Sensor Clean

[Darren Wilson]

my trusted canon 20d is in serious need of its sensor cleaned,my question is how and how easy is it?,could i just use my giotto rocket and give it a quick blast of air or do i need a speacialist sensor clean or do i need to put the camera in to get it doen by a pro as iam sick of cloning out dust spots about 15 per image now

[jools-elliott]

You could, in the first instance try that.

If that doesn't work, I've used the Visible Dust products and found them excellent. Once, I used Eclipse but I found it made my sensor worse! Not something I needed when I was doing some magazine work in the UK.

Is it easy? Yes. You just have to get over the fear of sticking a swab down into the cavity.

[dan123]

its easy i do mine regulary, my 400d sucks dust like anything, even after cleaning i have to clone some, theres a hair stuck in my lens and a few sopts in there when at wide apperatures also show up, if your in any doubt about doing it and dont have the confidence then dont, take it ti a shop and pay, better than ruining your sensor,

[rbarry]

You will be cleaning a section of glass that covers the sensor, not the sensor itself. You may as well give it a go. Be warned that you may have to clean it several times if it hasn't been done for a long time, just persevere. If you are unsure, look on Youtube and the like for video examples of how to do it.

[Darren Wilson]

Will look on utube and may go to a shop to watch them do it as its kind of nerve racking

[jools-elliott]

I found one day that after using the VD Smear Away then the Dust Plus that my sensor was never cleaner! Hardly any crud left on it.

Yes, it is a bit nerve wracking but once you've done it, you'll never look back.

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by Darren Wilson

Will look on utube and may go to a shop to watch them do it as its kind of nerve racking

Get an Artic Butterfly and job done, that's all I use now.

[rbarry]

Originally Posted by jools-elliott

I found one day that after using the VD Smear Away then the Dust Plus that my sensor was never cleaner! Hardly any crud left on it.

Yes, it is a bit nerve wracking but once you've done it, you'll never look back.

Don't like the sound of the VD smear, but I'm sure the name shouldn't put you off.

The Arctic Butterfly is the best non invasive tool to use for dust, but if you haven't cleaned the sensor for a long time the static charge method may not move the more stubborn areas of fouling.
You will probably have to use a "wet" method as well, to remove the more sticky areas of contamination.

[jools-elliott]

I have a Butterfly but it is notoriously bad on 5D Mark II sensors. It tends to bring over the grease from the sensor. Because of this, I've used it less than a handful of times.

If anyone wants one, I'll be putting it up on Ebay in a couple of days. Or of course, let me know by PM!

[rbarry]

Jools,

I have not heard that the 5D Mk2 was any more affected than other Canon camera bodies.

Generally, grease that gets transferred over the sensor comes from moving parts that were lubricated in the factory. I understand that this used to be a problem, but is less so now as the lubricants used latterly have a greater propensity to adhere to these moving parts rather than getting splattered around the internals of the camera body. Perhaps your version was lubricated by an over zealous operator in the factory, which could be put down to bad luck.

It is possible that you may have inadvertantly come into contact with a lubricated area of the camera body with the tip of the Arctic Butterfly and then transferred grease from the brush to the sensor's glass shield. Either way you've been unlucky, but your solution seems to be an effective way of restoring the sensor back to tip top condition.