Cleaning 5D sensor

[hakhtar]

<p >I have seen two short video clips of cleaning sensor with the swab type 3: <strong>(a)</strong> <em>move the swab in one direction, turn the swab and repeat in the same direction</em> <strong>(b)</strong> <em>move the swab in one direction, turn the swab and repeat in the opposite direction</em>. Wonder which method is right and more effective? Thanks!</p>

[savas_kyprianides]

<p>Probably semantics on the part of the authors. Opposite direction is what I am accustomed to.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>blow air into it with a Rocket Air. try this first, most times it does the trick.</p>

[sattler123]

<p>Don't over analyze this sensor cleaning thing. It really is easy and it is way harder to damage the filter over the sensor than most people think. You can also use a sensor pen - that's what I've been doing lately and it doesn't get much easier than that - as long as you are not too afraid to touch your sensor with it.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p><a href="../search/?cx=000753226439295166877%3A0gyn0h9z85o&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&section=all&q=cleaning+5D+sensor&filter=0&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search#1150">Links</a> from the search box at the top of this page.</p>

<p>I'd vote for opposite directions for obvious reasons. But even more, I'd vote for not using the swab method until you have exhausted easier and faster alternatives. (I keep Eclipse fluid and a pack of swabs around for very stubborn "sensor junk" but only use as a last resort.) Before doing a wet cleaning with my 5D I would:</p>

<ol>

<li>Realize that a small amount of dust on the sensor glass (hereinafter called "the sensor") can't be helped. Even if you do manage to get it perfectly clean a) the dust will soon return, and b) in the long run it is often less trouble to fix a few small spots in post.</li>

<li>If the dust becomes a bit more noticeable than you would like or if you get a larger spot, first step is to use a bulb blower. Hold the camera chamber-down and blow a few dozen puffs into the chamber from varying angles. The result will not be a perfectly clean sensor, but it will be quite good in many cases and this operation is very quick.</li>

<li>If this isn't going the job, next try an air-charged sensor brush - either one of the (somewhat expensive) "official" versions or the virtually identical equivalents from non-photographic sources. Once I discovered this method and learned how to use it I could get the 5D sensor nearly or perfectly clean rather quickly without using wet methods in all but the worst cases. </li>

<li>If you get some sort of "smear" or a bit of sticky "gunk" on the sensor, a wet cleaning is probably the best, if not the only, way to get it clean. I won't elaborate for liability reasons, but I found that exactly following the packaged instructions may not always be the optimal method. But that's just my opinion, and if you feel more comfortable with precisely following those instructions then you probably should do so. It may sometimes take a bit of very careful work and perhaps more than one cleaning to get things completely clean with this method, and it does require a gentle touch and some caution - but in the end it is a great fall back when less invasive and less time-consuming methods are ineffective. As I said, I keep a bottle of Eclipse, one of the small "spatulas," and some PecPads around "just in case." </li>

</ol>

<p>I tried the sensor pen approach, and for me it was not successful. I still own one but I don't use it. Also, the dust removal system on my 5D2 has been much more effective than I thought it would be - although I occasionally see a small spot or two or three on small aperture shots, they usually disappear after a few on/off cycles. I've had the camera a year and have yet to clean the sensor - I cleaned about once a month with the 5D.<br>

Dan</p>

[bellavance]

<p>LENSPEN SensorKlear is simple to use and does the job. Best - but a little more expensive - solution is to get the 5D Mark II. Made me realize how my old 5D sucked dust like a Vacuum Cleaner.</p>

[savas_kyprianides]

<p>Yes, it was part of several minor reasons that I upgraded to the MKII version. Around a year so far and no cleaning has been needed.</p>

[john_kale]

<blockquote>

<p><em>Don't over analyze this sensor cleaning thing. It really is easy and it is way harder to damage the filter over the sensor than most people think.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I registered just so I could post this.<br>

<br /> A few months ago, I bought my first DSLR, a used Canon 5D. I thought as you did, that the sensor was behind a piece of glass, and that the trepidation everyone feels at cleaning was probably not justified. I felt this way in part because there didn't seem to be many horror stories on the web about sensor cleaning.<br>

<br /> My new/old camera was pretty dirty when I got it. Some dust came out with a blower, some more with a lens brush. But the most annoying concentration of large specks was stuck fast to the anti-aliasing filter. I cleaned it with Eclipse and Pec-Pads. It worked; all the stuck-on gunk came off.<br>

<br /> But some of the dirt was abrasive enough to scratch the anti-aliasing filter when it came off. And some of the infra-red reflective coating on the filter wiped right off as well. As you may imagine, I was horrified. I'd wanted a 5D since they were announced; I'd finally been able to afford an old one as my first step into the world of interchangeable lenses; and just a few days after it arrived, I'd ruined it.<br>

<br /> To my surprise, the scratch was completely invisible in photos. But the spots of missing coating caused obvious splotches near the center of photos. At large apertures, they became less distinct, but were still evident.<br>

<br /> <a href="http://www.dust-aid.com/5d.html">This page is a commercial come-on for a cleaning product I've never purchased or used,</a> but it has some information about troublesome 5D anti-aliasing filters in particular, including a photo of a filter with a coating problem that looks just like mine did. Apparently many people have encountered special problems when cleaning the 5D.<br>

<br /> Canon service replaced the anti-aliasing filter, replaced the viewfinder focusing screen (I don't know why), and cleaned the camera for something like US$220, far less than I had feared.<br>

<br /> Next time it needs to be cleaned, I don't know what I'll do. It will have to be really ugly in there before I'll go anywhere near it with a Pec-Pad again. I don't have any specific recommendations for cleaning anything. But maybe this post will be something I went looking for and couldn't find before I cleaned my camera: a sensor-cleaning horror story. Caution, I think, is warranted.</p>