How do you clean your camera ?

[kostas nianiopoulos]

It's 2-3 weeks now i have seen these little things in my images dirty little spots , and i have to try clean them , the most are gone , but there is some still remains in there and they dont like to go away i have try like 7-8 times , now i see 5-6 of those , before was a lot ..
The strange thing is with this camera ( canon 50d ) that for almost a year i didnt had any change of lens , just made only a change to the macro lens i use .

i wonder how they came in . How do u clean your camera ? do you do this by your self or , u send in a store ? ..

also any clean idea if u got would nice .

thank u so much Kostas .

[Bill Coatney]

This is a link to a pretty good video on how a rental company cleans their gear

http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2010...-camera-sensor

[kostas nianiopoulos]

Hey comon , no one is clean his cameras in here ?

[Ulli Hoeger]

Well,

as you found out sooner or later those spots on your camera's sensor will show up.
Since neither camera body nor lens are air tight dust will get in, even if you never change lenses. Some of the larger zoom lenses are virtual air pumps, that draw a lot of air when zooming or focusing, and with this air comes dust that finds it way on the sensor. Fact of life.

To get rid of the dust specks there are all kind of methods. You didn't mention your approach.
From dusting of the sensor with rocket blower and a brush, to lens pen (now there is a sensor pen) on the dry side and wet cleaning with methanol and swabs on the other there are dozens of methods. Google will find instructions on how to do it in 100s of different ways.

For years I use the "Cooperhill" method for stubborn particles that don't respond to the camera's sensor cleaning mechanism or puffs of air. The method works and it is cheap. Details for this wet cleaning method can be found here: http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=tutorials

The most important thing is to realize that the 100% durst free sensor is unrealistic, even after rounds and rounds of cleaning. I learned to accept a few durst spots, especl. if they are in the periphery of the sensor. If that goal is reached, further cleaning just tends to produce worst results by pushing stuff around or adding more to it. So the 5-6 remaining ones in your case, as long as they are not dead center or huge flakes, wouldn't get me into more cleaning action.

Ulli

[kostas nianiopoulos]

Hi Ulli thank u for your repply , maybe u are right about the lens zoom , i have read about this again , and i was use a zoom lens for about a year it is a 18-200 , i know that 5-6 spots is not big deal and u may remove them in PS . other people said , it's mauch better to get the camera to a store and clean it and not do it by your self . Thats why i was asking how to clean your camera , maybe its my poor english . I want to say : do you clean it by your slef , or some one elase is do this for you ? .....
thank u so much for the reply again ... :)

[Dave Leroy]

Hi Kostas,

I clean my own and have not had a problem.

I always try to change lenses ect in a clean environment and always use the Rocket Blower to blow out both the camera and lense. This should help to minimize the dust inside camera.

If I need to go further I first use the Arctic Butterfly to clean the sensor.

As a last step and only when necessary and I have only done twice, I clean the sensor with the correct size of Visibledust Swabs.

I found it quite easy to do by following the Canon instructions and the methods as described by the suppliers of the cleaning tools.

Also the Birds as Art online store sells supplies for cleaning sensors.

It is not hard to do but as you know everything is delicate I go slow and easy.

Dave

[kostas nianiopoulos]

thanks u tell me Dave , it seems that there is not the perfect tool , for the perfect clean up , i should try more stuff , to clean , right now as it is , it's not that bad , only 5-6 spots but i look to find out a good solution .

[Ulli Hoeger]

thanks u tell me Dave , it seems that there is not the perfect tool , for the perfect clean up , i should try more stuff , to clean , right now as it is , it's not that bad , only 5-6 spots but i look to find out a good solution .

Not sure if I missed it, but you never told us what you tried so far.
If you used dry methods the remaining specs may be pollen grains that glued themself to the sensor. In that case chances are good that a wet method will get them off.

[Eric Virkler]

I use the Lens pens as recommended by Art Morris. I've been using them for a few years now and have always been satisfied with the results. You can buy them directly from him
https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/ca....aspx?catid=11

Eric Virkler
Faces of Nature Photography
www.ericjvirkler.com

[John Chardine]

My personal preference is the Canadian company Visibledust which makes a superior line of sensor cleaning products. I would go so far as to say they are world leaders in this regard.

[kostas nianiopoulos]

Thank u Erick and John , i i know the company Visibledust, thank u both for the infos :)

[Deborah Harrison]

I use Visible Dust products, most dust can be taken care off with a blower, next the Arctic butterfly. If that doesn't work I use a wet methods with the swabs and cleaners they provide. You should check their website, they have a wealth of information, both there and on You-tube, that should help you.

[kostas nianiopoulos]

thank u so much Deborah , i did last night :)

[mikeojohnson]

I have cleaned my sensors since the beginning of digital slr's. Current favorite products are those by visible dust as mentioned several times above.
Mike