The idea of cleaning your camera's sensor fills many photographers with dread. It may seem difficult or complicated but it is actually much more straightforward than you may think. In this article, I will give you a simple guide on how to check for sensor dust and how to effectively clean your camera's sensor.
Today I carried out one of the most daunting yet important tasks when it comes to photography: I cleaned my camera's sensor myself. Whilst I had previously taken it to a camera store to have it cleaned, I thought it was important to be able to do this myself. After researching numerous sources on the correct way to do this, I decided to write one comprehensive guide on how to do it properly, effectively and most importantly safely!
Apologies for the disclaimer but this is just a guide to best practice. You should take extreme care in carrying out this task as it is very easy to damage your sensor, rendering your camera in need of vital and expensive repairs.
What is sensor dust and what does it look like?
Every time you change a lens on your camera, you are exposing the inside to potential dust and dirt contaminants.
You should try to protect the inside of your camera as much as possible when changing lenses—it goes without saying that you should not change a lens in an environment that will lead to unnecessary dirt entering your camera, such as a sandy beach or on a windy day—but obviously it is not always possible to do this. Inevitably, dirt and dust will enter the camera and ultimately show up in your images.
Sensor dust will show up in your images as blurry spots which will look something like the spots circled below:
There are a few important things to note:
- You may see dust in your viewfinder but this dust will not show up on your images themselves.
- You may not see sensor dust if you shoot at wide apertures (such as f/2.8) as the depth of field is wide enough to throw these spots out of focus.
- You can tell that it is dust or dirt on your sensor when you see the same spots appearing on multiple images in the same places.
- Although a highly detailed scene may hide the dust, it is still there and will naturally become visible in your next photo.
- You may see dust on the mirror, but this won't be recorded on an image and should be removed using an air blower. DO NOT use compressed air as this may damage your camera.
- DO NOT touch the mirror (or the sensor) with ANYTHING as both are extremely fragile and easily damaged or scratched.
How to test to see Sensor Dust
- Set your camera to a small aperture such as f/16 or f/22.
- Set your camera to the lowest ISO—you are not worried about noise at this stage.
- Take a photograph against something bright white (such as a white wall, paper, or cloudy sky) and gently move the camera slightly as you take the photo to help blur it and make dust visible.
- Inspect the back LCD screen at 100% or load the image into your computer to make it easier to spot dust.
- If you see signs of dust as described above, then you know you need to clean the sensor.
Before you attempt to clean your sensor
I would suggest that you first try to use your camera's auto clean mode if it has one to see if this makes a difference in removing dust or dirt. Some cameras do this automatically when turned on or off but it is worth trying first.
IMPORTANT - Make sure that your camera's battery is fully charged as it may turn off mid-clean and damage the sensor if it runs out of power.
Items you need:
- Cleaning swabs that are lint free and designed for your camera's specific sensor size.
- Camera sensor cleaning solution.
- Hand/bulb air blower.
- Torch or head lamp to see inside the camera and inspect the body.
- Sensor loupe – a magnifier with LED lights allowing you to clearly see the sensor and inspect for dust and dirt.
How to clean your sensor
- Find an area that is as free of dust and wind as possible.
- With a full battery and no lens on your camera, look for the menu option to manually clean your camera. Check your manual if you can't find this option.
- When you select this mode, you will hear the mirror lock back and reveal the sensor. Note that you just need to power off your camera to release the mirror back to its usual place in front of the sensor.
- Holding the camera upside down so the LCD screen faces the ceiling, use a manual air blower to blow air into the camera onto the sensor. Be extremely careful NOT to touch the sensor with the tip of the blower. It’s best not to put the tip inside the camera at all. Again—do not use compressed air.
- After a few blasts of air, turn off the camera and replace the lens. Take another test shot (as above) to see if this has removed the dust or dirt. If it has, there is no need to take further steps. If dust remains, proceed to a “wet” clean of the sensor.
How to wet clean your sensor
- Remove the lens and place the camera on a surface with the LCD facing the floor.
- Select the manual cleaning option to lock up the mirror.
- Remove a sensor swab and use the air blower a few times to remove any loose lint that may be stuck to it.
- Add two (or three maximum) drops of cleaning solution to the tip of the swab. Do not oversaturate or you will leave streaks on the sensor—less is more!
- With great care, place the swab on one side of the sensor and, with gentle pressure, move it across in one smooth motion. When you reach the other side, turn the swab over and repeat the process starting from the far side back to the start.
- Use a loupe to inspect the sensor to see if the dust has been removed. If unsure, turn off the camera, replace the lens, and take another test shot to inspect for dust.
- If some dust remains, repeat the process with a new clean swab. Do not reuse a swab.
If you see streaks on the sensor, that means you used too much solution. Wait a few minutes and then repeat the process with less solution. Two drops are usually enough.
You will now have a clean sensor. When done properly with the correct equipment, it is quite a simple process to clean the camera's sensor. Although it may seem daunting the first time, you’ll be saving yourself unnecessary expense and the inconvenience of being without your camera while using a professional cleaning service.
Anthony Zacharias, 2016 (www.petapixel.com)
