Clean Your Digital Camera Sensor

Digital camera sensor cleaning, if you will excuse the pun, is a “sensitive” matter. It requires patience and understanding of the delicate nature of the sensor itself. Some self-cleaning camera models like some of those made by Canon do a good job of “removing dust” or at least keeping dust from ruining your pictures.

Steps

  1. Decide if you want to do a dry or a wet clean. Dry cleaning can be done with a bulb device such as the Giotto rocket blower or with a statically & nbsp;charged brush like the Arctic Butterfly.
    • Cleaning is best done in a room that is as dust free as possible. You don't need to be in a room with a white suit on like the people who work on computer chips but at the other end of the spectrum, don't go outside while it's windy or to your coffee table while the kids are having a pillow fight in the room. Bottom line, the best place is probably somewhere like a dining room table while no one else is there and the house is relatively clean and quiet. In some houses the bathroom is also a good place. There should be adequate light. You will be able to see the dust on the sensor if you reflect an overhead light off it's shiny surface.
    • Consult your owners manual for "mirror lockup". This function, as the name implies, will lock the mirror up out of the way when you press the shutter release button on your camera and leave it there until the shutter is pressed again.
    • NOTE: You may choose to place your camera on "bulb" setting. This allows the cameras mirror to stay up until you choose to close it. Please consult your cameras manual to learn how to set a bulb exposure. Nikon cameras have a mirror-up for cleaning function which is the best way to lockup your mirror.
  2. For a dry clean hold the camera over your head and, taking care to keep the nozzle away from the sensor, blow the specks of dust away.
  3. When using a static brush make sure the batteries are charged enough. Switch it on and give the device a chance to build a static charge before brushing your sensor.
  4. If a dry clean does not remove all the debris then it is time for a wet clean.
  5. You need to use a lint free wipe, often referred to as a "pec pad" and a fast drying cleaning fluid.
    • Pec pads are 99.99% lint free pads that are non-abrasive and won't damage or scratch your sensor.
    • The cleaning fluids are generally methanol based, flammable and dangerous so you have to be careful. Some places won't even ship these items in the mail due to regulations about mailing "hazardous materials". There are some alternatives to the methanol based products but not as good. Also, if you are going to be traveling by plane with your cleaning fluid, you may have a problem unless it's in a certified safe/non-toxic packaging. In all cases use these products in a well-ventilated area, don't breath the fumes and don't get them on your skin, clothes or any furniture.
  6. You should obtain either a wooden Popsicle stick or a flexible plastic fork knife, spoon, whatever. It doesn't matter which, because you will be using the handle end. You will also need some masking tape.
    • You are going to place the pec pad in your hand and lay the handle into your hand on top of it so that the very end of the handle (or Popsicle stick) rests about in the middle of the pad.
    • You then want to fold the left side of the pad over the handle, the top down over so that it rests on the top of the left half you just folded and then bring the right side over to the left and make it tight. (This sounds confusing so there are pictures available at the site listed above.)
    • Once you have done this you should tape the pec pad near the base (closer to the top of the utensil's "business end". You want the tape to be far away from the camera as scotch tape is abrasive and you don't want it to touch the sensor.
    • You want to end up with a flat end of pec pad with a relatively spongy feeling. It has to be soft because you're going to sweep this across your sensor VERY LIGHTLY. You want it flat because you are going to sweep across the sensor from one side to the next in about 3 to 4 passes, moving over about the width of the pad with each pass, in order to sweep the whole surface. Of course, prior to doing this you should add a couple of drops of the cleaning fluid to the flat tip of the instrument you just made.
    • This should go without saying but NEVER pour the liquid directly into the camera. NEVER push hard on the sensor. Just lightly sweep across it. You are sweeping dust after all and not grinding off nuggets of dirt. VERY, VERY light pressure.
    • Now you are done! Dispose of the pec pad (safely. i.e., no kids or animals can get to it) and make sure the rest of them are sealed in the zip lock bag they probably came in (if not, put them in one that is new so there will be no dust in it). Seal up the fluid bottle and put it all away in a safe place.
    • To test to see if your sensor is free of dust, you can put on a lens (that you are also sure is free of dust) go outside on a bright day, open your camera to its maximum f-stop and shoot a few pictures of the sky. When you go to review them at high resolution on your computer, you should see a nice picture with no dust.



