Cleaning DSLR Sensor

[taipeisafc]

Anyone got any experience or advice on cleaning a digital camera sensor? I have been getting irritating specks on all my shots recently and after cleaning the lens and filters very carefully they were still present. So I locked up the mirror and had a look at the sensor and can see a couple of visible specks. I might ask Pentax Beijing to give me a price for cleaning but was wondering how easy it is to do yourself.

 

[Iain Hesford's Bait Box]

Anyone got any experience or advice on cleaning a digital camera sensor? I have been getting irritating specks on all my shots recently and after cleaning the lens and filters very carefully they were still present. So I locked up the mirror and had a look at the sensor and can see a couple of visible specks. I might ask Pentax Beijing to give me a price for cleaning but was wondering how easy it is to do yourself.

Depends how you want to do it - Dry sensor cleaning is relatively easy using the rocket blower, I've got one an artic butterfly brush which spins round and builds up a static charge before you wipe the sensor with it. It removes 80 odd % of the cack on your sensor - but if you have any thing stuck tighter than that, you need to go down the wet clean route.

I wet cleaned my old 40d a couple of times, but it was a bit scary. I bought a kit off fleabay, with the right size swab and fluid for the camera, (google is your friend) and tbh, the first couple of goes made it way worse. I used nearly all the swabs (9 or so) to get it done. You need plenty of light, plenty of time, and plenty of bottle!

I probably will take the new kit to get done professionally when it needs it - I don't think my nerves are up to doing it. The horror stories of scratched sensors scare my witless....

You pay your money - you takes your choice!

 

[smoker]

Not as scary as you might think. First off, turn the camera over and woosh the rocket blower in there to get shot of any loose bits, then use a pure cotton bud (not a cheap one they contain nylon fibres) dipped in 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and work across the chip in a sequence of downward strokes (don't rub backwards and forwards). You can't damage the sensor as there's an IR-block filter in front of it, but you can scratch this filter.