Sensor cleaning

[Nick Hatton]

Hi all, just wondering if any of you clean your own censor,  my 5D II is due for a clean and  and with the  fees we are getting  I  just wondered what sort of a job it was and could anyone recommend a kit?  Thanks all. 

[Harry Harrison]

I also have a 5D Mk II, I've never had it professionally cleaned and it's fine. It's going to depend upon what is on the sensor though, is it just dust which can be moved around with a blower or is it smears from oil or possibly pollen? I've never needed a 'wet' clean but for dust I never had much luck with a blower brush either which just seemed to move it around. I can recommend a VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly but it doesn't need to be one of the later versions with the built-in LED light as really you do it blind anyway. The trick is NOT to use it like a brush, you whizz it to get it charged and then just stroke it once lightly across the sensor and the dust is attracted to it, then whizz it again to get rid of that dust and charge it again, repeat as necessary. In practice once or twice is enough. I also use their 7x Sensor loupe to see what the problem is. These products are expensive new but often much less so off the popular online auction site.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Harry Harrison

[Niels Quist]

I also have a Canon 5DII - had to get an extra cleaning from the beginning - however, the lab didn't do it properly, so a friend made a much better clean. Haven't cleaned it since - I think it has to be proven necessary in order not to invite unecessary extra trouble. I think I once tried to use a blower - which only worsened the condition, but got the proper cleaning after that. So better wait until it proves necessary. So much better in this respect than the mark I.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Niels Quist

[GeoffK]

The 5D2 is well known for oil on the filter, those translucent spots that build up over time. I clean (occasionally) with the Visible dust swipes using their cleaning fluid (the one with the blue top).

 

Camera has about 500k actuations - cleaned maybe once a year/18months - Photoshop does a great job where it really matters.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by GeoffK

[sooth]

1 hour ago, Nick Hatton said:

Hi all, just wondering if any of you clean your own censor,  my 5D II is due for a clean and  and with the  fees we are getting  I  just wondered what sort of a job it was and could anyone recommend a kit?  Thanks all. 

surprisingly easy

 

i have a 6D and recently needed to clean the sensor. it was a choice of either sending it in to canon, or DYI.   looked at a few youtube videos and read 1-2 reviews.  basically they recommend vsco swabs and eclipse photo liquid.

 

the vsgo swabs model ddr-23 are full frame sized with microfiber cloth at the swab end, each individually sealed.

 

the eclipse fluid is basically highly purified methanol.

 

you put 1-2 drops of the eclipse fluid on the swab, move the swab at an angle across the sensor, and once more back to the other side.  done.

Edited June 4, 2020 by sooth
vsgo

[Allan Bell]

I used to have a 5DII some time ago and always cleaned the sensor myself with the Arctic butterfly brush which I recommend. Still use it occasionally on other camera sensors but don't seem to have to do it as often as for the 5DII.

 

I did occasionally clean the 5DII using the wet clean method but found the first few times it left streaks and the occasional spot on the sensor protective surface which required another wet clean. Cleaning with the wet method I found was more of a learning curve and did get better results later when I found the best way. Never had to do a wet clean on my existing sensors.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Richards]

There is a good article on this topic in this weeks Amateur Photographer.

[spacecadet]

I haven't done it since I went to SLT, but I always used to recommend Digipads, pre-cut swabs with PEC-12 fluid.. As Sooth says.

They don't seem to be around as such anymore, but I'm sure there are alternatives. Search for sensor swabs but don't overpay. ISTR paying about £10 for a dozen of them with fluid. And you can reuse them. A bit.

Sounds a bit obvious I know, but I photograph a white screen at f22 before and after cleaning, because occasionally you need a second wipe.

Edited June 4, 2020 by spacecadet

[Harry Harrison]

1 hour ago, GeoffK said:

The 5D2 is well known for oil on the filter

I've never heard that? I've had one for ages and never read that and certainly never had any oil spots, nothing comes up on Google for me. I know the Nikon D600 did have a problem when it was launched and that could be returned to Nikon for a fix. 

[Niels Quist]

1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said:

I've never heard that? I've had one for ages and never read that and certainly never had any oil spots, nothing comes up on Google for me. I know the Nikon D600 did have a problem when it was launched and that could be returned to Nikon for a fix. 

 

Haven't troubled me much either. Knew also about the Nikon D600.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Niels Quist

[Colin Woods]

Yes, its very easy to do. Search a bit on youtube and buy some sealed individual cleaning pads and fluid. It takes a couple of minutes. No need to pay for that.

[spacecadet]

Individual pads impregnated with the fluid seems to be the fashion now. Separate fluid and pads is evidently so, so 2010. Although it does go against the grain to use a piece of plastic once and throw it away!

