Cleaning dust from camera sensor????

Question

I have digital rebel xt. I bought it nearly 4 weeks ago. now there is one annoying grey spot o my pictures. I need to get it cleaned. it is first time I'm doing it. what should I use. Any advice?. many people clean it by themselves. should I use usual dust cleaners and cotton and do at home really carefully or do I really need to buy those cleaning kits??? I dont wanna do something that will make my new camera JUNK.
any ideas?????

thank you

Answer 1

Don't clean the sensor unless you have the proper supplies!!!! You can instantly ruin the sensor.

Get a proper cleaning kit from a reputable firm, like BHPHOTOVIDEO.com. Then really study how to do it before any attempt is made.

If you are "heavy-handed", I would suggest you take it in for a cleaning.

Answer 2

Sensor cleaning is not rocket science. If you use a DSLR and you have multiple lenses unless you carry a Class 10 Sterile Area with you at all times, you WILL have dust.

If it helps you breath any better you are really NOT cleaning the CMOS sensor directly but the antailaising/IR/dichroic filter that protects the CMOS.

I do agree with others, you do need to invest in a the right set of tools. If you dont already have one you should by a Giotto Blower (or a generic one that is well made). You should be blowing off any particulate matter with a blower before you use any sort of cleaning product.

I use the CopperHill Cleaning kit and I know a lot of people who use it and have not heard anything bad about it. The basic WET cleaning kit consist of a spatula thats made to fit the SPECIFIC sensor for your camera, PecPads and Eclipse Fluid.

NOTE: You need to choose the right spatula and right liquid for your specific camera. If you have an XTi then you need Eclipse 2, since the XTI has that so called "self cleaning" feature and it has some other type of filter over the CMOS.

The last two have pretty much become std for wet cleaning. You can by spatulas from different companies. Now I said WET cleaning, you resort to wet cleaning if you all your blowing using the blower does not get rid of stubborn dust.

You can see dust clearly at f/16, f/22 or smaller. Many folks suggest taking a pic of the sky, I prefer to shoot a white background as described in the second link (but you may or may not have photoshop).

The first time you do it all sorts of wacky thoughts will run through your mind but dont worry. As long as you follow directions you will be just fine and you will be cleaning your senors pretty quickly.

The only drawback of the copperhill system is that I still cant get dirt clean from the edges. So rather than buy another $40 tool, I just wrap some PecPad on a Qtip and clean away and it works.

Finally, eclipse is a flammable liquid so it is always shipped by ground so shipping takes time. This also means you better not go through airport security with it.

Answer 3

Hello,

This is definetly a job you want the professionals to handle. You can very easily damage the sensor if you are not verry careful or if you don't use the correct supplies. I think if you do it yourself and damage the sensor it will void the warrenty for the camera. Take it to best buy or someplace else that offers a cleaning service. For the price you paid for the camera it is worth spending 20 bucks or so to have a pro do this very important job for you.

Donna

Answer 4

I thought that the Cannon had a self cleaning sensor. Just another gimmick that cannon uses that doesn't work.