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I took my A350 into my local London Camera Exchange last year after a trip to Barcelona. He said it looked like orange peel on the sensor (lens changing on the big sandy dusty bit at the Park Guell was maybe not my brightest idea
)
I think I got mate's rates but it was worth every penny of the £25 I paid him
Its no problem if you do it with care and use the proper equipment (not some cheap swab).
Quote: (lens changing on the big sandy dusty bit at the Park Guell was maybe not my brightest idea )
To avoid this I use two 20D's with different lenses that cover a large range (17 - 200mm)- this saves me changing lenses and risking the problem of dust on the sensor.
Quote: I don't fancy wet swab cleaning or brushing the sensor
You won't be, technically. You would be cleaning the glass anti-aliasing filter on top of the sensor. Of course
proper equipment and technique is still required, but no contact with the actual sensor is made.
God, what did you do? Tip the ashtray in it? The built-in sensor cleaning system has always coped on my A300 but I think it might have struggled with this. I wouldn't fancy doing it myself either. Get it done professionally - you've got a come-back then if there's any damage.
I'd second buying the cleaning swabs - i've used the Visible Dust EZ Sensor Cleaning Kit a number of times - make sure you get the right width for you sensor.
But also something like the artic butterfly might be worth a go too, though gosh these are expensize.
Also if under shop warranty will they clean it for free?
Good luck.
Stuart
I tried cleaning my own sensor after spotting a 'blur' on photographs. Working with periscope optics as part of my job, I thought, "how hard can it be".............. If money is a bit tight, you can always try this.
Firstly, make sure it's the sensor that is 'dirty' and not the lens. Easiest way is to change your lens and take photo's of white backgrounds. (sorry if I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs here). If it's the lens, it's a whole other thread!
If it is your camera, (this is how my Nikon works), set the camera up to open the shutter in a cleaning mode (Nikon users must have 3/4 battery life left to access the option in the menu). Look under a spotlight and angle the camera so you can see the sensor (like looking at a window for streaks after washing it). If you can see small dirt spots, get a can of compressed air or a rocket air blaster (other air cleaners are available!) and firstly try and 'blast the dirt' off the sensor (by the way, it's usually not the sensor itself the dirt is lodged on, it's a very thin layer of glass/filter ontop of the sensor to basically protect it). You can go quite close if you have a steady hand. Turn the camera upside down and blast again (the 'dirt' may fall off).
If dirt is still lodged, take a cotton wool bud and wrap the end in a clean and dry lens cleaning cloth/ lint free cloth and very carefully dab the area of the dirt to try a dislodge it. The cotton wool on the end of the bud basically acts like a soft cusion incase you are heavy handed. If the dirt is still there, you can try wiping the glass very gently until the dirt and any streaks are gone.
If this still doesnt work, you can go buy a 'wet wiping sensor cleaner' or do what most people I have spoken to do..............goto a camera shop and let them do it for you!
After my cleaning experience, I have vowed to never try it again and will be visiting my local London Camera Exchange. I work on periscopes that are valued at £1.9 million and all I will do is the air clean from now on!!
I now try and follow some basic rules. Only change the lens when outdoors if I really have to. When changing, hold the camera down and out of the wind and basically drop the lens down. I always put the new lens on the camera before I tend to the lens I have taken off.
Andy
The problem with getting your senser cleaned professionally is that should you change your lens the next day and catch dust/dirt in the air you are back to square one, I have gone months without need of a clean then sometimes 3 times in a week. Learning to do it yourself with swabs will save you alot of timeand money in the long term.
I was so nervous the first time that I approched it like it was Brain surgery, now i can do it in seconds as apart from following a few safe Practices It is so easy to do. Main part to remember is make sure you have Enough battery to ensure mirror lock up. dont let the swab come in contact with other parts of the camera as they can carry grease, apart from that I would be baffled how anyone could damage a senser with pads as i apply quite a lot of pressure to get rid of the stubborn bits, You will see them bend well before one was in danger of breaking.
Quote: I would be baffled how anyone could damage a senser with pads
A camera shop in Manchester has apparently stopped doing wet cleaning because of variable quality of the cloth paddle cover thingies. Their explanation was that the cloths are apparently cut out of a sheet using hot blades and sometimes this leaves a sharp corner of melted fibres that has sometimes scratched the coating on the sensor. Then they started inspecting the cloths before using them and found the time and rejection rate made it unviable as a costed service. So they started using sensor pen instead.
I don't know how much of a problem this actually is but it was interesting to hear of the supposed risks
surprised about this mike as They go to so much effort to keep them dust free, and surely this would not be enough the get past the glass senser cover
Thinking about this a little more as I did mine yesterday, the ones I have always used dont have any edges that come onto contact with the senser anyway, all are folded and and fastened up the plastic stick, well away from any thing that comes into contact with the senser
Once a year we have our cameras ( Nikon & Canon ) serviced and cleaned by Nikon in the case of this brand and a Canon appointed for the Canon gear.
In between they might have a quick blow with a " Rocket Air " ( the model that has a filtered intake ).
The problem of dust and sensors is a tad overstated, So for the rest of the time its not a big deal for us.
Suprisingly sending my Nikon bodies to Nikon for a service and clean, Works out cheaper than our not so local camera shop, Even with the cost of postage taken into account.
Downtime, The longest I had to wait was 5 days from post to return on a D700....
Always done my own cleaning very carefully with sensor swabs as and when needed......But I "always" give the camera a few blows with a Rocket Air each time I change lenses, which I try and keep to a minimum.......But that's not so easy if you only have one body.
Ade
Clean it yourself or have it done your choice.
However to cut down on dust getting in next time you change your lens try this.
Pinch a pillow case from "her indoors" then use this as a lens change bag, certainly useful around dusty environments such as the beach etc.
Comes in handy for all sorts of things particularly if you can get away with one of her nice soft ones.but try to ensure it is fluff free or you could add to the original problem.
OK ladies now you know why the last time you did the weekly wash your machine ate a pillow case
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