How To Clean Your Sensor (and not worry about it)

Pursuant to the last post, this is a short and easy sensor cleaning tutorial that I hope will renew your fogged, dusty CCD or CMOS, save you some money and liven up your images.

Disclaimer:  Your CCD or CMOS is a delicate piece of silicon and should be treated with care when cleaning.  There is no guarantee even a professional cleaning will remove all sensor dust as well as no guarantee that you will not scratch the sensor if the tools and techniques here are ill-applied. That said, I was a bit nervous the first time I cleaned the sensor on my 20D but now after a dozen iterations, I am confident anyone can do it.

Equipment and materials to consider:


Giottos Rocket Air blower or an anti-static version (pressurized air could and likely will damage the camera's shutter or mirror - stay away from the canned stuff!).  Yes, it looks like a rocket when you stand it on end but has no greater functionality than a standard lens blower.  It makes the same hissing sound too.


Pec Pads (lint-free photo wipes); available at any decent camera store or online.  Treat them like medical gauze; once removed from the packaging and used once, they are to be disposed of.  Do you re-use paper napkins?  Why some feel the need to re-use Pec Pads is beyond me (I know some of "them").  They spend $2500 on a camera and are reluctant to dispose of a ten cent piece of fabric.


Sensor Sweep; a paintbrush-type tool used for drawing dust off the sensor via electrostatic charge.  Reading the instructions carefully will produce good results prior to swiping with fluid.


Sensor Swipe; not to be confused with the Sensor Sweep, the swipe is a plastic handle with a rubber tip used to hold Pec Pads via an elastic band


Eclipse optic cleaning fluid; use one (1) drop! Give the Pec Pad about 10-20 seconds to dry out so as not to let excess fluid dry on the sensor and then swipe it.


Carson lens pen (for stubborn particles - I have one of these but have never used it because I'm a little leary of putting dry pressure against the sensor... if you can live with a couple stubborn dots, leave well enough alone and build a camera profile to mask out the spots in every image)


A loupe (remember that thing you used to use to examine slide film?) and a small LED light.  Camping headlamps work perfectly.


1.  Organize all materials and tools in a dust and draft-free area (take a shower and wait 30 min for the steam to clear out of the bathroom - dust will have settled due to the humidity; remove rugs and towels).


2.  Ensure the DSLR's battery is fully charged to prevent the mirror from dropping unexpectedly while cleaning.


3.  With the lens on, take a picture of a white wall at the lens' smallest f-stop (22 or greater) to record the dust and monitor cleaning progress.  Keep all settings normal and use the correct white balance (too much contrast will render the dust spots invisible).


4.  Hold the camera with the lens pointing at the floor, remove the lens and cap both ends.  Turn the camera on and engage its cleaning function; the mirror should lock up, exposing the sensor which looks like a blue/purple piece of glass.  Use the loupe and headlamp while using the hand blower to blow loose dust off the sensor (don't hold the camera facing upward, or loose dust will fall right back onto the sensor).


5.  Return the lens to the camera body and repeat step 3.  At this point, the Sensor Sweep can be employed.  If your camera is new, using the sweep may remove enough dust so that using the Sensor Swipe would be unnecessary.  Read the manufacturer's directions for using it correctly.


6.  Remove a Pec Pad by its edge from the plastic packaging.  Some advocate using tweezers so as not to transfer oil to it from hands but I find this is unnecessary since the middle of the pad will contact the sensor and not its edges.  Remove the Sensor Sweep from the ziploc bag and fold the Pec Pad at its middle over the rubber end of the handle.  Pull one bottom corner of the pad around the Sensor Sweep, diagonal and down toward the opposite end of the handle to keep it taught across the rubber end.  Pull the other bottom corners together around the handle in the opposite direction and secure the pad with an elastic, taking care not to touch the end of the pad that will contact the camera's sensor.  If this step is confusing, let me know and I'll send photos.


7.  Don the headlamp and have the loupe ready, remove the lens and engage the mirror lockup.  Take the sensor swipe and start at one corner of the sensor, applying a small amount of pressure and drag (don't push the rubber end across, rather drag it behind the handle as if with a paintbrush) it across the long side.  After reaching the end of the sensor and without lifting the sensor swipe, drag it down the side of the sensor and then drag it back across to the side from where you began the process.  Lift the swipe and allow the sensor to dry for several seconds before releasing the mirror lockup and replace the lens.  Dispose of the ten-cent Pec Pad and return the Sensor Swipe to its ziploc bag.


You can repeat the cleaning steps as often as you like.  However, for the first few cleanings, only employ the sensor swipe once to get a feel for what works for your comfort level.  Unless it really needs it, like a good suit, don't clean the sensor too often.  You run the risk of wearing through the protective (thin) coating.


I've attempted to keep this tutorial as concise as possible without leaving out necessary details.  If you have questions about any of the steps, drop me a line and I would be happy to clarify.  With a modest investment, organization and preparation, anyone can successfully clean their own camera sensor.  Once you're comfortable with the process, you'll find that a cleaning will take less than ten minutes and you'll spend more time taking photographs than waiting for the camera in the mail.