Sensor Cleaning Tools
- Thread starter Azure
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I remember seeing someone selling his spare sensor swabs in the B&S. Might want to find out and get from him.
Cheesecake
Senior Member
moved to General, Reviews, Tech Talk due to requests for a wider sharing among CSers.
thanks for sharing, Azure!
thanks for sharing, Azure!
Hi. Thinking of getting opinion from experts using the swb.
Have one 20D which i sent for part replacement (snap button replacement) @ csc 1 mth ago, which i also opted for the sensor cleaning services together.
Didnt check the images after i collected (my fault,rushing for time, just checked that the part replaced is working well and zoomed off for appointment)
Few days later, realized that there are 1 big dark particle showing up on the image, and confirmed the presence by seeing it via naked eyes on the sensor. Tried to blow it off using the jumbo manual blower, and after few try managed to remove the particle.
Voila! C'est tout. (if only the story ends here)
Well, as usual hand itchy after few days, tried to blow the sensor again using the jumbo manual blower.
Before blowing
and
After blowing
Seems like this foreign particle is lodged firmly on the AA filter, able to see via naked eyes and is gold (metallic) in color. Looks like foreign particle to me as during the blowing process i am sure the blower is always not in direct contact with any part inside the chamber.
Ok, here are the questions which needs to seek advice on:
1) First thing come to my mind is to send to csc and clean off the foreign object, then perform another thorough sensor cleaning. Or i can spend slightly more to purchase the swab kit and try some handson. If it is the latter option, do you think the swab kit can remove such item? Or it is solely used to remove small particles? The concern is, is there a possibility that the large foreign object will scratch the sensor if you use the swab to swipe it off?
2) I see that cathay is having the promotion price for the item below:
Sensor Swab & Eclipse Optic Cleaner
Now S$88 (U.P. $125)
Anyone bought this before? care to share how many sensor swab is inside this package?
Thanks in advanced!
Learnt another lesson today too - "if it aint broke, dun fix it". :bsmilie:
Have one 20D which i sent for part replacement (snap button replacement) @ csc 1 mth ago, which i also opted for the sensor cleaning services together.
Didnt check the images after i collected (my fault,rushing for time, just checked that the part replaced is working well and zoomed off for appointment)
Few days later, realized that there are 1 big dark particle showing up on the image, and confirmed the presence by seeing it via naked eyes on the sensor. Tried to blow it off using the jumbo manual blower, and after few try managed to remove the particle.
Voila! C'est tout. (if only the story ends here)
Well, as usual hand itchy after few days, tried to blow the sensor again using the jumbo manual blower.
Before blowing
and
After blowing
Seems like this foreign particle is lodged firmly on the AA filter, able to see via naked eyes and is gold (metallic) in color. Looks like foreign particle to me as during the blowing process i am sure the blower is always not in direct contact with any part inside the chamber.
Ok, here are the questions which needs to seek advice on:
1) First thing come to my mind is to send to csc and clean off the foreign object, then perform another thorough sensor cleaning. Or i can spend slightly more to purchase the swab kit and try some handson. If it is the latter option, do you think the swab kit can remove such item? Or it is solely used to remove small particles? The concern is, is there a possibility that the large foreign object will scratch the sensor if you use the swab to swipe it off?
2) I see that cathay is having the promotion price for the item below:
Sensor Swab & Eclipse Optic Cleaner
Now S$88 (U.P. $125)
Anyone bought this before? care to share how many sensor swab is inside this package?
Thanks in advanced!
Learnt another lesson today too - "if it aint broke, dun fix it". :bsmilie:
Hi. Thinking of getting opinion from experts using the swb.
Have one 20D which i sent for part replacement (snap button replacement) @ csc 1 mth ago, which i also opted for the sensor cleaning services together.
Didnt check the images after i collected (my fault,rushing for time, just checked that the part replaced is working well and zoomed off for appointment)
Few days later, realized that there are 1 big dark particle showing up on the image, and confirmed the presence by seeing it via naked eyes on the sensor. Tried to blow it off using the jumbo manual blower, and after few try managed to remove the particle.
