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Dirty sensor in Sony A7R III


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About six months ago I traded my Canon 5D MK IV for the Sony A7R III, and I'm very happy with the result. There is just one respect in which the Canon way outperforms the Sony -- keeping a clean sensor. I don't change lenses all that often, and I'm very careful when I do. Still, I can't keep dust spots out of my photos. I find that Sony's clean/shake option only helps marginally. Are others having this frustration? Is it safe/easy to clean the sensor myself on this camera?
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Sony FF cameras are prone to collect dust because the shutter is open when the camera is turned off. It only closes at the time of exposure - twice for normal shutter, and once for electronic front shutter. Dust also collected on lenses, which is then transferred to the sensor. Never blow with your mouth, as it will leave spots difficult to remove.

 

The cleaning cycle helps, but generally not enough. You can clean the sensor through the menu, but the camera goes through a cleaning cycle each time you power up. Keep the lens pointed downward on startup.

 

I carry three methods for cleaning the sensor at all times:

  • A large blower, with a filter, is sufficient 80% of the time
  • Two Visible Dust type microfilament brushes, one on a spinner (cleans brush, charges it with static to attract dust), and a full-width brush for rough cleaning. Almost nothing resists this method
  • Sensor-Swabs (dry) and Eclipse cleaning fluid (highly refined methanol) to remove dried-on spots, including salt spray and oil spots (common for new cameras). I usually follow up with brushes (above) to remove any loose lint or dust remaining.

I resort to liquid cleaning only once every 2 or 3 years, and the brushes only for stubborn lint and dust. I have other brushes I use to clean lenses and mounts, and of course the blower. It helps to vacuum the inside of your bag and dividers once a year or so, to remove accumulated lint and dust.

 

I have a Lens-Pen, which has a retractible brush at one end and sticky pad at the other (with a cap). This is great for lenses and filters, if the blower isn't sufficient. It is not for use on a sensor, since the sticky pad may leave deposits and the brush may scratch. Remember the pixels are only a few microns in diameter, and you can't see dust much smaller than 20 microns, and that only under ideal conditions.

 

Test your results by stopping a lens down all the way and pointing toward the sky. Focus and long shutter times are immaterial. The small aperture will cast a sharp shadow with even pixel-sized dust particles. This is a sensitive and severe test for dust. IMO, you only need worry about dust bunnies, not tiny specs.

 

When cleaning, a strong light from the side will highlight dust particles, so you know where to clean.

Edited by Ed_Ingold
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"Sony FF cameras are prone to collect dust because the shutter is open when the camera is turned off. It only closes at the time of exposure" Ed.

 

I recently travelled to Morocco with a Fuji and Leica T. The Leica T gathered dust with enthusiasm which as you can imagine was really annoying. And I only used one lens.

 

Fuji, not a spot of dust, despite changing lenses on numerous occasions,

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"Fuji, not a spot of dust, despite changing lenses on numerous occasions,

 

6 years of use of Olympus mirrorless cameras and a similar result for me/most users. I never think twice about changing lenses as many times as I need.

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"You should buy lottery tickets whenever you can@ Ed.

 

LOL. Don't do the gamble thing. It is a mugs game for mugs. The only winner is the house, hence, that is why they drip with gold.

 

I can only apologise on behave of my Fuji, that it has a superior technology, for inbuilt sensor cleaning/sealing, than a Sony A7.

 

I also use a blower to clean my sensor on my other cameras, which works extremely well-shaped like bulbous space ship bought of ebay. Or, if I get caught out I clone in PS.

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I have the same blower, made by Visible Dust. I like the idea of a filter in the makeup port. Microfiber brushes I buy from Amazon. Visible Dust brushes are priced outrageously, and they tend to get broken in my camera bag anyway. Miniature blowers don't have enough juice to do the job.
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"You should buy lottery tickets whenever you can@ Ed.

 

LOL. Don't do the gamble thing. It is a mugs game for mugs. The only winner is the house, hence, that is why they drip with gold.

 

I can only apologise on behave of my Fuji, that it has a superior technology, for inbuilt sensor cleaning/sealing, than a Sony A7.

