For the longest, I've used the Copperhill method of cleaning sensors. Just picked up a full-frame camera and was curious if there was something better that could be used on various sized sensors.
Or is it just as easy buying another swab for the Copperhill system?
You should only wet clean very rarely - only when other methods don't work any more. I might wet-clean once per year if I get some "sticky dust." First line of defense is to run the dust removal routine on the camera - not only the automatic process at start-up and shut down, but also the slightly more thorough version you can select via menus. Second step is to use a bulb blower to try to move the dust around so that the vibration system can then get rid of it. Third is to use a sensor brush. Only when that fails will I consider a wet cleaning.
Q-tips are recommended by some and shunned by others due to concerns about getting additional dust/lint in the chamber.
coppertop wrote:
Dan... it's a 1Ds MKII without the sensor cleaning feature the more recent models have.
Any sensor brush you'de recommend?
Sorry about missing the camera model - I've responded to that question so many times that I'm afraid I was on autopilot! So this is more like the situation with the original 5D, which also lacked the sensor vibration system.
I don't necessarily recommend that brush that I use. It works fine, but it cost too much. I bought it back perhaps 6 years ago when I had my 5D and I paid too much for it! It is literally called a "sensor brush," and it might have come from the same folks who market the Copperhill stuff, since I had been relying on them for sensor cleaning supplies at that time.
I understand that alternative and less expensive soft nylon brushes of high quality from other sources can work, too, though I haven't had to actually purchase one. What you would want would be a relatively small (perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 of the sensor height) brush with a flat end.
(A search on "DSLR sensor brush" comes up with a number of options, some of which look like what I have. By the way, it also turns up the "lens pen" systems. I tried those and was not thrilled. YMMV.)