Voila! C'est tout. (if only the story ends here)
Well, as usual hand itchy after few days, tried to blow the sensor again using the jumbo manual blower.
Before blowing
and
After blowing
Seems like this foreign particle is lodged firmly on the AA filter, able to see via naked eyes and is gold (metallic) in color. Looks like foreign particle to me as during the blowing process i am sure the blower is always not in direct contact with any part inside the chamber.
Ok, here are the questions which needs to seek advice on:
1) First thing come to my mind is to send to csc and clean off the foreign object, then perform another thorough sensor cleaning. Or i can spend slightly more to purchase the swab kit and try some handson. If it is the latter option, do you think the swab kit can remove such item? Or it is solely used to remove small particles? The concern is, is there a possibility that the large foreign object will scratch the sensor if you use the swab to swipe it off?
2) I see that cathay is having the promotion price for the item below:
Sensor Swab & Eclipse Optic Cleaner
Now S$88 (U.P. $125)
Anyone bought this before? care to share how many sensor swab is inside this package?
Thanks in advanced!
Learnt another lesson today too - "if it aint broke, dun fix it". :bsmilie:
you need to blow that big particle off before you start swabbing. one thing about blowing...most times you are merely blowing the dust around the chamber. instead of continuous blowing maybe face the cam downwards then give it a few blows...pause before blowing a few more times.
Few days later, realized that there are 1 big dark particle showing up on the image, and confirmed the presence by seeing it via naked eyes on the sensor. Tried to blow it off using the jumbo manual blower, and after few try managed to remove the particle.
Voila! C'est tout. (if only the story ends here)
Wow, that particle is big indeed! Bigger than any I've seen.
Why don't you just try to blow it off first? If it's firmly lodged then it'd probably be welded dust (i.e. welded onto your filter in front of sensor by moisture).. I've handled small pieces before.. But large pieces? Too scary.. Especially that one, it really looks overwhelming.
Thanks. Tried before few times using the camera down method, with the blower tip just right beside the foreign object, 90 deg, 45 deg, etc. Still cant remove it.
Just realized that on the 20D, at 6 oclock direction of the inner lens mount, there is this tiny structure with many "dust trap" like tentacles, golden, metallic and looks very much similiar. Guess i must have blow one of it right onto the sensor.
Will probably send it to csc today, and also check with cathay for the swab thingy.
thanks.
mate,
from the look of it, u must try to dislodge it first before u attempt to swab like what the others say.. with a particle that size and even with a blower u still can't remove it, i guess u're safer to go to the service centre.
not unless u can make the particle go off then u can swab over.
based on experience, i had the problem with the giottos blower causing more harm than good and i'm thinking of getting rid of it. when its new its great, blows away all the **** pretty quickly and clean, once dust starts accumulating inside the chamber of the blower, then the harder u blow, the more stuff keeps coming out. i had my camera serviced by canon UK (i'm from UK) and about 2 weeks later i was having itchy backside cleaning dust off my lenses and started blowing the lenses and sensor again to make sure its totally clean and to my horror, i think there was actually no dust on my sensor i ended up blowing in dust on the sensor, dust particles as big as u can see with the naked eye on my sensor. i ended up plucking up the courage to clean the sensor on my own and have been doing that ever since.
from the look of it, u must try to dislodge it first before u attempt to swab like what the others say.. with a particle that size and even with a blower u still can't remove it, i guess u're safer to go to the service centre.
not unless u can make the particle go off then u can swab over.
based on experience, i had the problem with the giottos blower causing more harm than good and i'm thinking of getting rid of it. when its new its great, blows away all the **** pretty quickly and clean, once dust starts accumulating inside the chamber of the blower, then the harder u blow, the more stuff keeps coming out. i had my camera serviced by canon UK (i'm from UK) and about 2 weeks later i was having itchy backside cleaning dust off my lenses and started blowing the lenses and sensor again to make sure its totally clean and to my horror, i think there was actually no dust on my sensor i ended up blowing in dust on the sensor, dust particles as big as u can see with the naked eye on my sensor. i ended up plucking up the courage to clean the sensor on my own and have been doing that ever since.
