Sensor cleaning

[jojo]

As I seem to be plagued with more dust bunnies on my sensor than even a good dollop of head & shoulders could deal with I took the plunge and had a go at a bit of spring cleaning myself . Having trawled through the DPNow archives searching "sensor dust" I decided to get myself some Eclipse and some of the "awfully expensive for what they appear to be" sensor swabs. Nice man on the phone said puff before wiping (you don't want to cause any nasty scratches now ) As the swab made contact with the sensor I thought, bad idea but, with a sharp intake of breath and some positive but cautious finger work a few moments later, as if by magic, a miracle had occurred!

Here are the before and after shots - first one taken pointing skywards, second against white paper. What do you think?

Before cleaning:



After cleaning:

[Pol]

Re: Sensor cleaning

Here are the before and after shots - first one taken pointing skywards, second against white paper. What do you think?

[jojo]

Re: Sensor cleaning

Don't burst me bubble Pol It was too dark to take shots of the sky after I had done the clean so I figured the white paper would be a good substitute. Weather permitting I'll be taking some test shots pointing into the great blue yonder tomorrow - whoa betide if it looks any different to me precious white paper shots

p.s. I did set the aperture at f/32 both times.

Cheers, jo

[Pol]

Re: Sensor cleaning

I'm sure it'll be brilliant. Bright and sparkling, the cleanest sensor on the planet and you'll find the colours are brighter and clearer than you've ever had before.

If those before and after samples were shot at f/32 you've nowt to worry about! I usually used about f/16 or f/18 for mine 'cos I'm a wuss and didn't wanna feel too cheesed off it there were still a few spots left.

The very first time I ever tried I made a big mucky smear down one side. Did another bolder and more positive wipe and that cleaned everything properly - including the mucky great spot I'd made with the first pad. It was a big relief when the second attempt and test shot did the trick.


Pol

[ash]

Re: Sensor cleaning

Seems you did a good job, like pol says always use a small aperture on your test shot, you have a lot more depth of field and will show up the dust better.
Its always best to try and blow the dust off with a blower first, that way you dont even have to touch the 'filter' that covers the sensor. Turn your camera upside down so any dust or muck you blow off will hopefully fall out of the camera.
This way you might save a few bob on swabs.
Your blower needs to have a filter on it, otherwise you will blow as much dust on as you are blowing off

Try a giottos rocket blower, mine cost about 7 quid, could save you some serrious swab money in the long run.
happy blowin
Ash.