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Sensor cleaning

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Pune
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Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Sun Mar 13, 2022 1:51 pm

Hi Folks,
Any advise on cleaning sensors, I have two Canon 5d 11's and I think they could do with a spring clean, DIY or camera shop?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Pune
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

Dave Smith
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Dave Smith » Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:43 pm

Not recommended for those blessed with fat fongers. How are are the spots on your pictures?.

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Black Mike
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Black Mike » Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:47 pm

I've been cleaning my own sensors for 10 years. Scary the first few times you do it but quite easy once you get the hang of it. Just watch the many videos on YouTube.

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:18 am

Dave Smith wrote:
Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:43 pm
Not recommended for those blessed with fat fongers. How are are the spots on your pictures?.
I noticed quite a few small spots on one camera recently, usually when cropping, the other one has a few big spots..
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:19 am

Black Mike wrote:
Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:47 pm
I've been cleaning my own sensors for 10 years. Scary the first few times you do it but quite easy once you get the hang of it. Just watch the many videos on YouTube.
Thanks Mike, what is your chosen method?
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

slogen51
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by slogen51 » Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:24 pm

I have dust spots

Just purchased

Camera APS-C Sensor Cleaning Kit - 6 to 12 cleanings - 12x 12mm Swab - Dust-free & vacuum-packed - 15ml- Liquid cleaner

On Amazon for £16.90 arrives tomorrow

Watched the YouTube tuition and it looks a doddle - what can go wrong?

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andygolfer
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by andygolfer » Mon Mar 14, 2022 7:16 pm

slogen51 wrote:
Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:24 pm
I have rust spots

Just purchased

Camera APS-C Sensor Cleaning Kit - 6 to 12 cleanings - 12x 12mm Swab - Dust-free & vacuum-packed - 15ml- Liquid cleaner

On Amazon for £16.90 arrives tomorrow

Watched the YouTube tuition and it looks a doddle - what can go wrong?
rust spots!! I hope you meant dust :S

I'm taking my 80D into a camera shop tomorrow to get the sensor cleaned as I have some dust spots that won't shift with the auto sensor clean. I have tried the kits in the past but somehow once put a scratch on the sensor which cost around £180 to replace so have steered clear of doing it myself since. It will cost me £30 so almost double the kit cost but it's a case of once bitten twice shy.

Having said that I know a lot of people who do clean the sensors themselves without issues so maybe I was just very unlucky (I had done it several times without issues).

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:30 pm

Thanks guys, much food for thought, I must dig deeper I think :thumb:
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

slogen51
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by slogen51 » Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:22 pm

Rust !! Edited

I probably should take the camera to get it professionally cleaned but if it is a general purpose shop assistant doing the job then are they any more qualified than you having watched YouTube? I suppose the shop would be insured / responsible for any scratches?

You do have to use an airblower before touching the sensor

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:44 pm

slogen51 wrote:
Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:22 pm
Rust !! Edited

I probably should take the camera to get it professionally cleaned but if it is a general purpose shop assistant doing the job then are they any more qualified than you having watched YouTube? I suppose the shop would be insured / responsible for any scratches?

You do have to use an airblower before touching the sensor
Thanks Slogen51, all info' very much appreciated :thumb:
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

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C24
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by C24 » Tue Mar 15, 2022 7:40 am

FYI
I have used swabs that are the width of the sensor so that there isn’t a “join” mark to consider.

“Rust” spots seem to be inevitable given the rust present in most homes.
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slogen51
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by slogen51 » Tue Mar 15, 2022 8:08 am

You can buy swabs specifically for the sensor size

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:00 am

Thanks guys :thumb:
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

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Richard B
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Richard B » Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:22 am

Try the swabs if you feel confident, plenty on youtube to watch. Done mine for around 20 years with no hicups, have seen many send off the camera only to get it back with dust spots still and some cases worse then when it went in. Spots tend to appear when your appeture goes over F12 plus. The higher the more it shows. If your into shooting manuel f8 sweet spot person you do not tend to get the dust spots so much showing. Try taking a blue sky set at f22 and then same shot on f8. You will see any dust at f22. Maybe not on f8.

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daggerfan
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by daggerfan » Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:40 am

Camera shops are as rare as rocking horse poo in my area so I had to send a camera away for a sensor clean. Full-frame clean plus insured postage both ways left me with little change out of £90, plus I was without the camera for around 10 days. Will definitely go down the DIY route next time!

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:46 pm

Richard B wrote:
Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:22 am
Try the swabs if you feel confident, plenty on youtube to watch. Done mine for around 20 years with no hicups, have seen many send off the camera only to get it back with dust spots still and some cases worse then when it went in. Spots tend to appear when your appeture goes over F12 plus. The higher the more it shows. If your into shooting manuel f8 sweet spot person you do not tend to get the dust spots so much showing. Try taking a blue sky set at f22 and then same shot on f8. You will see any dust at f22. Maybe not on f8.
Thanks Richard, that is really helpful :thumb:
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

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Pune
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by Pune » Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:47 pm

daggerfan wrote:
Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:40 am
Camera shops are as rare as rocking horse poo in my area so I had to send a camera away for a sensor clean. Full-frame clean plus insured postage both ways left me with little change out of £90, plus I was without the camera for around 10 days. Will definitely go down the DIY route next time!
Same here, I'm drifting towards DIY, but previous info' very interesting..
Thanks for response :thumb:
If you can keep your head whilst all around are losing theirs, you have probably completely misread the situation!!

slogen51
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by slogen51 » Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:29 pm

DIY sensor cleaning complete

Pretty simple really - purchased the CMOS sensor kit £16 on Amazon - comes with about 12 swabs and I used 4 swabs.

Watched a YouTube for cleaning the D7200

A) take a picture of something white at f/16 and see the dust spots ( I took a picture of the freezer door - **** loads of dust spots!l

B) lock mirror up - menu option ( full battery required for the menu item to be active)
C) use a blower ( not your mouth) to get rid of any loose dust
D) following the instructions - use one swab ( one sweep each way turning the swap over at the end of the first pass) to sweep over the top and bottom of the sensor - discard the swab
E) release mirror - photograph the fridge door again - if happy and no spots go to the end
F) spots still visible then put two drops of the sensor cleaning fluid on a FRESH swab and repeat D and E
G) repeat D with a FRESH dry swab to remove any excess liquid - there won't be any but this step is in the instructions

H) switch off camera to release the mirror
END

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jasonT1981
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by jasonT1981 » Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:30 pm

I left my D2000 into Jessops last week for a sensor cleaning, was ready in an hour and cost £40. Had to travel over an hour to get to the shop, it was the closest place to me.

Bit too nervous to try my own clean as hands are not that steady.
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slogen51
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Re: Sensor cleaning

Post by slogen51 » Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:36 pm

I took a few pictures in the garden but a morning at an airfield will be a proper test

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