Thanks for the info!
Cant agree more on the blower stuff introducing more particles when it is used over time.
In the end i sent the cam for sensor cleaning at csc this afternoon, the canon guy was saying that they will try, probably need some special tool to remove it.
45 mins later, camera returned and the particle dissapeared. Damage is just solely $21, saves the uncertainty of this particle scratching the filter.
For bro who are checking out the Sensor swab, CP has stock already. Called and went down today to buy their offer items:
Sensor Swab & Eclipse Optic Cleaner
S$88 (U.P. $125)
Straight ahead bought that and pec pad ($15),will definitely try swabing when needed in the near future.
Thanks all that have commented. Cheers
actually cleaning sensor is not as scary as everyone thought to be. once u do it once or twice, u get the hang of it, u won't feel so scared about it anymore.
Just some sensible thinking and common sense like mounting the camera to a sturdy tripod so that u have both hands free and without having to fumble about having 1 hand holding the camera and another hand holding the swab and using a freshly charged battery are some tips to begin with. And also, don't apply so much pressure on the sensor as though u are scrubbing a toilet bowl u would pretty much get off most of the tiny dust particles with just a gentle swipe.
Oh yes, of course, read the MANY instructions online as there are plenty of white pages teaching all us amatures how to do it which are all pretty good. And if friends have wise suggestions and they have not done it before themselves, it would also be wise not to listen to them and have confidence in yourself and ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS THROUGHLY. heheee..
and also, if abit of visible dirt is so small until u can only see it at f32 and having the levels bumped up all the way onli u see it is considered negligible.. that's how i look at it.. hehee.. i don't wanna be total anal about the sensor being 100% spotless as u can never have it that way unless u are shooting in an Intel microprocessor factory under clean room conditions all the time.
heheee.. have fun shooting with your clean camera!
Just some sensible thinking and common sense like mounting the camera to a sturdy tripod so that u have both hands free and without having to fumble about having 1 hand holding the camera and another hand holding the swab and using a freshly charged battery are some tips to begin with. And also, don't apply so much pressure on the sensor as though u are scrubbing a toilet bowl u would pretty much get off most of the tiny dust particles with just a gentle swipe.
Oh yes, of course, read the MANY instructions online as there are plenty of white pages teaching all us amatures how to do it which are all pretty good. And if friends have wise suggestions and they have not done it before themselves, it would also be wise not to listen to them and have confidence in yourself and ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS THROUGHLY. heheee..
and also, if abit of visible dirt is so small until u can only see it at f32 and having the levels bumped up all the way onli u see it is considered negligible.. that's how i look at it.. hehee.. i don't wanna be total anal about the sensor being 100% spotless as u can never have it that way unless u are shooting in an Intel microprocessor factory under clean room conditions all the time.
heheee.. have fun shooting with your clean camera!
Surprised to see the thread moved here.... and I thought it'd die a quiet death.
Anyway, for those newbies who want to do cursory checks on your dSLR, you can use the following step (which I do). For those super-experienced individuals (specifically for the regular folks who'd stalk my posts), you can use whatever other methods you deem suitable.
Items you'd need:
- your camera, loaded with batteries and CF/SD card
- any kit-ranged lens (assume a 18-70 range)
- clear blue sky
- or large white card or large white paper (please make sure they are reasonably clean!)
And you can get started!
1. Mount lens on camera, zoom a little. I usually used the 24mm range on a 18-70.
(This is to avoid instances of accidental vignette for those who do not know how to)
2. Set camera on Aperture priority (that is A mode for Fuji/Nikon users and Av for Canon users) and dial in your choice of aperture. Anywhere above f16.0 will show up the dust.
(Though some of them are simply too neglible under normal circumstances to worry about.)
*see note below*
3. Aim at your white card or blue sky and fire off one shot. Please note that if you are shooting indoors on the white card/paper, make sure you have ample lighting. Otherwise you may end up with handshake blur like many of the newbies here. Than your dust speck will become a ink smudge.
4. Transfer the image file over to your computer and boost the brightness a little if you need to. Zooming in to 100% view will show you where all the major specks are. After that you can return to the first page of this thread to make your cleaner and clean it off.
