Sensor cleaning canon D20

[CordlessDave]

I have been putting it off for to long now but I must clean my sensor. I have been into photo shops and have been told that it will cost between 80 -120 pounds to have the sensor cleaned. I am therefore looking at trying it myself and I am wondering if anyone out there has been succesful at this difficult task. I would like any feedback positive or negative regarding success or failure.

[matt_xyz]

Hi Dave,

There was a thread about this some time ago;

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...ce-please.html

You do hear mixed advice on this topic though. Andy Rouse warns you never to clean a sensor yourself. Others say you'd be mad to pay £100+ to get someone else to do it when all they'll do is wipe it like you could. I've not yet had to do it as my DSLR isn't very old (and has a dust removal function). But I'm sure I'll have to one day.

Matt

[oldbiker]

I have had mine done twice at a Local Camera shop in Edinburgh.

Leave it for an hour, costs £30 and is a lot better than scratching the filter that covers the sensor.

Try a local camera shop cause £100 is total rip off

Cheers
Oldbiker

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by CordlessDave

I have been putting it off for to long now but I must clean my sensor. I have been into photo shops and have been told that it will cost between 80 -120 pounds to have the sensor cleaned. I am therefore looking at trying it myself and I am wondering if anyone out there has been succesful at this difficult task. I would like any feedback positive or negative regarding success or failure.

I've cleaned mine on at least four occasions. It's not that difficult! Firstly I'd recommend getting a hurricane blower, 7 day shop do a cheap one, most or all could be done with that.
When I get enough stubborn dust that won't blow away, I clean it with Digipads from warehouse express. These are a relatively cheap kit that does it nicely for me.
So long as your careful and follow the instructions, it's easy.
The basics are:
1. Choose sensor clean from the menu to lock up the mirror. Make sure your battery is fully charged.
2. Put two drops of the cleaning fluid onto the didpads. The pads fit exactly the width of the sensor screen. Then with a gentle movement, one wipe left to right, turn the pad round and one wipe right to left.
3. Switch the camera off, job done.
4. Throw the used pad away! Don't be tempted to use it again..It may look perfectly OK, but that dust you removed will be embedded in the pad, ready to scratch your sensor screen if you use it again!

[Dorcas]

I agree with that - it's a bit scary at first but you get used to it

Dorcas

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi,
I clean my 20d's every few months using the "Sensor Brush" available from Warehouse Express - Photographic Equipment, Digital Cameras, Lenses and Accessories.

This is a soft bristled brush that you charge with a blast of canned air.You then gently wipe it accross the sensor, give it another blast of air to remove any dust and re-charge it and wipe again.The static charge pickes up the dust off the sensor.

Like I say i've used it a few times now and it does a good job and you can tell when you view the images at full size in photoshop.

I wen't for this because I didn't fancy putting any chemicals onto the sensor.
Granted it's not cheap at £60+ but use it twice and it's paid for its self.

Hope this helps

Neil

[eeyore]

I'm in the never do it yourself camp - if you scratch the anti ailiasing filter - which only take one bit of grit you will be in very deep do do.

fixation in london can do it while you wait for £25 for a cropped sensor - £35 for full frame

[RobSutton]

I do it - we don't have camera shops (any shops in fact) up here and I'd have to send it away by courier. I couldn't do without my cameras for a week or so.

No problems so far.

[DaiTheDragon]

I do it exactly the same way as glsammy. I put may camera body on a tripod at about 45 degrees with the sensor facing a window so that you have plenty of light to see what you are doing. Someone asked me how much pressure to put on the swab, I can only describe it as being the same as writing with a sharp pencil. Hope that helps.

Dai

[CordlessDave]

I would like to thank everyone for their replies. I will invest in a sensor clean kit from Warehouse express and give it a go. If I stop sending pictures in you will all know the reason why.