How do I clean my 10D's sensor?
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
How do I clean my 10D's sensor?
Since i've started taking shots with the canon I've began to notice quite a lot of small black spots all over the photos,i had a terrible job with those pale shell shots-they really showed up. But how does one clean the sensor,and does the cam have a cleaning option?
Canon 5D and 30D | Canon IXUS 265HS | Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro | EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 USM III | EF 50 f1.8 II | Slik 88 tripod | Apex Practicioner monocular microscope
From searching online so far, the cleaning solution Eclipse seem to be the most recommended one. They also claim that it's officially recommended by Fuji and Leica.
The thing is, Canon doesn't seem to like people going anywhere near their sensor and recommend it to be cleaned by Canon technician. However, it seems like people do use it to clean Canon sensor with satisfactory result.
I would get it myself but it's a bit hard to acquire here in Australia.
http://www.photosol.com/
For now, I just stick to Clone Stamp.
The smaller your aperture (higher number) the more visible the dust becomes I think, so try to use bigger aperture.
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/
Methods complete with Pro and Con
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/methods.html
The thing is, Canon doesn't seem to like people going anywhere near their sensor and recommend it to be cleaned by Canon technician. However, it seems like people do use it to clean Canon sensor with satisfactory result.
I would get it myself but it's a bit hard to acquire here in Australia.
http://www.photosol.com/
For now, I just stick to Clone Stamp.
The smaller your aperture (higher number) the more visible the dust becomes I think, so try to use bigger aperture.
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/
Methods complete with Pro and Con
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/methods.html
-
Charles Krebs
- Posts: 5865
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:02 pm
- Location: Issaquah, WA USA
- Contact:
On the "Menu" display there will be a selection for "Sensor Clean" (near the bottom of the list). This will allow you to have the mirror flip up and the shutter open, allowing access to the sensor. You want to be sure you have a good, well charged battery in the camera (you don't want the shutter to close while you are "working" in there).
Once you have it "open" for cleaning, then the fun (
) begins! There are many "swabs"and cleaners designed to clean these sensors. Some seem rather pricey. (For some examples see: http://www.visibledust.com/, but there are many others).
The simplest, safest, and first thing to try is to simply hold the camera (body opening facing down) and use a hand bulb blower. A favorite is the "Giotto Rocket" http://www.adorama.com/GTRABLR.html?sea ... &item_no=5. Whatever "blower" you use, be sure it is extremely clean. "Canned air" is generally NOT recommended, since it is too easy to screw up and really foul up the sensor with residue. Using a blower like this will remove many dust particles, maybe enough to make life easier as far as "spotting" is concerned.
But if the sensor has not been really well cleaned for some time there will likely be dust that has "adhered" to the sensor and need to be cleaned with some sort of swab and fluid. This is where it gets interesting! I'm sure if you Google something about "cleaning camera sensor" you'll find a few hours worth of reading. I suggest you read through some of this if the "blower" procedure is inadequate.
I use some of the Visible Dust products, but there is a lot out there.
Charlie
Once you have it "open" for cleaning, then the fun (
) begins! There are many "swabs"and cleaners designed to clean these sensors. Some seem rather pricey. (For some examples see: http://www.visibledust.com/, but there are many others). The simplest, safest, and first thing to try is to simply hold the camera (body opening facing down) and use a hand bulb blower. A favorite is the "Giotto Rocket" http://www.adorama.com/GTRABLR.html?sea ... &item_no=5. Whatever "blower" you use, be sure it is extremely clean. "Canned air" is generally NOT recommended, since it is too easy to screw up and really foul up the sensor with residue. Using a blower like this will remove many dust particles, maybe enough to make life easier as far as "spotting" is concerned.
But if the sensor has not been really well cleaned for some time there will likely be dust that has "adhered" to the sensor and need to be cleaned with some sort of swab and fluid. This is where it gets interesting! I'm sure if you Google something about "cleaning camera sensor" you'll find a few hours worth of reading. I suggest you read through some of this if the "blower" procedure is inadequate.
I use some of the Visible Dust products, but there is a lot out there.
Charlie
Charlie, I saw that Visible Dust in the list of methods that I linked.
I'd like to ask what you think about the Cons of using it.
I'd like to ask what you think about the Cons of using it.
Cons: Designed to remove "Water Stains" only, the manufacturer recommends you buy their second chemical Smear Away™ to complete the task. Smears from a contaminated sensor cleaning brush and non-water stains will cause a film to be left behind that will require an additional chemical to clean. Dries Slow. Very expensive when you consider that you need to buy 3 different chemical and 2 different types of swabs. Not guaranteed* by its manufacturer to not damage your sensor.
