# Cleaning: A Rite Of Passage?  (I Failed)



## Cortian (Jan 16, 2018)

Taking some photos, this morning, I found a dark spot I'd _thought_ to have been an errant bit of dust on the lens had "returned."  Found I had this:





Cutting to the chase: It wasn't the lens and it wasn't the mirror.  *sigh*  Searched.  Read.

Carefully blew off the sensor with an air bulb, which got me this:





"I can probably get the rest of that," I confidently _thought_.

Oops 





Try again...




Yikes! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Again...




*sigh*...

Again...




Grrrr...

One more time...




Closer.  There may be hope!





*argle* 

One. Last. Time.




Almost as good as if I'd just left it at blowing it off.

I guess I'll find a camera place that can do it properly.


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## Braineack (Jan 16, 2018)

you need swabs.


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## Cortian (Jan 16, 2018)

Braineack said:


> you need swabs.


*nod*  Looking at them on Amazon even at this moment.

Got a brand or kit recommendation?


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## Braineack (Jan 16, 2018)

i recently bought the vsgo sensor cleaning kit off amazon.  I preferred it over Eclipse pre-moistened swabs, which left a film.


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## Cortian (Jan 16, 2018)

Braineack said:


> i recently bought the vsgo sensor cleaning kit off amazon.


Thanks for the help.

It seems to be down to that or the "Altura Photo Professional Cleaning Kit for DSLR Cameras and Sensors Bundle with APS-C Sensor Cleaning Swabs and Carry Case", which has a bunch of lens cleaning stuff, as well, plus a nice air bulb and a hard case.



Braineack said:


> I preferred it over Eclipse pre-moistened swabs, which left a film.


And, since your camera isn't a _film_ camera...

(I crack myself up.)


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## snowbear (Jan 16, 2018)

Ewww - Sensor Boogers!


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## beagle100 (Jan 18, 2018)

eclipse and swabs  ... easy
*www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless*


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## TCampbell (Jan 19, 2018)

Get some "Eclipse" cleaning solution.  The company is "Photographic Solutions, Inc."  The solution is almost pure methanol so the alcohol breaks down whatever is stuck to the sensor (really it's a filter in front of the sensor... you can't actually access the surface of the sensor itself) and it will very quickly evaporate leaving virtually no residue.

You'll also need the "Sensor Swabs" (same company makes them) and these come in sizes.   

Most "real" camera stores will have the stuff in stock ... or you can order it online.  I'm not confident you'd be able to find it at a big store that just happens to have a camera department (e.g. I doubt you'd find it at a place like Best Buy).

There are loads of videos that explain how to use it.   Basically it's just a couple of drops on the swab ... and you give the sensor a nice clean & steady wipe from one edge to the other.

The main thing is to work slowly.  Don't use pressure... just be gentle.  Toss the swab away after using it (don't risk cleaning again with a dirty swab).


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## Cortian (Jan 19, 2018)

Thanks for the Eclipse suggestions.  Right now I have a The Dust Patrol brush, a VSGO "pro" cleaning swabs kit (with their solution) and a Giottos large Rocket en route from Amazon Prime.

Since, as somebody else noted in my "The Dust Patrol" D-SLR (Sensor) Brush? thread, the remaining stuff looks (mostly?) like smears (lubricant, probably), rather than dust, I'll hit it with the Rocket, then go straight to the swabs.

If VSGO's liquid doesn't do the trick, I'll try the Eclipse.

AP has the Eclipse solution, too.  We don't have any real camera stores nearby.  Closest one to me is _at least_ a half hour away.  (It's like, "the" camera store in the area, TTBOMK.  It's where I bought my Pentax film camera and my tripod, many moons ago.)

I'll probably run down there, one nice day, "just because"   Heck, tomorrow's weather forecast isn't half bad.  Maybe I'll run down there tomorrow


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## TCampbell (Jan 22, 2018)

Cortian said:


> AP has the Eclipse solution, too.  We don't have any real camera stores nearby.  Closest one to me is _at least_ a half hour away.



Your location says S.E.Michigan.  I'm also in S.E.Michigan (Dearborn).   So I'm not sure specifically where you are, but ... 

