Sesnor Cleaning


xDreamerZ

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May 3, 2011
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I found out that my D7000's sensor had a few dust particles so i decided to clean it. However the blower did not work and i used the a dry cotton bud to clean it. Now the sensor seems fairly clean and after that i realised that i was not supposed to use cotton bud to clean the sensor. I was wondering if anything would happen to the sensor and which is the best and most efficient way to clean the sensor next time. Thanks!
 

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what i know is ...most of the time blower and photography swab is used. I havnt tried before and i think if you want to be safer. the best bet is ask the guys at the counter to do it.
 

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If you are afraid you might have scratched the sensor, send it to Nikon Service Center.
 

I found out that my D7000's sensor had a few dust particles so i decided to clean it. However the blower did not work and i used the a dry cotton bud to clean it. Now the sensor seems fairly clean and after that i realised that i was not supposed to use cotton bud to clean the sensor. I was wondering if anything would happen to the sensor and which is the best and most efficient way to clean the sensor next time. Thanks!

Don't worry. There is an AA filter infront of the sensor. So even if you scratched it, only the AA filter needs to be replaced and not the entire sensor.
 

I found out that my D7000's sensor had a few dust particles so i decided to clean it. However the blower did not work and i used the a dry cotton bud to clean it. Now the sensor seems fairly clean and after that i realised that i was not supposed to use cotton bud to clean the sensor. I was wondering if anything would happen to the sensor and which is the best and most efficient way to clean the sensor next time. Thanks!

Maybe you can try this..:)

[video=youtube;iRW9AmDPqr0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRW9AmDPqr0[/video]
 

Use the sensor swab and a optic cleaning fluid (both can be bought from camera store, I bought mine from Cathay Photo). They are really simple to use, just follow the instruction and on the box and you will be okay.

Normally, you would first give the sensor a blow, then test, if still have dust particles, then give it a blow again (camera facing down) then ensure that there is no hard particle on the sensor, then use the sensor swab with abit of the cleaning liquid on to swip at the sensor (gently).

One thing to take note was that... please get the correct sized swab for your camera's sensor, because sensor had different size, so the swab also come in different size. Be sure to tell the salesman which is your camera model when you purchase your sensor swab.
 

if u are unsure how to do it safely, send it into Nikon Service Center, the cost is about $20-30 and u can get your camera back within half an hour. :)
 

Thanks for all your inputs! I've checked the prices of all the sensor swabs and cleaning liquids and it costs nearly 100 bucks. Don't think i will be getting them and i should be sticking to the dry cotton buds as they seem to remove 99% of the dust particles and not scratch the AA filter. x/
Maybe i would be trying the 3M Magic Scotchtape next time, if there's dust. Seems to be a good and cheap way to clean the filter.
 

Thanks for all your inputs! I've checked the prices of all the sensor swabs and cleaning liquids and it costs nearly 100 bucks. Don't think i will be getting them and i should be sticking to the dry cotton buds as they seem to remove 99% of the dust particles and not scratch the AA filter. x/
Maybe i would be trying the 3M Magic Scotchtape next time, if there's dust. Seems to be a good and cheap way to clean the filter.

I really wish you good luck... I hope we will not see you post about your problems with a scratched AA sensor in the future.
 

I found out that my D7000's sensor had a few dust particles so i decided to clean it. However the blower did not work and i used the a dry cotton bud to clean it. Now the sensor seems fairly clean and after that i realised that i was not supposed to use cotton bud to clean the sensor. I was wondering if anything would happen to the sensor and which is the best and most efficient way to clean the sensor next time. Thanks!

I use cotton buds for wet cleaning too but I get high end ones , and give the buds a good blow to ensure there is no stray particles before using it on the sensor.

No issues with this method, which I have used for 5 years or so (no buyer ever gave me grief for the 4 cameras I sold off during this period), even sensor swabs will scratch your sensor if there are abrasive particles which adhere onto the swab surface.

Naturally there is always a risk to anything, so I'm more than happy that the manufacturers are coming up with these anti-dust coatings which seem to be pretty effective. I used to have to clean my K100D once every fortnight. With the K20D it was still about there. With the K-r, it was once every 2 months, and for some funny reason all I ever had to do for my K-5 was use a blower. :)

That said, a lot of people are very touchy about this sensor thing... If you have sufficient common sense, it will be ok.
 

If you are not having any problem now, I would suggest you leave it. I had the same problem and decided to send it to nikon service centre to clean mine for around $30 or $40. Done within 30 mins.

Buying the cleaning kit is already $100+ and unless you have many cameras to clean, it is going to take up space. They do a good job and I am happy with the result.
 

Does this affected IQ?

You can confirm it as below reference :
Put a lens on your camera, set focus to infinity, set exposure compensation to +1, set the aperture to its smallest value (largest number), at least f22, f32 if you have it. Now hold the camera in front a uniformly illuminated target and take a shot. Look at the image. Do you see dark spots? If so you have dust.

Now comes the problem. If you're the sort of person who looked for dust, you're likely the sort of person who will be troubled by dust and want to remove it, even if you'd never seen it until you actually looked for it. This could get you into a lot of trouble.

You now have two choices.

1) Send back to services center and paid for the services.

2) Your second option is that you can try to clean it yourself. This would be great if it were not for a chance you could ruin the sensor and end up with a repair bill close to the original cost of the camera. Lots of people have cleaned their sensors themselves without running into this, but you may nor may not be one of them. I am not encouraging you to do this yourself. That's 100% your own decision. If you have doubts about whether you are qualified to do this, my advice is don't.
 

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