Thanks guys. I do have a blower brush but its tiny,is not really clean and well I could blow out of my ear with more oomph! I did see some dust particle stuck to the sensor(well the lo pass filter actually) but have nothing to clean it with. I wonder if my local camera shop could do it.
Canon 5D and 30D | Canon IXUS 265HS | Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro | EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 USM III | EF 50 f1.8 II | Slik 88 tripod | Apex Practicioner monocular microscope
-
Charles Krebs
- Posts: 5865
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:02 pm
- Location: Issaquah, WA USA
- Contact:
Be really careful with any brush. The slightest bit of contamination or oil on the brush will make things far worse. If you do use a brush designed for this purpose you need to keep it scrupulously clean and use it only for this purpose. (I've not been able to keep a brush as clean as I like so I seldom use one now).
Most of those little brush/blowers they sell in camera stores don't have enough air pressure to be of any use.
P_T....
I don't really use the "full" Visible Dust "system". I use their green "corner swabs" and their "sensor clean" liquid (but not necessarily the way they suggest). I gave up on using the large sensor swabs. It seemed like I was just re-arranging the dust or even making things worse. Only one time have I really needed to do a full sensor "wet clean". This was after I got a tiny amount of oil or something on a brush and it left streaks over the sensor. (And this is when I gave up on dry brushes). So normally I need to go after a few specific spots. This is when using a full sensor swab and liquid just seems to make things worse!
My current method is to use a low power stereo microscope. First I "blow out" the body as I described above using my "Giotto rocket". Then it is placed under the stereo microscope (with fiber optic light guides shining into the body). I can see very clearly even the tiniest speck of dust and still have enough working room to get in there with a "swab". This allows me to "go after" individual specks. I've found nothing is better than to actually be able to see the dust while you go after it. I'll very lightly moisten or "fog" the swab material with my breath (absolutely no spit allowed!!:roll:) and just collect the offending dust. If a speck is stubbornly stuck I'll resort to the cleaning fluid. It might seem like it would take a long time to clean a sensor this way, but it goes surprisingly fast when you can see what you are doing... even if there's lots of dust on the sensor.
The Visible Dust swabs seem expensive. Lately I've been using a couple different sizes of ITW Texwipes swabs (http://www.texwipe.com/) in the manner I have just described.
Charlie
Most of those little brush/blowers they sell in camera stores don't have enough air pressure to be of any use.
P_T....
I don't really use the "full" Visible Dust "system". I use their green "corner swabs" and their "sensor clean" liquid (but not necessarily the way they suggest). I gave up on using the large sensor swabs. It seemed like I was just re-arranging the dust or even making things worse. Only one time have I really needed to do a full sensor "wet clean". This was after I got a tiny amount of oil or something on a brush and it left streaks over the sensor. (And this is when I gave up on dry brushes). So normally I need to go after a few specific spots. This is when using a full sensor swab and liquid just seems to make things worse!
My current method is to use a low power stereo microscope. First I "blow out" the body as I described above using my "Giotto rocket". Then it is placed under the stereo microscope (with fiber optic light guides shining into the body). I can see very clearly even the tiniest speck of dust and still have enough working room to get in there with a "swab". This allows me to "go after" individual specks. I've found nothing is better than to actually be able to see the dust while you go after it. I'll very lightly moisten or "fog" the swab material with my breath (absolutely no spit allowed!!:roll:) and just collect the offending dust. If a speck is stubbornly stuck I'll resort to the cleaning fluid. It might seem like it would take a long time to clean a sensor this way, but it goes surprisingly fast when you can see what you are doing... even if there's lots of dust on the sensor.
The Visible Dust swabs seem expensive. Lately I've been using a couple different sizes of ITW Texwipes swabs (http://www.texwipe.com/) in the manner I have just described.
Charlie
Just a warning if your sensor has the new Indium Tin Oxide coating designed to avoid dust sticking to it you should not use the old Eclipse solution, but the new one designed for these sensors. The Nikon D3 and D300 has these and I think some Canon's do?
You may not notice any optical damage removing the ITO coating but the sensor will get dustier quicker. If the makers have gone to the trouble coating it to reduce dust there is little point in destroying it. The new Eclipse solution cleans both types of sensors anyway.
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototip ... aning.html
Also if you are using the cameras batteries to hold the shutter open for sensor cleaning always make sure you have a fully charged battery before you start since the last thing you want is the shutter closing on you whilst you are cleaning the sensor.
DaveW
You may not notice any optical damage removing the ITO coating but the sensor will get dustier quicker. If the makers have gone to the trouble coating it to reduce dust there is little point in destroying it. The new Eclipse solution cleans both types of sensors anyway.
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototip ... aning.html
Also if you are using the cameras batteries to hold the shutter open for sensor cleaning always make sure you have a fully charged battery before you start since the last thing you want is the shutter closing on you whilst you are cleaning the sensor.
DaveW