ProCam in Livonia - that store has only been there for a few years so it's relatively "new" but it's very well stocked.  
CameraMall in Ann Arbor
Camera Mart in Waterford
Woodward Camera in Birmingham

Those are the ones I know of anyway... just in case any of them are close to you.


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## Cortian (Jan 22, 2018)

TCampbell said:


> Your location says S.E.Michigan.  I'm also in S.E.Michigan (Dearborn).   So I'm not sure specifically where you are, but ...
> ...
> Camera Mart in Waterford
> Woodward Camera in Birmingham
> ...


That's what I get for taking the word of somebody else 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Camera Mart, apparently aka: Camera Exchange, is not far away.  About fifteen minutes or so, I'd guess.  I'll have to stop in there.

Woodward Camera is the one of which I knew.  That area of Woodward Ave. is my old stomping grounds .  That's where I bought my Pentax 35mm film camera and my Velbon tripod.

Thanks for the leads!

In the meantime: I received my order of cleaning stuff.  Hit it with the Rocket (that thing is HUGE!) and a dry swab.  This is where I'm at:






There are two _relatively_ faint spots.  Now working up the courage to see if I can get rid of those, too.  After my last attempt to improve on an improvement, I'm just a bit gun-shy


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## TCampbell (Jan 22, 2018)

That's MUCH better.  I do see the spot in the lower right, one in the left-third (about mid-way up) and a smaller spot in the upper-right section.  

Keep in mind that everything is upside-down & backward on the sensor.  So a spot in the "lower right" of the photo is really in the upper-left on the sensor.

I had to clean a buddy's camera that he had picked up (used) for astrophotography.  That thing was filthy.  It took me FIVE cleanings to finally get it "clean" and I realized there was probably a lot of dust in the mirror chamber.

When the shutter is closed, nothing can land on the sensor.   But if there's dust in the chamber, the fast snapping action of the reflex mirror will create a blast of wind as you take a shot.  That gives the dust a chance to move around and settle somewhere else and possibly on the sensor.  The odds get worse if you take long exposure shots because the sensor is uncovered for so much longer.


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## TCampbell (Jan 22, 2018)

Cortian said:


> Camera Mart, apparently aka: Camera Exchange, is not far away.  About fifteen minutes or so, I'd guess.  I'll have to stop in there.



Ahh... so they're gone now.  They definitely were "Camera Mart".   It was the store I went to all the time when I lived closer to that side of town.  But I had noticed the inventory levels seemed to be getting less and less ... and now I see their website indicates that they primarily deal in used gear.  They don't appear to be a dealer for "new" equipment from what I can see on their website.

ProCam is pretty big.  I used to go to Adray in Dearborn, until they closed.  Then I started driving all the way up to Camera Mart... and one day while doing a map search, I found ProCam.  I wondered if it wasn't someone operating out of a house because I was sure there was no major camera store in Livonia.  So one day I decided to plan a trip to check them out and ... sure enough they're a big store.  (They also have a store in Chicago and just opened in Cincinnati).  They've become my new local place of choice because they're pretty well stocked and it's a lot easier to pick out equipment when you can see and touch it than trying to shop online.  So if I want something like a tripod, a head, a C-stand, etc. (where it's hard to tell how good the build quality is unless you can see it) that's where I go.


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## Cortian (Jan 22, 2018)

TCampbell said:


> That's MUCH better.  I do see the spot in the lower right, one in the left-third (about mid-way up) and a smaller spot in the upper-right section.


Thanks.  Yup: Those are the ones.  (Forgot about the third one.)



TCampbell said:


> Keep in mind that everything is upside-down & backward on the sensor.  So a spot in the "lower right" of the photo is really in the upper-left on the sensor.


*nod*



TCampbell said:


> When the shutter is closed, nothing can land on the sensor.   But if there's dust in the chamber, the fast snapping action of the reflex mirror will create a blast of wind as you take a shot.  That gives the dust a chance to move around and settle somewhere else and possibly on the sensor.


That's why, in this one respect, I decided to go for broke: I thoroughly "Rocket"ed the entire chamber.  The hope was to blow out as much loose dust as possible.

Then a couple gentle puffs on the sensor and I put a lens back on.

I don't know if I got any loose dust out of the chamber, but the process didn't add any new spots on the sensor 

Thanks for the additional guidance, Tim.


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