Dust on sensor; options other than a blower?

blorg

I have managed to get some dust on my sensor (Sony Nex 5N.) It's very obvious, and I can see it clearly on the sensor. I am sort of in the middle of nowhere right now but will be in Phnom Penh in about two weeks where I am sure I can get a blower. Any suggestions for what I could possibly do in the meantime that might shift it? The camera cleaning function doesn't work. I may try taking landscapes upside-down in the meantime.

BengaLover

Have you ever tried self cleaning? breathe on the sensor to mist it slightly, and use some RIZLA rolling papers to wipe in a downward motion, reason being that the Rizlas wont leave any trace of lint or fibres behind - dont take my word for this tho until someone more experienced than me replies, but its a tecnique I have used sucessfuly.

If it's the bit of dust just upper right of the centre of the image, then I'd say it could be easily cloned out on a PC later.

Sensors are sensitive things. I certainly wouldn't be trying any oddball cleaning methods in the middle of nowhere. Last thing you want is to make the problem worse.

That's my own opinion though.

AnCatDubh

Percevere with the camera cleaning function. I've had it before where the dust doesn't appear to shift but after a couple of attempts it shifted.

Also, a *gentle* shake has assisted me in the past.

But as kkv says its not a big cloning job and having the image is better than not. Understanding the positioning of the dust spot in your compositions will also help ie. think about where you would have to clone out afterwords before you shoot. You don't want that dust spot on the middle of anyone's portrait. so forethought will be important.

zerohamster

If you can blow onto the sensor somewhat powerfully without spitting then try that otherwise you should wait to get a blower or get it wet cleaned if it is pollen or something that won't come off from blowing.

Also note that physically the piece of dirt will be at the oppossite side of the sensor to where it appears on the picture due to the light being flipped by the lens onto the sensor.


@BengaLover: I would advise strongly against using condensation/water to clean any part of a camera internal and especially not rizza to clean a low pass filter of any camera as it could so easily scrape the coating as well as leave streaks on the lowpass filter (also electronics+water are never good in the long or short run).
Rizza may not have lint (I dont know because I don't smoke) but I know it is more like a thin paper and the last thing you want to risk is scratching the sensor by using it instead of a soft material.

Just for reference, this is what the surface of cigarrette paper looks like under an electron microscope so there is a high potential to cause damage (the blue crystals release oxygen thus helping keep the cigarrette lit)

blorg

zerohamster wrote: »

If you can blow onto the sensor somewhat powerfully without spitting then try that otherwise you should wait to get a blower or get it wet cleaned if it is pollen or something that won't come off from blowing.

Unfortunately I can't so have made it worse! I have two new, bigger spots now. I am just going to leave it until Phnom Penh and get it cleaned; as these two spots are wet spots I imagine it will need wet cleaning.

zerohamster

Ouch! Yeah, Unfortunately that can happen and is why blowers are so handy in those situations.
Definitely wait until you can get it wet cleaned in that case, don't try to do a DIY clean on it as the last thing you want is to have to replace a the low pass filter.

For future on the spot cleaning you could bring a blower, some high quality q-tips (sealed in a clean zip lock bag or similar) and some Eclipse cleaning fluid so that if you are far away from a shop that does cleaning you can manage small spots on the lens and sensor on your own easily enough. Also look into sensor swabs too as they are handy if you are comfy cleaning the low pass filter yourself.

blorg

zerohamster wrote: »

Ouch! Yeah, Unfortunately that can happen and is why blowers are so handy in those situations.
Definitely wait until you can get it wet cleaned in that case, don't try to do a DIY clean on it as the last thing you want is to have to replace a the low pass filter.

For future on the spot cleaning you could bring a blower, some high quality q-tips (sealed in a clean zip lock bag or similar) and some Eclipse cleaning fluid so that if you are far away from a shop that does cleaning you can manage small spots on the lens and sensor on your own easily enough. Also look into sensor swabs too as they are handy if you are comfy cleaning the low pass filter yourself.

Yes, it is entirely my own fault, I have done enough reading on this to know spit is a risk and worse than dust. I tried blowing on my hand to confirm I was able to do it dry but unfortunately two little flecks got out when doing it into the camera. I am an idiot! FWIW the fleck on the sensor wasn't shifting from the dry blows I got in there, so maybe it would need wet cleaning anyway. I think there will be some competent people in Phnom Penh that will be able to clean it; I will just have to be careful with my framing in the meantime.



For future cleaning I should get the good stuff in Bangkok easily enough if not in Phnom Penh.