Tips

  • It is highly recommended that you avoid the use of canned compressed air, especially if you are inexperienced. There are chemicals involved that could damage the sensor if expelled into the camera. The compressed air can also embed the dust deeper into the camera where it will be difficult if not impossible to remove. In the past, with film SLRs it was perfectly acceptable to use the compressed air as the internal nature of the camera was not as delicate. While there are propellant free compressed products available, they are best avoided. Since you spent so much money on your camera, you should treat it as you would any expensive investment. While blowing air into the camera housing is quick and easy, it's not always the best solution and of course, can be dangerous. Just avoid compressed air all together.
  • There are many products on the market that I recommend and that I myself use. One can obtain digital camera cleaning products anywhere that sells cameras or optical equipment. However, one must be prudent since we are dealing with a large investment of money and don't want to risk damaging our camera just to save a few dollars on cleaning supplies. When in doubt about a product search the internet and read other people's experiences
  • If you must use a product like this due to time constraints, etc. You should go with a CO2 and nitrogen cartridge based systems that are moisture free, but can be very expensive.
  • It's a fable that you will not get dust if you never change lenses. Consumer grade lenses are not sealed so dust will eventually get in your camera.
  • Digital camera cleaning of parts, like the lens and body are relatively easy compared to the delicate task of cleaning camera sensors. This is why care should be taken at anytime you remove the lens from your camera body. A damaged sensor would be a costly repair considering some of the middle end models of d-SLR come in at around $2,000 to $3000. Even if you only purchased a "pro-sumer" model like a Canon Rebel XTi or a Nikon D40 for around $800 or $900. It's probably a sizable investment for you so the best advice is just to be careful.
  • While these will help you out of a situation where you get dust in your sensor and don't have the ability to clean it right then and there, these will work fine. The methods used by the camera are things like vibrating the sensor to "kick" off dust, having a static charge around the sensor to attract dust away and in severe cases, the camera will electronically remove dust from the image itself. This works with a sophisticated algorithm inside the electronic brain of the camera that "detects" dust and uses neighboring pixels to fill in those areas. However, before every major shoot that is important to me and of course, my client, I use the following techniques.
  • If after reading this you're afraid of doing this yourself you can always take your camera to a dealer or customer service center and have them do it. If your camera is new they may do it for free, but they usually charge a fee.
  • Prevent getting dust in the camera as much as possible. When you must change lenses try to do so in a clean environment or at minimum keep the camera opening pointed down.
  • There are complete sets available that contain pads the exact size for your sensor, a handle and cleaning fluid.
  • Digital camera sensor cleaning, if you will excuse the pun, is a "sensitive" matter. It requires patience and understanding of the delicate nature of the sensor itself. Some self-cleaning camera models like some of those made my Canon do a good job of "removing dust" or at least keeping dust from ruining your pictures.
  • While dust can impair images don't let fear of dust ruin a fun hobby. The dust spots can be easily removed in a photo editing program using the clone or spot healing tools.
  • So, how should you go about cleaning digital cameras sensors?

Warnings

  • There are descriptions on the internet on how you can clean a sensor using just scotch tape. While some people have reported good results with this it can really damage modern sensors.
  • Don't touch the surface of the sensor with the Popsicle stick or whatever you decide to use to wrap the pec pad in. It's a good idea to do a practice run on something like maybe the CCD screen at the back of the camera before working on the sensor. You want to make sure that you are just lightly sweeping the sensor with the flexible part of the pec pad and not touching it with anything rigid. Practicing before hand allows you to get a feel for how much pressure to use.
  • Do not touch your sensor with your fingers
  • Be careful with any chemical based cleaning fluids. It's safer just to use the non-flammable ones available but make sure they are for use on camera sensors. If you use the methanol or hydrogen based fluids make sure to read the warning labels and keep away from open flame and use in a well ventilated area.
  • Do not blow on the sensor yourself, air you expel will always contain tiny particles of saliva.

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