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So I have dirt on my sensor

chicodude

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
Or something that is leaving me with annoying little spots on all of my pictures. Do I have to take it in to have it cleaned or is it something I can fix with a can of compressed air?


Camera= Rebel XT

Example of crap I have been dealing with

 
Silver

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
Send it to Canon. Irvine if you're on the west coast, I don't know about the east coast or the middle of the country.

And stop pointing the camera into the wind when you're changing lenses. That's a crazy amount of dirt...
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
chicodude said:
Or something that is leaving me with annoying little spots on all of my pictures. Do I have to take it in to have it cleaned or is it something I can fix with a can of compressed air?


Camera= Rebel XT

Example of crap I have been dealing with
Click to expand...
Does the Rebel XT have a mirror lock up cleaning mode? If it does, stick a fully charged battery and follow the instructions in the manual to open the mirror/shutter. Blow off the sensor VERY carefully and thoroughly with a blower (NOT the kind with a brush on the end) or canned air. Make sure to not go full blast with canned air, feather the trigger on it.

Rocket blowers rock for this.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
BTW - if the blower doesn't fix it, don't try to clean it yourself unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing. Send it in.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
i've heard cautions against using canned air, as there are usually propellents present.

i bought a copperhill cleaning kit, and it works great. all you need is the correct sized-sensor swab, the sterile pec-pads, and Eclipse cleaning fluid (really just methanol). don't worry about the anti-static brush or that stuff. read the instructions carefully, then re-read them. then do it.

however, for a first attempt, if you don't want to get that kit, put the camera into mirror lockup and use the blower. that should help clear any dust which isn't 'welded' on...for that, you need a wet cleaning.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
Silver said:
Send it to Canon. Irvine if you're on the west coast, I don't know about the east coast or the middle of the country.

And stop pointing the camera into the wind when you're changing lenses. That's a crazy amount of dirt...
Click to expand...
that's not bad. i've had much worse. of course, i probably change lenses a lot more than most.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
narlus said:
i've heard cautions against using canned air, as there are usually propellents present.
Click to expand...
Right - forgot to mention that. I always move the object I'm cleaning and leave the can still, then it won't disturb the propellant.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
here's a good method to test how well you've cleaned it:

find a light, neutral-colored wall.
stop down as far as you can, f/22 or so
do not focus on the wall; intentionally leave it blurry
take a photo, open in PS, crank contrast.

if there are lingering dust bunnies, they will be apparent.
 
narlus

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
can you define middle age w/o knowing when one will die?

sounds like that Onion headline...Eleven year old boy has mid-life crisis...
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
DO NOT used canned air. The propellant comes out as liquid and will make the sensor worse, and it is incredibly hard to get the propellant splotches off afterwards. Blower or pec swab with eclipse fluid.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
Transcend said:
DO NOT used canned air. The propellant comes out as liquid and will make the sensor worse, and it is incredibly hard to get the propellant splotches off afterwards. Blower or pec swab with eclipse fluid.
Click to expand...
If you hold the can still it won't do that. Feather the trigger and move the camera back and forth in front of it.

Or use a rocket blower.

I also have a bitchin cannister that is refillable with a bike pump. It doesn't last very long though, so you need to pump it up to 100psi constantly. I don't think you can get them anymore though.

 
gonefirefightin

gonefirefightin

free wieners
Feb 5, 2007
11,267
4,955
Surrounded by Police in a hail of gunfire
H8R said:
If you hold the can still it won't do that. Feather the trigger and move the camera back and forth in front of it.

Or use a rocket blower.

I also have a bitchin cannister that is refillable with a bike pump. It doesn't last very long though, so you need to pump it up to 100psi constantly. I don't think you can get them anymore though.

Click to expand...
I thought i was the only one using them, you can still get them at amazon

they are da bomb.
 
spincrazy

spincrazy

I love to climb
Jul 19, 2001
1,529
0
Brooklyn
Google cleaning the sensor. You'll make a mistake if you follow half the advice here. Of course you probably don't care that much or you wouldn't have asked here in the first place.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,100
1,150
NC
spincrazy said:
Google cleaning the sensor. You'll make a mistake if you follow half the advice here. Of course you probably don't care that much or you wouldn't have asked here in the first place.
Click to expand...
The recommendations are a bulb blower or a widely used liquid cleaning solution, which is exactly what he'll have recommended to him if he uses Google or asks in a photographer's forum.

The canned air is a little more hazardous to the sensor because of the propellant, but it is also recommended by many photographers (right or not), and I think photographers make the sensor out to be a lot more delicate than it is. It's covered in glass, after all, not any highly fragile space age material. You don't want to scratch it of course, but virtually anything you get on the sensor can be cleaned off with a cleaning solution.
 
Kornphlake

Kornphlake

Turbo Monkey
Oct 8, 2002
2,632
1
Portland, OR
I used to work for a place that manufactured video cameras, we'd clean the image sensors with a plain ol' q-tip and isopropyl alcohol during assembly. I was pretty shocked when one of the other engineers licked a sensor then rubbed it on his shirt to clean it, he'd been working with the sensors for years and had the opinion that they were pretty "bomb proof."

I don't endorse or recommend abusing your sensor, but I wouldn't be suprised if they are more durable than people think.
 
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