Need some help with spots on sensor

tlittleton

This is kind of freaking me out, so hopfully someone can help calm my nerves. I was taking some shot through the window on my flight to Atlanta. I noticed a couple of small specs on of the the pictures and figured I had a couple of specs of dust. So I took out my blower brush and blew a couple of gentle puffs to blow away the dust. Have done this a couple of times with no problem.

This time, somehow there was some moisture in the blower, which promptly blew some tiny droplets onto the sensor. I'm not sure what to do at this point. The water dried and you can see it one the sensor and other than that the sensor seems undamaged. It's just this spots now show up heavily on pics. I didn't want to touch the sensor for fear of scratching it up or worse.

Is a sensor cleaning kit or something like the Copperhill method a possible way to clean this? Or should I take it in to check it out? It's basically water spots.

Andy

tlittleton wrote:

Is a sensor cleaning kit or something like the Copperhill method a possible way to clean this? Or should I take it in to check it out? It's basically water spots.

don 't worry - be happy
everyone goes thru this. get the copperhill stuff, and give a swipe or two, you'll be fine

tlittleton

andy wrote:

don 't worry - be happy
everyone goes thru this. get the copperhill stuff, and give a swipe or two, you'll be fine

Thanks Andy. I'll start breathing again now.

evil eggplant

The copperhill method (pec pad and eclipse) is not very good at removing moisture. You may find that the spots are still there after you clean the sensor.

If this is the case, isopropyl achohol and/or distilled water may be necessary.

Your best bet, if the spots don't show at f/11, don't sweat it.

There is always gunk on my 20D sensor, at this point I have basically given up on keeping the sensor clean.

Shay Stephens

I will second that. I use a blower to get rid of the big stuff, I don't worry about the small specs. I usually shoot with wide apertures, and they never show up anyway, even the big stuff.

I have the copperhill kit, but so far have not needed to use it. You'll go crazy trying to keep the sensor 100% clean all the time.

evil eggplant wrote:

Your best bet, if the spots don't show at f/11, don't sweat it.

There is always gunk on my 20D sensor, at this point I have basically given up on keeping the sensor clean.

tlittleton

Well, just to give an example of the spots on the pics...

All of the spots on the upper left and right sides are on the sensor itself

tlittleton

Problem solved
I found a place here in Atlanta that carrys Photosolutions Sensor Swabs and clearer. Worked like a charm. The sensor is clean enough to eat off of.

What I don't understand is how water ended up in my blower brush. I guess it was just condensation, but it's never happened like that before. Maybe something with being on a plane?

Oh well...problem solved

ian408

tlittleton wrote:

I found a place here in Atlanta that carrys Photosolutions Sensor Swabs and clearer. Worked like a charm. The sensor is clean enough to eat off of.

What I don't understand is how water ended up in my blower brush. I guess it was just condensation, but it's never happened like that before. Maybe something with being on a plane?

Oh well...problem solved

You might want to keep the blower in a plastic bag.

Ian