[Nigel Kirby]

On my Nikons D3x I use an arctic butterfly brush (no need to buy the one with a light attached) and finish with a air dust blower. Make sure when you are doing all this to have the camera facing downwards. To check that you have a clean sensor turn on the camera set to "A" . Set ISO 100. Set to MF.  Set F-Stop to highest number. Point at clear blue sky or white paper. Check for any dust bunnies on LCD screen.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Nigel Kirby

[GeoffK]

4 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

I've never heard that? I've had one for ages and never read that and certainly never had any oil spots, nothing comes up on Google for me. I know the Nikon D600 did have a problem when it was launched and that could be returned to Nikon for a fix. 

 

You quoted me but it hasn't appeared.

 

Canon had issues with oil on sensor filter with many cameras (1DS II was a pig for it) - used to be articles on Canon's site. This blog post from 2009 refers to them and the general problem.

 

http://blog.richcharpentier.com/canon-is-aware-of-the-oil-on-the-sensor-and-still-charged-me/

 

TBH, it's not that bad, if like me, you are a little OCD about cleaning images in Photoshop.  I never found dust spots an issue....just the sneaky lubrication ones. I still have the packet of  V swabs that I first bought when they came out, that's how much I don't bother to clean the sensor filter.

 

[spacecadet]

First time I had sensor dust, I tried to blow it off with a bicycle pump.

Don't.

[Harry Harrison]

17 minutes ago, GeoffK said:

Canon had issues with oil on sensor filter with many cameras (1DS II was a pig for it) - used to be articles on Canon's site. This blog post from 2009 refers to them and the general problem.

Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard of it before. I see that post is from May 2009 so very early in the production run, i imagine they must have fixed it during production as it's not coming up much on Google, unlike the D600 which they had to recall. Maybe I've just been lucky.

[Colin Woods]

9 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

First time I had sensor dust, I tried to blow it off with a bicycle pump.

Don't.

No, a fire extinguisher packs much more punch. 😀

[MDM]

 

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

First time I had sensor dust, I tried to blow it off with a bicycle pump.

Don't.

 

1 hour ago, Colin Woods said:

No, a fire extinguisher packs much more punch. 😀

 

I find beating it off the ground loosens sensor dirt up nicely and is a great way of exposing the sensor so I can get at it properly with an electric toothbrush. I never thought I would admit this on an open forum but I also like to  ***********censored ************.

[Nick Hatton]

Thanks for all your suggestions great help, I must say my problem does appear to be oil spots rather than dust. 

 

[MizBrown]

Eclipse fluid and swabs, or pre-moistened swabs of the size for your sensor.  Watch a few of the videos.  Oil spots take a bit longer to clean.  I've found that new cameras tend to get more crud in them than older cameras -- probably residue from manufacturing.   Get one of the lighted loupes that can show you what's going on.  I have one of the less expensive ones, works well enough.

[sb photos]

35 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

Eclipse fluid and swabs, or pre-moistened swabs of the size for your sensor.  Watch a few of the videos.  Oil spots take a bit longer to clean.  I've found that new cameras tend to get more crud in them than older cameras -- probably residue from manufacturing.   Get one of the lighted loupes that can show you what's going on.  I have one of the less expensive ones, works well enough.

 

For a wet clean I use the same as you, but not pre moistened swabs. I keep swabs for full frame and crop sensors as I also have some older backup kit. Also an Ebay LED loupe, that can be an eye opener.

 

Best if possible is to use two bodies to minimise lens changes when outside. I've had my 24-70 on one D750 body since new, and have only had to use a rocket blower on it once. Re my other body, I sometimes swap the 70-300 and 17-35 lenses while out, and have had to use the blower a few times and one wet clean.

[Harry Harrison]

7 hours ago, Nick Hatton said:

Thanks for all your suggestions great help, I must say my problem does appear to be oil spots rather than dust.

Wet cleaning it is then, I've just had a look and VisibleDust swabs seem to have got very expensive. Looking around I'd probably go for this kit by Dust Patrol from Speed Graphic, I've found Speed Graphic to be a good company and more to the point the information goes into detail about the construction and shape of the swabs:

 

• The swabs are folded, not welded or glued. Welding the edges can leave sharp corners on the swab. The swabs also feature square corners that allow you to clean the edges of your sensor more efficiently than with the welded swab types with rounded corners.

• The portion of the swab that's doing the cleaning is the very top leading edge, not the sides. So DustPatrol have used the shortest paddle possible while still being able to use the folded material manufacturing process. This allows for greater visibility of the sensor while you clean.

As it says, square sharp corners are important, especially for the final run which should be one smooth operation though cheaper, even smaller swabs APS-C swabs can be useful for attending to the oil spots before that final run over. Be a bit careful about using a swab for more than once pass as just with lens cleaning it could conceivably pick up something in the fibres that could damage the sensor (actually the anti-alias filter).