How To Clean Your Camera's Sensor

Slap on a telephoto lens, and take a shot of a plain white surface using a small aperture like f/16 at +1 stop over exposure, open the image in Photoshop, and apply Auto Levels. At 100% magnification, you should be able to see all the dirt sitting on top of your sensor.

Sensor cleaning is a tricky task because you can end up causing more harm if you don't know what you're doing. With that being said, we advise that you bring in your camera to a service center if you aren't comfortable with cleaning the sensor yourself. We would also like to issue this disclaimer (the same one Thom Hogan uses) on our behalf: When you work on your own camera, you do so at your own risk. We will try to provide accurate, useful information that reflects how we work, but we cannot be held liable for what you do with that information. Use the procedures listed here at your own risk.

Before you open up your camera, make sure that you are in a clean environment to prevent more dirt from landing on your sensor. Put your camera on a flat table where it won't move around. We recommend that you mount it on your tripod and tilt it forward a bit so that gravity can help you dislodge dirt once you start cleaning. Remove the lens and raise the shutter curtain to get access to your sensor. (You might need to refer to your manual on how to do this for your specific camera.)

Like cleaning lenses, your first line of attack should be air. Use a blower like Giotto's Rocket Blower to shake dust off your sensor. Avoid using compressed air as some of these are powerful enough to cause some damage to your sensor. Some compressed air cleaners leave a film of moisture if it's not held at an appropriate angle making your problem worse. Try doing some test shots after using a blower to see if the problem is still there.

If it is, you will need to resort to brushes. Don't use just any kind of brush. You need one specifically designed not to leave any scratch marks. Try getting Brush-Off for this. It is electrically conductive which helps lift dust off. Again, do some test shots to check whether it worked.If the dirt is still there, you will need to move on to Sensor Swabs. Sensor Swabs come in different sizes for different camera models. Make sure you purchase the correct one for your gear.

Apply a few drops of cleaning fluid on the swab and gently swipe it across the sensor in one continuous movement using one side only. Reverse the swab then swipe it across the opposite direction. Each side of the swab is made for only one pass. If you reuse a side then you're just swirling dirt around your sensor. You can find pictures on these steps and more detailed instructions here.

It bears mentioning again that if you're not comfortable doing this on your own, have a service center do it for you. It's going to be cheaper that way. The sensor is the single most fragile, and most expensive part of your camera body.

As always, prevention is the best cure. Here are some tips to avoid getting dirt on your sensor.

• Always try to find a non-windy place to change your lenses in. If you're shooting outdoors then go in your car to change your lens.
• Make sure that your camera is turned off before removing your lens. Your sensor is charged with static electricity when it is running and that acts like a dust magnet.
• Point the camera body down when changing lenses.
• Give your camera a few minutes to acclimatize before turning it on when moving between areas of different temperature to avoid condensation from forming inside. If the temperature change is extreme then keep your camera in a zip lock or in a camera bag for about 30 minutes before taking it out.
• Only clean your sensor when it becomes absolutely necessary. If the blemish on your photo is minimal, remove it with your photo editing software.

If you haven't done this before and are dead set on trying it, do read up on it some more:
Understanding Digital SLR Sensor Cleaning
Cleaning Your Sensor
Demystifying D-SLR Sensor Cleaning
Cleaning Camera Sensors

Thanks to Mangia for the article suggestion, and to my lovely wife for her mad editing skills and for inserting the disclaimers to cover my ass.

Related Post:
How to Clean Your Lens

How To Clean Your Lens

No matter how careful you are, sooner or later, your lens will get dirty. The first time you contemplate cleaning your lens can be very daunting as we found out a few days ago. Hopefully this guide can help you with the different options you have in getting your lens back to its pristine condition.

Blowers

Tour first line of attack should always be air. It's the least invasive of all your cleaning options since no contact is made with your glass. There are several blowers available in the market today that are specifically designed for camera lenses such as Giotto's Rocket Blower. These are designed with air valves that prevent dust from getting into the air chamber so that the air it blows out is clean. If you ask me though, anything that can blow out non-pressurized air is good enough to get dust off your glass such as an empty water spray as long as you aim the lens downward when you blow air onto it.

Brushes and Cloth

If you can't get the dust out with a blower then you can try using brushes. This is where you will definitely need to get one specifically made for lenses to avoid leaving scratch marks.

If you're dealing with something more than dust such as fingerprints or smudges then you will need to resort to cleaning cloths such as Pec*Pads. Cleaning cloths for lenses are usually made out of microfiber which are lint free and designed not to leave marks on your glass. However, before wiping your lens with a cleaning cloth, you will first need to get all the dust out by first using either a blower or a brush. Dust can leave marks or scratch the coating on your lens if its rubbed in hard enough.