 

Ditto on the Olympus system. It just works, as much as some want to make everyone believe otherwise. I utilize the masking slider on the sharpen screen in Adobe camera raw to eliminate or minimize sharpening in areas of the image with no detail such as skies, which makes finding dust spots easy when processing all of my files from both Olympus and Leica cameras. I'll get lucky at times and maybe go a few days with few to none in the Leica files but soon enough they start showing back up on Leica M262 files, requiring the use of the spot removal tool in ACR and subsequent sensor cleaning, either rocket blower or wet cleaning with Eclipse fluid and swabs.

 

Never seen one that needed to be removed in files captured with the E-M1, E-M1 Mark II or, so far, the E-M1X.

Edited by Greg M
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Dust happens, even to the best of us!

 

I've had a few times in extremely windy conditions (e.g., Iceland), and dry, dusty environments (Spain and Portugal) where merely removing a lens resulted in dust on the sensor. Most of the time, I'm convinced, dust gets on the rear of the lens, and is introduced into the camera in that manner. Strictly speaking, lens dust of this sort is actually lint from clothing and the inside of the lens bag. Mineral dust is easy to remove by blowing, but lint sticks tightly due to static electricity. My Nikon D3 needed cleaning daily, but much less sticks to the sensor in my Sony cameras. Sony uses anti-static technology, and an ultrasonic shake each time the camera is powered up.

 

In principle, the higher the resolution, and the larger the sensor, the more aggravating sensor dust becomes. Carrying and moving the camera about is more likely to re-distribute dust inside the camera. Ships are safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for. I don't hesitate to switch lenses in the field, but a quick puff or two from the blower can save a lot of time later on.

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About six months ago I traded my Canon 5D MK IV for the Sony A7R III, and I'm very happy with the result. There is just one respect in which the Canon way outperforms the Sony -- keeping a clean sensor. I don't change lenses all that often, and I'm very careful when I do. Still, I can't keep dust spots out of my photos. I find that Sony's clean/shake option only helps marginally. Are others having this frustration? Is it safe/easy to clean the sensor myself on this camera?

Welcome to the wonderful world of mirrorless! Your solutions have been outlined nicely herein above.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it ...” 

– Yogi Berra

 

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In a DSLR, the mirror fans the air inside the camera body, along with any lint, which eventually settles on the sensor. I had to clean my Nikon D3 three times as often as my Sony. The sensor is much easier to reach in a mirrorless camera, and you don't need a fresh battery and a special "cleaning" mode to hold the shutter open.
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  • 2 weeks later...

After several unfortunate experiences with various wet sensor cleaning procedures, Arctic Butterflies etc, I gave them all away in favour of the the Lenspen Sensor Cleaning tool. Made by the manufacturers of the excellent Lenspen (and what photographer would be without a couple of those in his kit), the Sensorklear does an excellent job of sensor cleaning with minimum fuss, and with accuracy. After all, with the Sony cameras, if you point the lens at a blank surface or the sky you can actually see the dust on the sensor in the viewfinder, giving one a good pointer to the area of the sensor most in need of attention. I don't bother with the loupe as the pen can be used more dexterously without it. I've not seen any reference to this tool on this forum, but I'd certainly recommend it.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Gary, The newer DSLRs are much cleaner than cameras from 15 years ago. I clean a lot less often now. That said I have spent a little money on cleaning gear starting with a Panovise that allows me to get good position on the sensor and an illuminated loop/headband magnifier that I wear rather than a hand held cylindrical loupe. Less than the price of a single professional cleaning done by someone else. I use a wet cleaner judiciously, not too wet, on dirty sensors using Eclipse on either PEC pads wrapped on an old copper hill paddle or sensor swabs. I usually finish things off with the articulated lens pen shown above. They are not expensive and I keep -two or three brand new ones. I have used a sensor sticky kit as well but have being using the articulated lens pen the last 7-8 years. I never reuse them. Like everyone I check my work visibly and with a lens stopped down shooting a white background and touch up as needed. Easy day.
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