*Notes*
- ISO setting please keep it in the 100-200 region, otherwise some camera sensors may give you noise if shot poorly. A former S3 Pro user I know shot at ISO1600... I leave it to you to imagine the rest.
- Do not use flash, it may light up other large dust particles in the air and lead you to mistake them as being on your sensor. (To those who wish to argue this - it has happened to someone in this forum...)
- The recommended f16.0 that I gave is meant to suit a generic range of users. If you are a portraits-only, f2.8-only person, you will unlikely to using such ranges and the dust specks will just as unlikely show up so obviously.
Disclaimer :
This is written with the intention of sharing my experiences. Additional positive knowledge is always welcome.
But those who wish to argue over semantics and the like, go ahead, I'm not replying to you. :sticktong
Anyway, for those newbies who want to do cursory checks on your dSLR, you can use the following step (which I do). For those super-experienced individuals (specifically for the regular folks who'd stalk my posts), you can use whatever other methods you deem suitable.
Items you'd need:
- your camera, loaded with batteries and CF/SD card
- any kit-ranged lens (assume a 18-70 range)
- clear blue sky
- or large white card or large white paper (please make sure they are reasonably clean!)
And you can get started!
1. Mount lens on camera, zoom a little. I usually used the 24mm range on a 18-70.
(This is to avoid instances of accidental vignette for those who do not know how to)
2. Set camera on Aperture priority (that is A mode for Fuji/Nikon users and Av for Canon users) and dial in your choice of aperture. Anywhere above f16.0 will show up the dust.
(Though some of them are simply too neglible under normal circumstances to worry about.)
*see note below*
3. Aim at your white card or blue sky and fire off one shot. Please note that if you are shooting indoors on the white card/paper, make sure you have ample lighting. Otherwise you may end up with handshake blur like many of the newbies here. Than your dust speck will become a ink smudge.
4. Transfer the image file over to your computer and boost the brightness a little if you need to. Zooming in to 100% view will show you where all the major specks are. After that you can return to the first page of this thread to make your cleaner and clean it off.
*Notes*
- ISO setting please keep it in the 100-200 region, otherwise some camera sensors may give you noise if shot poorly. A former S3 Pro user I know shot at ISO1600... I leave it to you to imagine the rest.
- Do not use flash, it may light up other large dust particles in the air and lead you to mistake them as being on your sensor. (To those who wish to argue this - it has happened to someone in this forum...)
- The recommended f16.0 that I gave is meant to suit a generic range of users. If you are a portraits-only, f2.8-only person, you will unlikely to using such ranges and the dust specks will just as unlikely show up so obviously.
Disclaimer :
This is written with the intention of sharing my experiences. Additional positive knowledge is always welcome.
But those who wish to argue over semantics and the like, go ahead, I'm not replying to you. :sticktong
great post azure, what i do is usually use my monitor as the backdrop and i thought i'd share too!
open photoshop,
open a new photoshop file,
pick color RGB 255, 255, 255 so that its pure white,
expand to full screen,
shoot the white computer screen with f16 iso 50 or 100.
load your image into the computer, levels histogram squeeze them close together, and all the small bits of dirt will be revealed!
open photoshop,
open a new photoshop file,
pick color RGB 255, 255, 255 so that its pure white,
expand to full screen,
shoot the white computer screen with f16 iso 50 or 100.
load your image into the computer, levels histogram squeeze them close together, and all the small bits of dirt will be revealed!
Swabbing is a good way to dislodge stubborn/welded on dust particles. I use my own brush for minor touch-ups after swabbing. Details here. :lovegrin:
I've been cleaning my own sensor for quite some time now. I realised your sensor can't be 100% clean all the time. Just remember no to get obsessed with having a sparkling clean sensor. Only clean it when spots starts to appear.
Hope that helps. Cheers!
I've been cleaning my own sensor for quite some time now. I realised your sensor can't be 100% clean all the time. Just remember no to get obsessed with having a sparkling clean sensor. Only clean it when spots starts to appear.
Hope that helps. Cheers!
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