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Save yourself some money and learn how to clean your own sensor like a pro

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July 29, 2016 by John Aldred 12 Comments

sensor_cleaning

Learning to clean your camera’s sensor is one of the most valuable skills a photographer can learn. At least when it comes to camera maintenance. It’s a task that many are afraid to learn, worried that they’ll kill their camera. These things are a lot more solid than most give them credit for.

In this video from f64 Academy, Blake Rudis shows you how spot that you even have a dust problem, and then several ways to get rid of it.

While they sometimes leap out at you, dust spots aren’t always easy to… erm… spot. Adobe Camera Raw (and presumably Lightroom) has a great feature which allows you to visualise the dust spots on your image so that you can clean them up in post. While it doesn’t actually clean your camera, it does let you quickly see how dirty your sensor really is.

dust_spots

Actually cleaning it requires a few tools. Blake recommends these.

  • Giottos Rocket Blower
  • D-SLR Sensor Cleaning Brush (get the right size for your sensor!)
  • VSGO Sensor Cleaning Swab Kit (again, get the right size)

You want to start with the least invasive (the Rocket Blower) and work your way through. You’ll also want to take a shot and check it after each phase to see if it’s cleared up yet. If you can get by without having to touch the sensor, that’s your best option.

I learned to clean my own sensors in about 2003, a few months after I picked up a pair of D100 bodies. There was no built in “dust off” feature that we see in today’s DSLRs. No local camera shops or services were available to do it for me. So, If I wanted to have my sensor cleaned, I’d have to send it off to Nikon or learn to do it myself. Needless to say, I learned to do it myself.

I use the same Rocket Blower as Blake, never canned air. One big, and far more important point, I feel, that Blake didn’t mention about canned air is residue. Canned air can spray out fluid leaving whatever it touches in an nasty residue that can be difficult to remove. It also comes out at sub zero temperatures after a couple of seconds, freezing any moisture in the air. So, dust busting abilities aside, you can potentially do serious damage.

box_of_dust

I don’t use a brush. In my experience, you’re better skipping the brush and going straight to the swab if the blower doesn’t clean it. I’ve found the brush doesn’t actually pick anything up, but just move it around your sensor. So, if the Rocket Blower can’t shift the dust, I use Sensor Swabs with Eclipse fluid.

That being said, I have heard great things about the Sensor Gel Stick. It’s a bit like a combination between a brush and swab. People tell me it’s wonderful, although I haven’t used it myself.

One other tip I will offer you, is to not travel with your cleaning kit. Unidentifiable liquids that may contain flammable ingredients aren’t typically allowed on flights. You can still fly with your Rocket Blower, but you’ll probably want to cut off the fins.

Do you clean your own camera sensors? Will you give it a go now you’ve seen how easy it is to do? Or will you keep sending it away or take it to the local camera shop to pay somebody else to do it? Let us know in the comments.

[via f64 academy]

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Related posts:

How to reduce noise and more easily work with “Blend if” layer sliders in Photoshop CC Making perfect skies with luminosity masks and Blend If sliders How to reduce noise in your photos with no 3rd party plugins in Lightroom and Camera Raw This 3 step raw colour correction tip will fix your white balance woes

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Blake Rudis, Camera Cleaning, DIY, f64 Academy, Maintenance, sensor cleaning

About John Aldred

John Aldred is based in Scotland and photographs animals in the studio and people in the wild.

You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.

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  • Billie Sue Cockeram Richter

    Aaron Harris

  • ShotByJacob

    Making me wanna clean my sensor myself. Gonna order some supplies on Amazon.

  • Vladimir Khudyakov

    Thanks :))

  • Carlos Felipe Castillo

    Camilo Paz Velasco Helder Yesid Castrillon Juan Carlos Pachon

  • Olle Orrö

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lrdkFXsr5Us

    • HenryH

      There’s no way that would work. He forgot to flip up the mirror first.

    • jason bourne

      Cool.. I’ve got to try this… Maybe when I’m taking a shower. 😉

  • Reed Radcliffe

    I have used the SensorKlear system for several years now. It does not use any sort of liquid which can leave a residue. Nothing can ruin your photoshoot faster than a big hunk of dust on the sensor.

  • James P

    Good post, helpful tips. I really didn’t like the sensor gel stick – for me it did much more harm than good. Even brand new or thoroughly cleaned, it seems to leave residue no matter what. I ended up just using it to clean the back of my viewfinder. I can confirm that Eclipse fluid works wonders with the correct fitting swab.

  • jason bourne

    What if you don’t have/use Lightroom?

    • Kaouthia

      Pretty much all image editing software will allow you to adjust the contrast and easily see dust spots. The latest versions of Adobe Camera Raw (which is part of Photoshop) and Lightroom just have a feature specifically built in for it.

      A simple curves adjustment would help to make them just as obvious.

      • jason bourne

        Ok, thanks. 🙂

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Dunja Djudjic is a writer and photographer from Novi Sad, Serbia. You can see her work on Flickr, Behance and her Facebook page.

John Aldred is based in Scotland and photographs animals in the studio and people in the wild.

You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.

JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.

Clinton Lofthouse is a Photographer, Retoucher and Digital Artist based in the United Kingdom, who specialises in creative retouching and composites. Proud 80's baby, reader of graphic novels and movie geek!
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page

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