Sensor Cleaning

[David Mitchell]

Hi all,

My NEX seems to have some muck or something on the sensor, I have blown on the sensor using my film blower (the bulb sort) and thats shifted the fine particles but there is section that seems to not be dust and I might have to physically clean the sensor. What do I do as I need the sensor to be 100% clean - hopefully its not damage to the sensor!

 

[Pete Askew]

I have found Visible Dust sensor swabs to be the best.

http://www.visibledust.com

 

[David Mitchell]

Thanks Pete I will check them out, just worried that the sensor might be damaged or something as it doesn't seem to be normal dust could I try and lightly touch the sensor with a tissue or something to check or will that damage things? I have some solvents if that would be ok to use?

 

[Pete Askew]

No, that would likely damage it. Buy some sensor swabs and some sensor cleaning solution from Visible Dust and use that. I think you need the 1.6X swabs (green) and the Sensor Clean fluid. Smear Away is useful too.

 

[Lesley Jones]

I was going to ask about this. Only having the one lens until recently, I hoped my sensor would stay clean, but quite a lot of specks showed up in my recent Swan Lake image. I'm used to tinkering around inside a film camera and I always keep my kit spotless, but I'm wary of cleaning the Sony. Our house is full of cats and litter, but on the plus side I have fantastic close up vision and a steady hand. (Anything over two feet is a blur, but never mind)

What do you think I should do? Order some swabs and maybe shut myself in the bathroom? Now I have a second lens, how often should I be doing this?

 

[David Mitchell]

I found that most of the dust was removed simply by getting a air blowing bulb (got it for when scanning negatives) - cheap and works well, I would only try and do a wet clean if it didn't dislodge the specks - also check on the camera settings as there is sometimes a 'clean' setting - basically it vibrates the sensor which can shake off some of the dust.

 

[Pete Askew]

It is not difficult Lesley but you do need a clean area to work in. The bathroom is probably a pretty good choice. As to how often, I would be guided by the presence of spots that can't be removed by a blower rather than any set regime. I rarely clean mine with a swab more than once or twice per year.

 

[David Mitchell]

This is the first time I have had an issue, I always keep the camera with a lens attached I think its only picked up this contamination due to using it outside and taking it on and off the Tair 300mm lens for the moon (you can see some spots on that image). Hopefully with a good clean with those wipes it will be happy again

 

[Dan Cattermole]

Wire wool may do the treat........ if that fails just dabble a drop of Hydrochloric acid on the sensor...... It will certainly get rid of the dust.. And the sensor too
(Disclaimer- Do NOT do this....simply a joke)

I think you can't get better than Pete's advice. I have a rocket blower I use occasionally and must admit, have never suffered any specs on my images...... I'm quite obsessive where and how I change my lenses to prevent anything as far as an atom getting in. However, I should image cleaning a sensor would have to be done somewhere relatively clean, and settled.
If you have just had a jump up and down on the bed pillow fighting and decide to clean your sensor immediately thereafter, that might become a pointless exercise..

 

[David Mitchell]

Wire wool may do the treat........ if that fails just dabble a drop of Hydrochloric acid on the sensor...... It will certainly get rid of the dust.. And the sensor too
(Disclaimer- Do NOT do this....simply a joke)

I think you can't get better than Pete's advice. I have a rocket blower I use occasionally and must admit, have never suffered any specs on my images...... I'm quite obsessive where and how I change my lenses to prevent anything as far as an atom getting in. However, I should image cleaning a sensor would have to be done somewhere relatively clean, and settled.
If you have just had a jump up and down on the bed pillow fighting and decide to clean your sensor immediately thereafter, that might become a pointless exercise..

I have to be very careful at the moment as I am in the process of polishing and grinding an aluminium test mirror lol fair bit of very tiny specs of dust!

I watched this a while back and it made sense as it shows the 2 different methods:

 

[Lesley Jones]

Hmmm... you don't know our bathroom - it's Bubu's favourite play area and there is nowhere to put anything other than on the floor or in the bath. Now, that's an idea. I'll get a blower first and see how it goes. I too am obsessive about lens changing, but I've had three operations on my hand since I last did this on a regular basis...

 

[Keith Hollister]

Visible Dust is what I would also recommend for wet cleaning (the only way to deal with oil from the shutter/mirror or crap that has been "glued" down by condensation of other humidity. The VD stuff is expensive, but it is the easiest to use with the highest quality materials. If you follow the instructions (the 2 principal points are never use a dry swab and never reuse/make more than one pass with a swab) it is safe assuming you have some basic manual dexterity.

For dust that is too stubborn to be dislodged by a rocket blower, I have had good luck with this stuff - http://www.dust-aid.com

There is a gel type material gizmo similar to the Dust Aid that I hear works great (and is used by Leica at the factory) but it is hard to find here in the US. I believe Amazon UK sells them, though. Try searching for something like "gel sensor cleaner"

 

[Keith Hollister]

It is not difficult Lesley but you do need a clean area to work in. The bathroom is probably a pretty good choice. As to how often, I would be guided by the presence of spots that can't be removed by a blower rather than any set regime. I rarely clean mine with a swab more than once or twice per year.

I always tell folks to not sweat the one or two spots that only show up in skies at f/11 - it is trivial to spot those out in LR or PS rather than cleaning the sensor if you are uncomfortable doing it. I always avoid "recreational maintenance"

 

[Hamish Gill]

Another vote for visible dust from me!

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks for the tip about the gel stick Keith.

http://photographylife.com/product/sensor-gel-stick

 

[Keith Hollister]

Sure, Pete. I had looked on Amazon UK and found it there, but it was a 3rd party vendor and I couldn't get it shipped to the US. I have ordered one from photographylife though. It was interesting to see the video of the Leica M9 production - not a very big operations and a lot of hand work

 

[Pete Askew]

I didn't watch it all but will later. Small numbers and hand-assembled. That's certainly part of where the high price comes from along with a high R&D budget relative to turnover I guess.