[chicodude]

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]

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]

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

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]

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]

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]

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...

that's not bad. i've had much worse. of course, i probably change lenses a lot more than most.

 

[H8R]

i've heard cautions against using canned air, as there are usually propellents present.

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.

 

[chicodude]

Mirror lockup with a lil blast of air and looks like I'm golden

 

[H8R]

Mirror lockup with a lil blast of air and looks like I'm golden

Get some sky pics through the whole focal range and you will know for sure.

 

[narlus]

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.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Paper towel

 

[narlus]

Paper towel

silence. adults are talking.

 

[BurlyShirley]

silence. adults are talking.

Arent you "middle aged" actually?

 

[narlus]

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...

 

[H8R]

Arent you "middle aged" actually?

No - Ciaran is from the middle ages, not narlus.

 

[Transcend]

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]

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.

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]

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.

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

they are da bomb.

 

[H8R]

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

they are da bomb.

Availability: Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. Request this item from another seller.

 

[gonefirefightin]

I noticed that after i posted it, I had it bookmarked in my favs for quite a while.....

 

[spincrazy]

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]

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.

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]

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.