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Photography Question 

Pete H
 

DSLR Sensor Cleaning


 
 
I've not seen too many posts about anyone here actually cleaning the digital camera sensor. I just cleaned mine. Perhaps some of you may find this useful if you intend to undertake this task.

Below are two photos "before & after."
The photo is nothing more than a shot of the early morning blue sky. Shoot manual focus or your lens will never find focus..Focus is NOT critical for this. The photo is then simply darkened with a levels command in Adobe.

I tried "blowing" the dirt first with a air bulb with only a little success, so I had to go with physically touching the sensor with chemical and swab. These sterile swabs and chemical are available at many photo stores.
The chemical I chose was simple medical grade methanol.

My first attempt was with a single swab, wiping the entire surface left to right. Bad idea! LOL All that did was move around the dirt particles.
I finally used 6 swabs, made one pass left to right and disposed of it. Onto the second swap, one pass, throw it away. This seemed to do the best job as you can see from the before and after pics. (NOTE: These swabs are NOT Q-Tips!) Don't use a Q-Tip!


Cleaning the sensor IS do-able, but I caution anyone who is not well coordinated working in small places.
It is possible to touch the surrounding mechanisms and not even know it! These areas are lubricated. If you accidentally touch these areas and then swab the sensor, you will have a very real headache on your hands; or worse, heartache!

The camera sensor I cleaned was the Nikon D-70; it's sensor is a little depressed within it's own mounting plate, so it is a little tricky getting in there with a swab.

There are many articles on the web on how to clean the sensor..I'd recommend reading several before doing this.

Man-O-Man was mine dirtier than I thought, and after only 2 yrs of use.

It is not as hard as some of the articles would lead us to believe..just use a lot of caution and take your time.
I am NOT recommending anyone clean their sensor..if you doubt your ability, let a pro do it who will guarantee the work.

All the best,

Pete


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July 01, 2006

 
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