UPDATE: Sensor Cleaning - HELP! Advice Needed!

[ddt0725]

Good luck with the cleaning - there's really nothing to it - like Daniel said it's a lot like driving a car for the first time. Eventually you get behind the wheel, apply what you know and everything goes fine.


I went with Visible Dust's V-Swabs and a bottle of Eclipse - total cost was about $50. The swabs are expensive but worth it in my opinion. I used 1 to clean my 5D, which was hideously dirty when I bought it. Two drops of Eclipse and a couple passes with the swab...done.


The butterfly thing looks interesting though a little "technical" for me; nothing against it, I just preferred manually "scraping" away the dust with a swab and it worked really well. I'll be interested to hear how the butterfly works for you.


Anyway - glad you chose to DIY. You'll be fine.
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>

Thank you, Canoli! I still haven't quite decided what to buy yet but I'll have something ordered by this afternoon. I much rather spend $50 than what some of these other options cost!
Anway, as far as it being like driving a car ...I suppose if you're going to drive a car, you should learn how to change a flat tire ...which BTW, I still haven't done yet! [:P]

Have a great day!

[canoli]

I much rather spend $50 than what some of these other options cost!

me too - even though at the time I thought "jeez, $48 for twelve swabs? this is ridiculous" - 4 dollars apiece? But after using one and seeing just how well it worked (along with the fluid) I changed my tune. Now 4 bucks seems like a bargain to wipe away the dust and get my sensor back to a clean state.

I suppose if you're going to drive a car, you should learn how to change a flat tire

nah, not girls. Men, sure. But women...well, that's why they invented Triple A! (I know I know, terribly sexist of me - no offense intended)

[ddt0725]

I ended up ordering ...

• <span style="font-size: x-small;"]Lenspen LENSK1A Sensorklear Ii with Articulated Tip
• <span style="font-size: x-small;"]<span>Visible Dust EZ Sensor Cleaning Kit with 1 ml VDust Plus Liquid Cleaner &amp;4 DHAP (orange) 1.6" size Swabs
• <span style="font-size: x-small;"]<span>Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly 724 Super Bright VD

<span style="font-size: x-small;"]So, I should be set with what I need and should have them in a week. I didn't see anywhere to order the nerve to use them so I guess I'm on my own for that part! [:P] I'll let you know how it goes! Wish me luck and thank you to everyone for their advice!!

Also, for the heck of it I added a step-up ring to the order after Neuro's suggestion

Denise

[canoli]

wow when you decide you go all in! nice setup, those should certainly do the trick.


The question I had with the swabs was, "How hard do I press?" I found a youtube video of a guy using one and he showed the swab bending pretty steeply as he passed it over the sensor. I followed his lead and it was perfect.


I'm sure you've seen warnings about touching the sides of the sensor cavity - supposedly there's grease on the side walls that you want to avoid. I didn't see anything that looked like grease but...better safe than sorry.


good luck with it - I'm sure you'll be fine... wipe that dust away! []


btw - did you think about getting a loupe? I couldn't decide if I "needed" one or not. It sure looks like a handy thing to have. After getting such great results with the V-swab and the drops I guess I'll do without one for now. Maybe I'll reconsider if the next cleaning session doesn't go so smoothly...


happy cleaning! remember "we have nothing to fear but fear itself"

[ddt0725]

wow when you decide you go all in! nice setup, those should certainly do the trick.

lol! It was just I didn't want to wait for one thing to arrive and find it didn't work and then have to wait for the next thing. So, I figured I'd just come out with guns blazing ready to attack those little dust bunnies![:P] At least I hope it's dust!

btw - did you think about getting a loupe?

Yes, I did have one picked out but they are not cheap! So, on that one I did figure I'd try getting by without it and only get it if I really feel I need it. With the butterfly brush having a light on it, hopefully that will do the trick ...or just clean, test, repeat!

Thanks very much for the encouragement! I figure it can't be any worse than when I had to give my dogs shots all the time ...nothing could make me more nervous than that!

Denise

[ddt0725]

I am having a meltdown!!! [] [:'(]

I did my sensor cleaning today using the blower, Arctic Butterfly 724 &amp; after still seeing spots I used the VisableDust VSwabs. The LensPen sensorclean hasn't arrived yet.

Throughout the process I took numerous photos and repeated the steps using 2 swabs and the Artic butterfly numerous times.


Here's a shot from right before I started (mid thread there is a photo also from the other day)...







And I got tired of repeatedly trying to get it clean ...




What the heck! Why is it just as dirty, if not dirtier than when I started!
The Artic Butterfly has two good lights on them and I don't even see anything on the sensor!

Advice, PLEASE!!

Denise

[neuroanatomist]

Well, it's tough to tell at low res, but it looks like some spots have moved, so dust is being moved around but not removed. Also (sorry for asking the obvious) are you sure your lens is clean or have you taken shots with different lenses (or if they are defocused it shouldn't matter)?

[deltasun]

Lens dirt is typically not represented that way even at f/22. That definitely looks like sensor dust to me.


Sorry you're having such problems (and I'm sure lots of frustration), Denise. If you can spare the time, my advice would be to send it in. I'm a bit of a wimp working in such close quarters and such a sensitive part of the equipment and just wanted Canon to deal with it.


Hope you find a happy medium.

[HDNitehawk]

The lower is dirtier than the upper. Which is before and after?


If the dust is moving you would think the blower could push it out. You said you couldn't see it but your pics should clue you in where it is at. Keep in mind the spot on the sensor will be opposite of where it is on the picture, ie: dust at the top will be dust on the sensor at the bottom because the lens inverts the image. I have used that logic to clean mine when it just had one piece of dust.


As dirty as yours is, I probably would take it to a camera shop that offers cleaning service or packed it up and shipped it to Canon. I sent my 5D in for warranty a while back and asked they clean the sensor while it was there. It took three weeks, I broke down and bought another 5D for backup while it was gone I just couldn't be without.


Did your 7D come this dirty? Have you checked some of your early pictures to see if they were dirty as well?

[ddt0725]

The lower is dirtier than the upper. Which is before and after?

The upper is before I attempted to clean it myself. Bottom is the results!

Did your 7D come this dirty? Have you checked some of your early pictures to see if they were dirty as well?

Earlier pics were fine, I just noticed the problem a few weeks ago.

Denise