indemand77 Loc: Fridley, MN

I have never cleaned a sensor and do not know if I want to tackle it. Any suggestions for a helpful tutorial. Or does anyone in my area (Minneapolis/St Paul) have a recommendation to have it done locally. Thanks!

timcc Loc: Virginia

If you google "camera sensor cleaning," you'll find quite a few tutorials on YouTube. I suggest watching several before deciding which technique/kit is best for you. Be sure you have tried the other methods first: rocket blower and the camera's vibration cleaner. If your camera has IBIS, you'll need to read the manual for how to lock the sensor in place before swabbing. Good luck.

Here's a primer from Adorama: https://www.adorama.com/alc/the-secret-of-effectively-and-safely-cleaning-your-digital-camera-sensor-yourself/

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

National Camera exchange will clean it while you watch, and sell you a cleaning kit if you decide you want to tackle it yourself.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I could do mine, but I take it to my local camera store and let them do it while I gave a cup of coffee (on them) and chat awhile. For $35, if it needs it again, they do it. If I go it and miss a spot, I have to go it again. Just easier for me and supports the local shop.

It isn't hard really, if you want to do it. Just watch a couple of videos first.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Have you tried a Giotto Rocket-Air?

Example: An exercise in sensor cleaning

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Welcome to UHH indemand77

"...Giotto Rocket-Air?" Like Paul said... Use the Giotto Rocket Blower regularly and it will decrease the need for sensor cleaning by an order of magnitude... I nearly always blow out the sensor box after changing lenses outdoors... As do many others... industry SOP.

As for "Wet Cleaning"? that is for professional camera service technicians in my humble estimation...

Please stay safe and all the best on your journey indemand77

IDguy Loc: Idaho

What you want to do depends on your camera. If your camera has it first make sure your sensor cleaning is turned on and you use it. My Z6 has a menu option to clean every time you shut down camera. But I don’t think it works because the camera goes through several steps when I do it manually that I do not see on shutdown. In any case it doesn’t seem to do much.

Next step is to use the rocket blower as suggested above.

If still needed after that I use an Arctic Butterfly. It is a static brush that works quite well.

If spots remain the final step is a wet clean. Nikon hates that for my Z6 so I haven’t done it yet, although I used to on my DSLRs. I will do it on my Z50 if needed. The reason to not do it on the Z6 is that the sensor stabilization is very delicate.

To see your spots set camera at f16 and take image of sky or wall. Turn your LCD to max magnification and scroll around. When trying to see them on the actual sensor keep in mind it is upside down and backwards left to right. I have a magnifier to help with that.

repleo Loc: Boston

There are umpteen videos on Youtube. I found the one by Borrowlens pretty good. It takes you from the least to most intrusive / aggressive methods.
Canon has a warning on their website that some of their sensors require specialized equipment for cleaning due to the construction of the sensor.
If you use the wet clean method, be careful not to touch the the black border around the sensor. It is a gooey material that can get smeared on the sensor if you are not careful.

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

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I use a Kit called "Sensor Clear Loupe"
If I encounter a spot on a shot, I wait until there is a cloudless day and shoot a pic of the blue sky.
It is then I see any spots, I clean my sensor with the kit using their instructions.

The first time I had something on my sensor (a bunch of years ago) I found the only camera store was 50 miles away and I had to drive there to get it cleaned. that was $65 and it was then I got the Kit from Sensor Clear.
Never had that problem since. I clean my own.

indemand77 Loc: Fridley, MN

I have been using the Giotto Rocket-Air but this image prompted me to post this. I shot it at iso 100, f16 and a 6 second exposure. I have the dehaze set pretty high to see all the debri. I was shocked. I am pretty fastidious about how I change lenses and how I handle the camera while doing it. I am willing to try a cleaning kit and will look at the videos that were suggested. Thanks for all of you input.

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Sensor dust is a fact of digital life. My camera with a self-clean 'shake' that runs automatically whenever the camera is turn off, this camera is least prone to dust. The mirrorless camera, without the auto-clean, needs a blow from the Rocket-Air regularly even when no lens changes have occurred since the last use, even when I can manually run its self-clean.

What I / most also do is avoid small apertures. Why f/16 in this image for six seconds? Why not f/11 or f/8 for less time? These might help for the large globs in the sky, but the splatter in the upper left corner of this frame looks like a wetcleaning is needed.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Wow indemand77... your sensor kinda needs some TLC...
Ok if you really want to do something yourself then a very soft super fine brush may do the trick...
With a heavy load of crud I will use one of my finest makeup brush... i.e. kolinsky sable eye shadow brush

Sweep in one direction lightly... There are lot's of videos on this...
Mount the camera on a study tripod with lens opening facing down...
Use a very bright light to guide you and a very delicate touch...
As others have mention NOT to be used on sensors with in body stabilization...

You maybe also need to seriously rethink how you change lenses...
Hope this helps

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

When I first got a DSLR I babied it. Was not willing to stick something onto the sensor. I got a rocket blower and did what I could (it was long before the days of sensor shaking technology).

Eventually I got a better DSLR and kept the old one. By that time there were a lot of spots that the rocket blower wouldn't handle. And since the new DSLR was starting to show some spots I started thinking about it. Did a lot of online reading and decided that I could practice on the old camera since I didn't use it that much any more. So I got some swabs to do a wet cleaning.

I found that it was easy. Not at all hard to avoid damaging the sensor. So, after cleaning the old DX camera I went out and bought some swabs for the FX camera. No problem there either. Since then I have cleaned my own. I can do it when they need it. No waiting around for someone else to do the job.

I did a writeup on what I do. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-page?upnum=2857
I don't claim that's the best way, or the right way, or the easiest way. It's just MY way. You may find your own way has advantages for you. This works for me.

Note there's a preamble on looking for sensor spots that might be of interest even if you don't have the self-confidence to stick something into your camera. I am not all that precise with my hands but it doesn't seem to require a really fine touch.

PS: You can be as careful as possible when handling your camera and changing lenses. In fact, when I got my first DSLR I had an 18-200 all-purpose lens on it. I never took it off.

I got spots on my sensor anyway. Not changing lenses will not prevent the buildup of crud inside your camera.

repleo Loc: Boston

Some zoom lenses suck dust into the barrel as they move in and out and then blow it onto the sensor.

If you want to check for dirt on the sensor follow these steps:

Set the camera to the Aperture Priority mode (A).
Set the ISO to 100 or 200 whichever is the lowest setting available on your camera.
Set the aperture (f-stop) value to the highest number available (smallest aperture)
Point the camera at a plain white or pale colored wall.
Go to Manual Focus (MF) and set it out of focus.
Take a picture.
View the image on your computer screen.

Whatever you do, never try to blow dust off the sensor with your mouth. Spit is a bitch to remove - I learned the hard way.

agillot

if you have duet on sensor , a vacuum hose from a household vac will do it for free .remove lens , set camera to 2 or3 sec exposure , hold hose an inch away , fire camera a couple of time , you are done .do lens also .you clean the all inside of camera that way , not just the sensor .been telling this for 3 years , so far no one has the guts to try it .doing it on 3 different body , zero issue .no guts no glory .