that came with your camera... you know the one.. the instruction manual.

it also demystifys such exotic terms as ,

-white balance
-aperature
-shutter
-iso (no more pesky auto/program mode"
-how to turn "on" the camera
-how to "change" a "lens"

and the big one "what settings do i use?"

good luck. -b

[pilotdave 0]

Quote

if you wantto know how to clean your sensor.. perhaps read that little book that came with your camera

You mean the book that says "If the sensor needs to be cleaned directly, have it done by a Canon Service Center." ??

Ok it does go on to explain how to do it. "...the mirror will lockup and the shutter will open to expose the sensor. You can now clean the sensor."

Yes, that's really what the XTi manual says about sensor cleaning. So I don't quite think it's the right book to read.

Dave

[Zee 0]

Quote

hey guys. if you wantto know how to clean your sensor.. perhaps read that little book that came with your camera... you know the one.. the instruction manual.

it also demystifys such exotic terms as ,

-white balance
-aperature
-shutter
-iso (no more pesky auto/program mode"
-how to turn "on" the camera
-how to "change" a "lens"

and the big one "what settings do i use?"

good luck. -b

According to Nikon, you instantly void the warranty if you clean your own sensor no matter what technique you use. Perhaps you should take you own advice before you start blowing hot air.

Then again, why take advice from a guy who can't even spell aperture

Action©Sports