sv3noKin51E

A buddy contacted me for help a while back after he first tried using a cheap no-name blower without testing it first, and he didn't use a clean environment. The blower 'spit' a drop glop of gunk onto to the mirror, my guess was done during manufacturing, Luckily for him, he hadn't locked the mirror up; he said was going to clean the sensor. I told him to ship it to Nikon or other qualified service rather than take a chance on making it worse. On my recommendation he paid for UPS 2-day air shipping both ways and purchased additional UPS insurance for full replacement value, in the rare event the body was lost or damaged while in their possession. Such loss isn't common, but after 40 years of shipping and seeing irreparably damaged items, replacement value insurance coverage is worth every penny if the worst happens.

Yes, always watch the experienced fellows who share how it's done on youtube, and neverdischarge pressurized air/propellant into your camera body/lens. Buy the best good cleaning products and always test your blower before starting. I use canned air for light cleaning of outer surfaces of a body or lens if needed, or for cleaning computer parts such as motherboards, fans, filters, keyboards etc. A quality blower used wisely will dislodge light specks but as others have repeated, if you can't see the dust motes in test enlargements, don't disturb them. I no longer change a lens outdoors; if I did, I'd use canned air to dislodge as much dust as possible from the outer surfaces before changing inside a clean field-changing bag. Plan you work and work your plan.

I used to buy used bodies in mint or excellent condition and the vast majority of them arrived spotless, inside and out. Those that were dusty were always were RMA'd immediately. One with 200 clicks came in looking brand new, but the inside looked like it been dumped in the desert. I photographed it sitting on top of the of the shipping box, emailed the photo to the store about 30 minutes after it arrived. To the store's credits they emailed me back saying they were replacing it with a new-refurbished body.

Last note; UPS temporarily lost a body I shipped to Nikon 2nd day air, for cleaning with full replacement insurance. They recovered it intact after a very stressful week as it would've been a $3K loss. Nikon said UPS hand carried into the facility and watched as the box was opened. Seeing the thousands of empty shipping cartons of looted freight cars covering train yards during the covid lock-downs, the default $100 UPS shipping insurance isn't much comfort if the worst happens. My friend was lucky, he spent a total of $150 to get the gunk cleaned off his mirror including a clean sensor.

I've used the foggy bathroom procedure for a long time to install tempered glass screens on rear screens, tablets and cellphones. Before fogging the room I damp mop the floor and wet wipe the surfaces, and while that's happening, I wipe the camera body cap with a Zeiss lens cleaner, slide the camera and swabs into a new gallon- size ziplock bag. After 5 minutes of fogging I open the door gently and slip inside slowly to keep as much dusty outer air from outside from being drawn in. After a couple of more minutes I turn on the ceiling fan to exhaust any remaining excess moisture, slip on a new pair of surgical gloves and the grounding strap before removing the camera to clean. A surgeon friend tipped me to these steps, he's never sent his cameras off for cleaning. It sounds tedious but worth doing.

The funniest depiction of 'canned air' in the movies was in the 1987 Star Wars spoof, 'Spaceballs'. The late great Dick Van Patten was depicted popping open and breathing 'Perri-Air' on planet Druidia. Hope this is useful, cheers and have a great Labor Day:)

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

It works fine as long as you hold the can upright. If it's a problem, you can always use a service to take care of the camera for you. I do at least a couple dozen a month for customers in the area as well as customers on the Hog. If I can help, just let me know.

Rick

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I have never had a problem blowing the dust off with a Rocket Blower as CHG_CANON suggested.

Holding the camera with the sensor facing down is important. It lets the particles drop out of the camera rather than just flying around around in the cavity. But then you can't hold the can upright.

Smolakid6X

Hello, if you change lenses often, it is a good idea to clean the lens and camera sensor every time. take the cleaning kit with you when on vacation and take some time to clean every night or morning before heading out.
It is much easier to prepare your sensor and lenses rather than relay on photo editing to remove the spots;
it is downright a bear to use an editing tool to remove unwanted blemishes.

Leland22 Loc: Texas

Go for it. I was real reluctant but was sick of taking out the spots in post processing. Watched several Utube videos, got the VSGO kit, which has 12 swabs, used one, took the camera outside to take a photo of blue sky, still had several small spots, used a second and presto, no spots. The video i watched for my Sony said to lock down the sensor to avoid any damage so be sure to check if you can lock down yours.