How to clean your Nikon camera’s image sensor

Beach image with sensor spot highlighted
(Image credit: Mathew Richards)

Let’s kick off with a disclaimer – Nikon recommends that if your camera’s image sensor has any specks of dust that can’t be cleaned away with an unobtrusive waft of air, you should send it off to an authorized service agent for cleaning. Image sensors are very sensitive, after all, and you don’t want to cause any damage. But dust can be the curse of digital photography, and nobody wants to be without their camera on a regular basis. 

In contrast to using film, if specks of dust settle on your image sensor, they can be sat there for good. The unfortunate result comes in the shape of dark spots on your images, especially those taken at narrow apertures. How does dust creep in to spoil the digital party? The biggest culprit is motes of dust in the air being ingested by the camera every time you swap between different lenses on the camera body. 

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Adam Waring
News Editor

Prior to joining digitalcameraworld.com as News Editor, Adam was the editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine for seven years, and as such is one of Digital Camera World's leading experts when it comes to all things Nikon-related. 

Whether it’s reviews and hands-on tests of the latest Nikon cameras and lenses, sharing his skills using filters, tripods, lighting, L brackets and other photography equipment, or trading tips and techniques on shooting landscapes, wildlife and almost any genre of photography, Adam is always on hand to provide his insights. 

Prior to his tenure on N-Photo, Adam was also a veteran of publications such as PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, so his wealth of photographic knowledge isn’t solely limited to the Big N. 

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