How to clean your sensor?

[nickon]

I have a nikon D70 and i have dust in the cmos sensor, i tried using my lens blower brush to clean it and it helps a little bit doesn't get everything! what do you guys recommend to clean the sensor? or should i just bring it to the camera shop and have them take care of it?: they said till will cost me 60 dollars though Also will using a blower lens brush hurt the sensor? because i was told by the camera shop that it will scratch the sensor and i will see lines in the photos. Please help if anyone has info about cleaning the sensor.
thanks

[poker]

DO NOT USE THE BRUSH IN ANYWAY!! Don't touch your sensor!

Your rubber blower/brush is probably very small. If you go to the camera store they have one that is big as a large lemon. Use that and hold your camera above your head sensor facing down.

They have sensor brushes that are made for the size of your sensor but are very expensive.

If it is really bad, paying to have it serviced at an AUTHORIZED place may not hurt.

Good luck.

I have one spot that won't go away on my DSLR. It bugs the crap out of me.

[Tom_Proctor]

I have 2. It always shows up in the same spot on dark images.

[SmartWombat]

Unless you really know what you're doing, send it in to be cleaned.

I use a big blower, and no brush on it, as the first method.

Next, I resort to SensorBrush from Visible Dust.
Only the brush, none of their other cleaning products.
I tried sensor clean, chamber clean, on a 20D adn they did more harm than good.
I don't recommend the gadgets, just the brushes.

Last resors is SensorSwipe, Pec Pads, and Eclipse cleaner.

I'm happy to use all that on my 20D, but not on my 1DS or 1DmkIIN
Canon are getting to see those pro bodies quite often.

[Dylan8i]

i don't understand why your saying to use a larger brush than a smaller one? care to extrapolate?

[poker]

i don't understand why your saying to use a larger brush than a smaller one? care to extrapolate?

If you are talking about my post, I meant LARGER blower like SmartWombat described, not a brush.

[nickon]

Ok i didn't use the brush on the sensor thank god just on the mirror =D phew. I did however use a can computer compressed air. But i took the straw off and put some distance so the air doesn't come out to powerful and it helped i think i gotta do more test shots but it's night time now so i'll see if it worked tomorrow if not then i'll bring it to my local camera shop to have it cleaned. thanks for the info.

[nickon]

Looks like it worked! i just took some shots of my niece with my flash and it looks good, where the spots were there are no spots now!

[Dylan8i]

oh ok i get it, jsut use a bigger blower which comes in a blower brush combo. just making sure for when i get my dslr.

[poker]

Ok i didn't use the brush on the sensor thank god just on the mirror =D phew. I did however use a can computer compressed air. But i took the straw off and put some distance so the air doesn't come out to powerful and it helped i think i gotta do more test shots but it's night time now so i'll see if it worked tomorrow if not then i'll bring it to my local camera shop to have it cleaned. thanks for the info.

HOLY $HIT....DO NOT USE CANNED COMPRESSED AIR ON YOUR SENSOR!!!!

THAT CAN IS FULL OF CHEMICALS THAT WILL LEAVE A RESIDUE ON YOUR SENSOR....

Nickon....please read your manual. My Canon manual says how not to clean my camera's sensor.

[poker]

oh ok i get it, jsut use a bigger blower which comes in a blower brush combo. just making sure for when i get my dslr.

Just a huge blower....no brush. Brush and sensors don't mix unless it's the expensive brush like "SensorBrush from Visible Dust."

A Canon dealer once told me that I can drop off my Canon at the Canon building in Irvine California and they'll clean it for free. Irvine is like over an hour away from me.

[nickon]

yah i did use it hrm i have a nikon it didn't say anything about not using that in the manual....... anyways i tried it and it seemed to have worked. no problems with images or the camera took a few shots already. Next time i'll just have the local camera place to clean it. i'm pretty sure it didn't hurt the sensor this time. took 5 shots already and looked at the photos carefully for dust.

[another view]

I'd highly recommend against using canned compressed air too, regardless of whether or not the manual says anything about it. That's a lot of air coming out - and like it was mentioned, the propellant in the can may leave a residue on the sensor that will be a bigger problem than two pieces of dust.

My advice - prevention. Be careful when changing lenses and do it quickly. Face your back to the wind and point the camera down when there are no lenses on it (gravity works to your advantage). If you're in a dusty area do your best to keep the dust away from you and go inside somewhere if you can.

If you do get dust on the sensor - which will happen no matter how careful you are - then try using a blower bulb to get it out. Again, face the camera to the ground so any dust that you loosen with the blower will fall down away from the sensor, and not just move to another spot on the sensor.

Check the manual to see how to lock the mirror up for cleaning, my Fuji requires the AC adapter. I've seen people use a "B" shutter speed and keep the shutter release pressed while they blow it out, but this is a bad idea. First off, if your finger slips you could destroy the shutter and/or mirror - both very expensive repairs. Second, the sensor will be charged and I understand that dust won't move in this case. Someone showed me this technique because it's so quick and easy (but doesn't accomplish anything!) but you'd be better off to leave it alone and use the Clone tool in Photoshop...

[Tom_Proctor]

Also when using a can of compressed air, the air coming out gets very very cold and it can leave condensation on your cameras innards most likley burning some electronics out, or it can even freeze them. I burned a $300 video card out doing that

[photofun]

Also when using a can of compressed air, the air coming out gets very very cold and it can leave condensation on your cameras innards most likley burning some electronics out, or it can even freeze them. I burned a $300 video card out doing that

Anyone have a good place to take the D70 for professional cleaning in the fort lauderdale area?