Aaarrgh - dust!

[Grumby]

Got a couple of specks of dust on my sensor last week, so decided to get a blower to try and clean it off... I should have left it well alone - the two specks is now more like 30 or 40!! So now I have to get a 'wet' kit :-/

What are your sensor cleaning experiences - I must admit I'm a bit nervous about it...

Cheers
G

[gturner]

a blower on your sensor? Are you %#$# crazy? I know some folk do it, but I think it is a recipe for disaster.

take it to a nikon service centre and pay to get it done properly

[Jim Poor]

Nothing wrong with using a blower, the right kind of blower, on your sensor.

First of, the sensor is covered by a filter, so you can't hurt it as easily as folks think.

What sort of blower did you use?



You don't need a we method just yet. Try a sensor pen first.

If you send it to Nikon, it's just as likely to come back with new dust on it as not.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by gturner

a blower on your sensor? Are you %#$# crazy? I know some folk do it, but I think it is a recipe for disaster.

take it to a nikon service centre and pay to get it done properly

Head. Remove it from your rear. Then try again.

A proper blower is the perfect tool for removing occasional and minor dust. It depends on how it was used, though.

[Murtasma]

Be sure to use the right kind of blower. Also hold the camera so the sensor is facing down toward the ground then use the blower the blow the dust off the sensor. If you lay the camera down flat the dust that's blown off will just settle down back onto the sensor. Take a look inside the body and attempt to remove any dust that's not on the sensor or you will just end up blowing it all around inside resulting in a dirtier sensor. Don't enable mirror lock up when you remove the dust form the inside that should prevent new dust from settling on the sensor.

[Raoul Isidro]

It is possible that the additional dust must have come from the mirror housing of the camera body. Changing lenses so often can deposit dust onto the reflex chamber but not on the sensor area. Using a blower in a particular wrong way can agitate this dust desposits from the housing and scatter them everywhere, eventually landing on the sensor areas.

[gturner]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Head. Remove it from your rear. Then try again.

A proper blower is the perfect tool for removing occasional and minor dust. It depends on how it was used, though.

as I said - some people do it - I think it is a bad idea. Seems the OP proved my point.

[DelCan]

I use a blower on mine with success...

[Aegea]

I use a blower as well - seems to work quite well. That is, it clears some but not all of the dust.

BTW Jim, what is a sensor pen? Is it the same as a lens pen?

[wulf]

Assuming you've got the sort of blower that consists of a rubber bulb and a nozzle (ie. just moving dry air, not introducing moisture, which will stick dust to the surfaces), start by cleaning the outside of the camera. Lift the camera up and away from that swirling eddy of dust particles before you open it up. Remove the lens and, pointing the open hole down, gently squeeze a few blows of air inside. That should dislodge the dust - again, lift the camera up and away.

If you have a bright light, you might check inside and possibly repeat as required. Don't leave the camera open too long though and certainly keep it away from where you have dislodged clouds of swirling dust.

Wulf