I am sure that this has been discussed before but....I have noticed a few spots on my pictures in the upper Left corner. I checked my lenses and they are clean soooo....What do I do? I have read horror stories about cleaning. should I use a bulb and try blowing out first. Should I fear the sensor
Try the bulb first. If that doesn't work, you can then get the Eclipse solution & swabs. Some people use the 99.9% isopropyl alcohol and Kimwipes.
A few weeks ago, I used the Eclipse solution & two swabs to clean the 1D sensor. I did not think about it & just did it. Did not need a lot of force to swab the sensor. Finally got rid of three big ugly spots. It didn't take that long. Opening the plastic bag holding the individual swab took more time. Good luck.
I have a $10 bellow style foot pump that's made for inflating small rafts and children's toys. It puts out quite a bit of fource, and has been all I've ever needed to clean my sensor. I've never had to touch the darn thing with any swabs or chemicals. Sure that stuff works, but it really makes me wonder about residue buildup over time. I just shoot the air in there, and it's clean.
Ben Horne wrote:
Sure that stuff works, but it really makes me wonder about residue buildup over time. I just shoot the air in there, and it's clean.
As a suggestion, you may want to check whether any lubrication is used in the pump. Some of that may get into the camera.
I just shoot the air in there!
with compressed air canisters I buy at Costco, but you need to be very very careful......canister has to be in straight vertical position!!!!!!!!!
or freesing liquid will hit the CCD.....I'm with Ben, don't touch the thing!
Ben and Ricardo -
Have you guys done the "take a small aperture pic of the sky" test to check for dust. I was sorta horrified how much dust had accumulated using the blower method of cleaning. It only really shows up when I'm trying for high-DOF and include a solid color object (such as the sky), but as I've been shooting more landscapes that has become more of a problem.
If you haven't explicitly gone looking for dust, then my advice is... don't. Better you don't know. If you test for dust and don't find much (fewer than 5 large dust spots, and 20 odd small spots), then I'm both pleased and a bit jealous. If you do the test and see the dust the Eclipse and Sensor Swab solution (as detailed here: http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning) seems to be the only practical way to remove it. I tried it for the first time on Friday and it worked exactly as advertised!
Here's a before and after (sorry it's not a shot of the same thing, I also took pictures of a wall in both cases, and you can see the dust, but one is quite blurry... user-error):
Shot of my computer screen (auto-levels) showing dust immediately post-blower cleaning:
http://jthurber.com/photos/preclean.jpg
Shot of the sky (auto-levels) showing dust (what there is of it) post-cleaning:
freelancer wrote:
As a suggestion, you may want to check whether any lubrication is used in the pump. Some of that may get into the camera.
I'm thinking you're thinking of a different kind of pump here..... this sucker doesn't require any lubrication. There is just a simple hinge, two pieces of plastic, a bag that holds the air, and a spring. Here is a photo of the pump I use: http://www.sevylor.com/acc_pfds/pumps/304t.gif
Edited by Ben Horne on Mar 24, 2004 at 04:02 PM GMT
Jason - I've done the sky test before, and the sensor is pretty darn clean after blowing some air in with a foot pump. The pump I use puts out quite a bit of force, and it will dislodge any dust I've ever had issues with.
Ben Horne wrote:
Jason - I've done the sky test before, and the sensor is pretty darn clean after blowing some air in with a foot pump. The pump I use puts out quite a bit of force, and it will dislodge any dust I've ever had issues with.
The dust gets swirled out of the camera body. There isn't much to it. I've heard some crazy comments about my method before, including people saying that I'm somehow embeding dust in the glass, or I'm somehow shooting the dust further into the body. All that air you shoot in comes right back out, and takes the dust with it.
I got my pump from a local sporting goods store near the inflatable rafts.
Ben Horne wrote:
I'm thinking you're thinking of a different kind of pump here..... this sucker doesn't require any lubrication.
Ben, just thought I mentioned it. That pump in your pic is easily available, saw a similar one in Toys'R'Us before. What I was refering to was the piston-action pumps which has some lubricants.
As nuts as it sounds, I've been brave enough to just jump in and use both Qtips, Eclipse and a compressed air can (from Costco). I've not experienced ANY of the negative effects discussed in prior discussions of using these materials. I've been gettin PERFECT results with NO spots left over. It's fast, easy, and for a wanna be surgeon EASY. To me it's NOT rocket science and I've just gone and done it perfectly several times. I'm happy to say I haven't needed it much at all. The first thing I always do in case a few spots show up is blast them then evaluate if it needs anything further. More often than not that does all I need.
I have only used the air blower method although I have all of the equipment to clean the sensor with swabs. I use The Giotta Rocket blower and so far it has done a great job cleaning my sensor without the need of touching it with anything.
I was concerned about blowing the dust further back into the camera and it finding its way back on the sensor later so I came up with a method to draw out the dust when I blow it off the sensor.
I position the hose of a very powerful wet vac in a vise with the nozzle pointed up. I then hold the camera over it with the lens opening facing down and blow the dust off the sensor with the Giotta Rocket.
The premise is that both gravity and the suction of the vac will draw the dust particles out as I blow them off the sensor.
Maybe all of this is not necessary but so far my sensor has been cleaned with only the blower method. Note: I do the before and after shots to verify my success.
For me, using a hurricane blower has worked the majority of times. This winter, when I was shooting wildlife outdoors in extreme cold temperatures, however, I got spots on the sensor that looked like water spots. I'm
guessing that they came as a result of condensation when I was going
back and forth from a warm environment to a cold one. The only way to
remove those spots is wilth one of the combination swab/liquid products.
I've also heard others who have had success removing spots with a product
that works on the principle of static electricity. It supposedly attracts the
dust spots to it without any need to touch the sensor.
Good luck.