Deliberate1 Posted January 11, 2012 Share #1 Posted January 11, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Friends, in a companion post I describe my upcoming trip to India. Given what I suspect will be a dusty shooting environment, I think I shoud bring some tools to clean the sensor of dust and grime. Would appreciate suggestions for items to keep in my bag and technique advice to do this. Thanks David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Hi Deliberate1, Take a look here Sensor cleaning in the field. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted January 11, 2012 Share #2 Posted January 11, 2012 When in Africa I blow out my camera in the bathroom , just after a shower cleared the air, using a rocket blower. I never wet-clean my camera on the road, but rely on Photoshop for residual dust. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 11, 2012 Share #3 Posted January 11, 2012 Do a wet clean before you go, then the only thing you may need is an Arctic Butterfly brush to lift dust out of the camera. A Rocket Blower is good for a general clean but I wouldn't rely on it alone for sensor cleaning. And take some swabs and cleaning liquid just to be on the safe side. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 11, 2012 Share #4 Posted January 11, 2012 The trick with a rocket blower is to keep the camera mouth facing down to allow the dust to fall out instead of resettling. The problem with the Arctic Butterfly is that it may smear. Not a problem at home, with easy cleaning facilities to hand, but in travelling circumstances, maybe bad light, no time, rickety hotel table, you name it, it might be really complicated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted January 11, 2012 Share #5 Posted January 11, 2012 In the absence of a TriElmar lens, limit lens changing to as dust-free environment as you can find. (Air conditioned hotel room). A blower brush can be useful but mostly redistributes dust around the chamber. Take an illuminated magnifier with you and an Arctic Brush. Keep that clean too and use it in your hotel room in the evening. The magnifier will show you whether or not you have a dust problem and how successfully your cleaning has been. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted January 11, 2012 Share #6 Posted January 11, 2012 Keep the back of lenses clean, keep in inside of lens caps clean, use rocket blower inside camera but do not open shutter unless you know something is on the sensor. Change lenses with back to wind or sheltered area. Leave the camera open as little as possible, and that means having the new lens oriented and ready so you do not fumble around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted January 11, 2012 Share #7 Posted January 11, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) agree with the above and I too would be wary of the arctic butterfly and smearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2012 Share #8 Posted January 12, 2012 In the absence of a TriElmar lens, limit lens changing to as dust-free environment as you can find. (Air conditioned hotel room). A blower brush can be useful but mostly redistributes dust around the chamber. Take an illuminated magnifier with you and an Arctic Brush. Keep that clean too and use it in your hotel room in the evening. The magnifier will show you whether or not you have a dust problem and how successfully your cleaning has been. Airconditioned hotel room? The OP is going rural in India. He'll have his job cut out to keep the flies off his sensor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deliberate1 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted January 12, 2012 Airconditioned hotel room? The OP is going rural in India. He'll have his job cut out to keep the flies off his sensor. Yes, and we have been promised "squat toilets" as well:eek: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haroldp Posted January 12, 2012 Share #10 Posted January 12, 2012 When in Africa I blow out my camera in the bathroom , just after a shower cleared the air, using a rocket blower. I never wet-clean my camera on the road, but rely on Photoshop for residual dust. Photoshop content-aware fill is like magic for small dust spots. ... H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deliberate1 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted January 12, 2012 Photoshop content-aware fill is like magic for small dust spots. ... H Agree. That tool in CS5, which shows you the fill in real time is amazing. But there are times when an image detail just should not be repaired or messed with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2012 Share #12 Posted January 12, 2012 Often, on that level of detail, the spot is invisible. In my experience it is exceedingly rare that dust spot removal is difficult. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 12, 2012 Share #13 Posted January 12, 2012 Regarding smearing when using the Arctic Butterfly brush I think its safe to say that it would only occur if you had oil on your sensor in the first pace. Knowing your camera well tells you if it deposits oil on a regular basis, and it is recommended by Visible Dust that a wet clean is done before using an Arctic Butterfly if in doubt. But the idea that Photoshop can be relied upon to solve dust problems is appallingly slack thinking. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best is a motto that should engraved onto some peoples top plates Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2012 Share #14 Posted January 12, 2012 Steve, it has nothing to do with slack thinking. In normal circumstances, at home, my sensors will be as spotless as possible. But for those who have not been in the field in dusty tropical circumstances, where a low-dust space is an utopia and the only light in the evening may be a few little solar lights or a hurricane lamp, it is hard to imagine that anything but a quick blow, let alone wet cleaning, is an illusion. In that case there is no other resort than photoshop. And I am not even talking about deserts. In some parts of Namibia cars will be sandblasted to bare metal within a few years. Having said that, it is amazing how few dust spots I get using the simple Rocket Blower in Bathroom method. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Allsopp Posted January 12, 2012 Share #15 Posted January 12, 2012 I would also take a small soft paintbrush (in a sealed poly bag) to remove all outer surface dust before removing the lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted January 12, 2012 Share #16 Posted January 12, 2012 I have found that the VisibleDust magnifier works very well. Made in Canada. With it at least I can confirm if any dust is or is not on the sensor. It also works well for reading topo maps in the dark when other lights have failed. Its original case is a little too large for me, but poses no problem since I use a small neoprene bag in the field. It weighs 2.5 oz. without original case. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwinThomas Posted January 12, 2012 Share #17 Posted January 12, 2012 I would also take a small soft paintbrush (in a sealed poly bag) to remove all outer surface dust before removing the lens. I use a shaving brush for this job. I agree with most of what people said so far. Firstly try to reduce the amount of lens changing and try to change the lens out of the wind, or dusty environment if you can, under a jacket maybe. If you need to clean then clean the outside of the camera first, including the lens. Use a blower to blow out the sensor box and the rear of the lens, replacing the body cap and lens cap as quickly as you can, if not mounting a lens. Hold the body with the lens opening facing down for gravity assist Use a illuminated loupe to inspect the sensor as the light hi-lights the dust on the sensor. If there is stubborn dust on the sensor then use a sensor brush of some kind. This has the possibility of smearing lubricant onto the sensor, but if you're careful it wont. If that doesn't work, or you have smeared the sensor then a wet clean using swabs and fluid is the next option. It goes without saying all the cleaning is best done in a non dusty environment, like a bathroom after showering for example, or somewhere were the air is still and the dust has had chance to settle. Good luck at keeping the dust out of the camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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