help.. dirt on sensor

bovril

took a rake of macro shots yesterday, loaded them on the PC and saw all these spots in the top left and right corners. I cleaned the lens, shot a few pics loaded them up again and still the spots. Changed lens and few more shots and still spots so it must be the sensor that is dirty.. so gutted

any ideas on where I can get it cleaned and how much it will cost? Looking for a place in dublin city centre.

Thanks
L

Roen

It's no biggie, there's a thousand and one products out there for just such an occasion.
Long term you're MUCH better off doing this yourself as you'll end up spending €50 every couple of months.
Go through all the pages on this site and make decisions on what method suits you. http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

Stephen

I just used a cheapo blower brush to get muck off my sensor. Took about 30 seconds.

Calina

Absolutely not such a fan of the blower brushes inside the camera since I tried to clean the viewfinder and wound up with hair from the brush on the viewfinder. So blower brushes are going nowhere near my sensor.

bovril - at the risk of derision, I had Conns do mine. They use some sort of compressed air I think. Roen's advice is probably good though; should really learn to do it myself.

bovril

thanks lads. This time I think I will just fork out the cash for conns as I don't have the time to be waiting on an order for cleaning equipment and learning how to do it.

I think I will definately start research now though into how to do it for when it happens again.

Fionn

hiya
apart from those fancy dust removal gizmos on some of the new cameras, dust on the sensor is a fact of life, it is just as bad for people scanning so your not alone

i had to take the plunge and delve into the wonderful world of sensor cleaning
I followed the advice here Understanding Digital SLR Sensor Cleaning and decided to use the "Wet Swab" method Eclispe fluid and pec pads

because of where i live - there noplace where i could just take my camera to, i'd have to ship it to Dublin or Cork or whereever, i decided to do it myself.
the first try is somewhat traumatic, but after that it's not so daunting

here's my first efforts

rymus

at the risk of repeating myself... "Get a copper hill kit"

PaulieC

rymus wrote:

at the risk of repeating myself... "Get a copper hill kit"

you're not the local reselling agent by any chance??

FreeAnd..

any reccommendations on where to get a copperhill kit? I got mine done in Conns a while back. It was some waste of cash. Had to bring it back to get them to do it properly and ended up with a messy viewfinder...should really get my money back.

rymus

cambo_gueno wrote:

you're not the local reselling agent by any chance??

I should be at this stage... Hmm, there's an idea. I could run 'copper hill parties' where people bring their dslr for a cleaning, then after a demonstration, buy a kit.

That's just crazy enough to work!

PaulieC

only if you have a tupperware dish big enough to bring your camera in

rymus

curses.. it'll have to be a combined tupperware / copper hill party so. There's no escaping the tupperware!

PaulieC

might as well add in the ladies underwear and 'toys' as well. To check out how well the sensors are cleaned like

rymus

right... a Tupperware / Copper Hill / Ann Summers / Avon / Family Album party it is then. s

Calina

rymus...you're way too well up on these things...

rymus

it's just a little bit frightening in a wonderful wonderful way..

Dimy

If it's crazy enough it might just work... in Cork

minikin

would get a copper hill but €31 for p&p is a bit steep... anywhere local (euroland) do it? or do I have to keep on licking it clean?

Owen

Apart from the Anne Summers, and the Tubberware, I think a Copperhill party's a great idea! I'm sure if you eMailed them, they'd support it too!

rymus

minikin wrote:

would get a copper hill but €31 for p&p is a bit steep... anywhere local (euroland) do it? or do I have to keep on licking it clean?

€31 once off or every two years is a damnsight better than €50 every few weeks...

Might look into ordering the basic components of the kit in bulk and reselling here... There's bound to be a few quid of a difference.

Fionn

i actually was able to buy my starter kit in Clonmel - Denis MacSweeney Photo Shop, i think they have a shop in Cork too. When i asked about sensor cleaning stuff i overheard the guy saying to the assistant to check with Barker Photographic in Cork too about getting a kit that'd suit a full frame.
It works a treat I think it was around €40

I had seen it first here but found that it was cheaper closer to home.

leinsterman

Rymus is right ... copperhill is the best one for the money ...

At the risk of sounding obvious ... You can buy the copperhill kit without Eclipse fluid (which they do not ship internationally) at http://www.copperhillimages.com/

You can get the whole kit at exhprbiotant prices from -

http://www.chili-pix.ch/shop/

Gunns of Wexford St stock Eclipse fluid ... tell 'em leinsterman sent ya ... since I promised 'em I would let people know they had it in exchange for them stocking it ...;)

Or you can buy these kits from Gunns -
http://www.cameraclean.co.uk/acatalog/Cloths_Tissues.html

localchap

I'd recommend you eclipse sensor cleaning kit with those brushes and special cleaning liquid, lots of positive feedback around it at forums.Alternatively, if u r not a fan of messing sensor yourself, you might be interested in this kit http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-GREEN-CLEAN-Digital-Camera-Sensors-Cleaning-PRO-Kit_W0QQitemZ140080223024QQihZ004QQcategoryZ15215QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Blower is ok, but it is not a cure for any case, when dirt is heavy, blower would be completely useless, IMHO.

Fionn

get the pads a drop of eclispe and the the dust is history - really! thats it..

oh read the tutorials first

mathias

Got the Green Clean kit of Komplett today , what I like about it is that its a vaccuum system that doesnt touch the sensor , perfect for dust , I prefer it that way as I dont want to touch the sensor unless I have too.

It wont take off any "dried in " dirt , but mostly its just dust anyway so I'll save the pec pads and eclipse for the dried in kind and use the green clean otherwise , nice job !!

bovril

Left it in to be cleaned in Conns yesterday where they use their special blower yokie, took it home and still the same spots so looks like it needs to be wet cleaned.

I have read the tutorial on the copper hill site and the other site posted and still not sure about it. The sites specifically mention that some dust on the sensor can scratch the sensor when you start cleaning. How can I avoid this?

rymus

mathias wrote:

what I like about it is that its a vaccuum system that doesnt touch the sensor , perfect for dust , I prefer it that way as I dont want to touch the sensor unless I have too.

Bear in mind that no cleaning method actually touches the sensor, you're blowing/swabbing/sucking the dust off a glass filter thats sitting on top of the sensor. Seems to be a pretty tough piece of glass too.