Cleaning Solutions

If the smudge is still there after attempting to remove it with a cleaning cloth then you will need to use a cleaning solution. The best one that we can find that most pros use is the Eclipse Cleaning Solution. This fluid is specially formulated for lenses and is fast drying and residue-free. If you can't find this particular brand then make sure the one you get will not damage the coating on your lens.

Personally, I would choose not to use any cleaning fluids on any of my lenses. I'm always worried that the fluid might seep in between the glass the the front mount of the lens and get inside the barrel itself. I would rather bring the lens to a service center if a cleaning cloth can't get the dirt out.

We're giving a special shout out for the Nikon Lens Pen Cleaning System . We just recently received the Canon EFS 55-250mm lens (which we will be reviewing in the next few articles) and we were taking it out for a spin when Lisa accidentally touched the glass and left a fingerprint on it. My beautiful wife's graceful hands' fingertips are surprisingly oily. The smudge looked really bad and we were already thinking of bringing it in for servicing when we came across the Nikon Lens Pen on Amazon.com.

The pen itself has a retractable brush on one end and a felt tip on the other. We first started with the brush to remove all the dust on the glass and then started working on the fingerprint with the felt tip. Amazingly, we were able to completely remove the smudge after three passes. We definitely recommend this product as it is both cheap and compact. Our only beef with it though is they should have made a cap for the brush side. But taking into consideration the user reviews on different websites, this seems like the best lens pen option.


Needless to say, we've already gone through all our lenses and they're all brand spanking new clean.

Some Additional Notes on Lens Care

• Prevention is always the best way to care for your lens. Always leave the dust cap on when storing your camera or use a UV filter or lens hood.
• Avoid using cotton swabs to clean your lens since these can leave cotton fibers when you sweep it across the glass.
• If you get your fingerprint on your lens, immediately remove it from the camera body. The heat from the camera can literally cook the oils in the print and make it near impossible to remove.
• If you have a big collection of lenses, try using each one at least once every two weeks since believe it or not, it can grow fungus from non-use even if it's stored in a dry box. Fungus is one of the few things that can literally kill your lens.

Related Posts:
Lens 101
How to Protect Your Lens

How to Protect Your Lens

We mentioned in a previous post how lenses have the biggest impact on your image quality. That's why the good ones cost four times more than your camera itself. Here are some tips on how to protect your investment.

Lens Cap
Keep your lens cap on when you store your camera in your bag. Sure, most camera bags now have soft anti-scratch linings but that doesn't mean that dust or sand can't get in there and get stuck between your lens glass and the lining. Ouch.

Lens Hood
Lens hoods are used to eliminate lens flare from your photos when you shoot outdoors in daylight. You'll probably notice though that most pros keep their lens hood on even if they're shooting indoors. This is because the lens hood can act as a barrier between your glass and everything else around you. Even if people bump into your lens while you're walking around, you're assured that your glass is safe.


UV Filter
Some of you might be going, "But it takes a while to attach a lens hood if I use a bag and I might miss a great shot." Well, here's the alternative. You can use a UV Filter as another type of protection for your lens that you can just leave on. UV filters are used to filter out, you guessed it, ultraviolet light.

It really doesn't have a big effect on photos but we're recommending it because it's the cheapest type of filter available in the market and it can shield your glass from physical contact. This is specially useful if you're planning to shoot on the beach where all the sand and salt can play havoc on your lens.

Dear god, don't use your handkerchief!
If you're as obsessive-compulsive as my wife then you probably check your lens every few minutes to see if there's dust on it. Resist the urge to use just anything to wipe it when you do find dirt. The safest thing to use is a micro filament cleaning cloth that is both scratch and lint free.

How to Take Care of Your Memory Cards

A lot of times, we forget how important our memory cards are and how much care they require. Here are some tips to remember when handling your digital film so you can avoid losing valuable data or getting error messages while you're on a shoot.

~ Always reformat you card right after you upload your photos to your PC.

~ Make sure your camera is off when you take out your card.

~ Never pull out your memory card while your camera is still reading or writing to it.

~ Never use up all the space on a memory card. Using up all the space can corrupt your entire card. Most DSLRs show how many shots are remaining on the LCD. Leave around 3 shots available.

~ Never share one memory card between two different cameras without reformatting it first.

~ Make sure that you have enough battery power when uploading your pictures. You can lose all the photos in your card if your battery dies while your card is reading or writing.

~ Keep your cards away from strong magnetic objects like your PC monitor.

~ Use a memory card wallet when going on shoots instead of keeping your cards in your pocket. Heat and moisture can permanently damage them. A quick tip on this, when you're using a card wallet and you need to change cards, just put in the used card with the label side down so you know that it's already been used.