Camera Question

[Roughrider]

I was wondering if anyone cleans there own sensor, I have some dots that are on every picture, even if I change lens. The manual said to take it to a service center, but I have heard of people cleaning them on there own. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks they could share.  Thanks, Mark

[Craig.]

If your not sure about doing it yourself, dont.
Take it to any reputable camera shop, they will be able to do it for you, and I know one member who's local store showed him the correct way to clean it himself in the future.

[BAW0343]

What type of camera is it?

If you do be EXTREMELY careful. The sensor is very sensitive and can be damaged easily which is why they recommend taking it somewhere.  

Also you may not even need to,  can you give an example of the spots your getting? All digital cameras (no mater how new) get what are called hotspots. This is when a pixel on the sensor has burned out or never worked. (or something like that) I have 3 of my own Ive spotted on my camera. You wont be able to get rid of these by cleaning the sensor and you'll have to just photoshop them to eliminate the problem.

[Craig.]

If you go check out some of Roughriders pictures, you can see some pretty clear cases of sensor dust.
Have you tried the auto clean function of the camera? You do use a 400d dont you?

[quote]What type of camera is it?

If you do be EXTREMELY careful. The sensor is very sensitive and can be damaged easily which is why they recommend taking it somewhere.

[Hagar]

I clean my own but would hesitate to give advice. It's really not as difficult as manufacturers like Canon would have you believe. Some other camera manufacturers include detailed instructions on how it's done in the handbook.

I was lucky enough to find a local camera shop where the proprietor not only cleaned it for me free of charge but did it on the counter in front of me so I knew how to do it myself next time. All it cost me was the price of a cleaning kit - & he used his own cleaning fluid to save mine. I now have the confidence to do it myself.

This is what I use. http://www.cameraclean.co.uk/acatalog/Kits.html

Here's a tute. I take no responsibility for damage to your precious camera. http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

[Roughrider]

Yes Craig, I use the Canon XTi (400D) and I have the camera set to self clean when shut off . I also do not notice it doing anything during this cleaning time, I don't hear anything, I don't feel anything, I am starting to wonder if it works, or has ever worked, all I see is the sensor cleaning symbol on the display screen. Pretty much what you guys have said is what I was going to do, I was going to take it to a camera store, see if they could clean it and see if they would show me how. Doug, the 2nd web site that you posted is what I was reading that gave me the idea to do it myself, but I thought I would ask the experts at SimV first. As far as Photoshopping these spots, that gets old, and I am not a wizard when it comes to photoshop anyway. Thanks for the help and Ideas. Mark

[Craig.]

A good tip for the future, when your changing your lense or have the lense off for any reason, keep the camera tilted upside down so the chamber part is towards the floor. I've been told this stops dust and particle falling into the sensor.

[Roughrider]

A good tip for the future, when your changing your lense or have the lense off for any reason, keep the camera tilted upside down so the chamber part is towards the floor. I've been told this stops dust and particle falling into the sensor.

Now that helps, just some good old common sense tips. I'll remember that.

[Hagar]

Pretty much what you guys have said is what I was going to do, I was going to take it to a camera store, see if they could clean it and see if they would show me how.

Good luck with that. I almost gave up as at most places I tried the assistants threw their arms up in horror at the idea of cleaning it "in house". They told me I would have to send it to Canon & it would take several weeks. I was surprised & delighted when this chap told me how easy it was & proved it by doing it in front of me. It's not difficult providing you're careful. You need a well-lit reasonably dust-free room for best results. You're not actually cleaning the sensor itself but the protective glass screen in front of it. I found the easiest method is to attach the camera body to a tripod so you've got both hands free.

[Tweek]

Sending it to be 'professionally' cleaned is a total waste of time and money. Read up on sensor cleaning, and you should get along fine. You'd have to make a pretty major mistake to do any damage to the sensor, so providing you're careful, there should be no problems with doing it yourself.

Sensor swabs and Eclipse fluid are the recommended way to clean your sensor (as in Doug's links), so you're best to persue that route.

[Rifleman]

I swap lenses whenever I feel the need, even if its out on the grass at the local airpark, but......when I do it, I do as suggested and keep all openings facing down to let gravity work to my advantage, I use my camera bag as much as possible as a wind(dust) shield, and only have one opening open for a minimum of time by swapping the lens cap as quickly as I can and keep everything as close as possible to each other when the actual swap is being done.....

Now, as for cleaning,........I do it every time the camera is turned on, .........also, my camera has a pixel mapping function so that if a pixel goes dead on me, I can ID it and remove it from active duty on the sensor..........

Two BIG reasons I chose Olympus in the first place. I flip lenses more than I change my socks..........well, almost !

[Mictheslik]

Yes Craig, I use the Canon XTi (400D) and I have the camera set to self clean when shut off . I also do not notice it doing anything during this cleaning time, I don't hear anything, I don't feel anything, I am starting to wonder if it works, or has ever worked, all I see is the sensor cleaning symbol on the display screen. Pretty much what you guys have said is what I was going to do, I was going to take it to a camera store, see if they could clean it and see if they would show me how. Doug, the 2nd web site that you posted is what I was reading that gave me the idea to do it myself, but I thought I would ask the experts at SimV first. As far as Photoshopping these spots, that gets old, and I am not a wizard when it comes to photoshop anyway. Thanks for the help and Ideas. Mark

The sensor cleaning on my 400D works brilliantly...there've been a couple of times where I've noticed a dust mark, which has been cleaned by the function

.mic

[Tweek]

The sensor cleaning on my 400D works brilliantly...there've been a couple of times where I've noticed a dust mark, which has been cleaned by the function

Although it probably helps with smaller bits of dust, it's by no means flawless. Equalise one of your latest photos in Photoshop, and see if there's much showing up. If you've not cleaned it manually at all, then there's bound to be at least something there.

[Omag 2.0]

There are some that even use SCOTCH tape!

[Hagar]

However careful you are with swapping lenses you will get dust on your sensor at some point. I can guarantee it. I find changing lenses a fiddly business at the best of times & try to avoid it if at all possible. The ideal would be to have a camera body for each lens like many of the "pros" I see at air displays.

Places like airfields & motor circuits are not the best spots for this sort of thing with dust flying all over the place & very little in the way of shelter. If you tip the camera body down to prevent dust getting in it can be introduced on the end of the lens or the dust cap you're fitting to it. Next time you take a shot, Bingo! There's your dust spots. I've read that the materials used in the manufacture of some dust caps actually cause "dust bunnies" to enter the camera body every time you screw or unscrew them.

I don't know how effective these auto sensor cleaners on the Canon 400D are but I suspect that even these cameras will need manual cleaning at some point. All those foreign bodies must end up somewhere.

One method I forgot to mention is the Arctic Butterfly. This is rather expensive but a friend of mine swears by it.  http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/arctic-butterfly.shtml