Woo hoo! No more spooge.

turkishturkish Registered Users Posts: 10 Big grins
edited January 12, 2004 in Cameras
My aging Canon D30 used to have big hunks of crud on the sensor. How do I know it was on the sensor? Switching lenses and then taking the same picture showed several dark spots in the same place.

I read about the Pec*Pad spatula thing elsewhere and tried my own version using an old credit card, which I cut down to fit the sensor area. I powered the camera with a battery eliminator and hooked it up to my laptop. By running the Canon capture utility, I could make an exposure, and look at the bits at 100% magnification right away.

I used the bulb mode to hold the shutter open while sticking the cleaning device down into the body. It's scary at first, but it only took a couple of swipes to get the crud off of my sensor. I discovered that I had to cut the credit card down to something a little smaller than the sensor because the extra Pec*Pad material that was wrapped around the card would catch on the channel that leads to the shutter.

Once I got everything set up, it only took a minute or two for the cleaning itself.

Comments

  • BaldyBaldy Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 2,853 moderator
    edited January 11, 2004
    Interesting. When I bought my 10D I swore I just wouldn't change lenses because I have a D60 and two lenses. One thing led to another and I changed it carefully only a few times. And now I can't believe it but I have gray spots.... Aiiiieeeeee!
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2004
    Baldy wrote:
    Interesting. When I bought my 10D I swore I just wouldn't change lenses because I have a D60 and two lenses. One thing led to another and I changed it carefully only a few times. And now I can't believe it but I have gray spots.... Aiiiieeeeee!

    I thought that too when I bought my camera and new lens. I could put it on and not take it off and never worry about dust. It was a great idea until I discovered that Canon sent me a dirty camera. After that I went and picked up a bunch more lenses, no reason to fight it. I usually shoot very wide open so dust is not a major issue right not.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,904 moderator
    edited January 11, 2004
    patch29 wrote:
    I thought that too when I bought my camera and new lens. I could put it on and not take it off and never worry about dust. It was a great idea until I discovered that Canon sent me a dirty camera. After that I went and picked up a bunch more lenses, no reason to fight it. I usually shoot very wide open so dust is not a major issue right not.
    10d has a cleaning mode to allow access to the sensor. Best done with a
    fresh charge.

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2004
    ian408 wrote:
    10d has a cleaning mode to allow access to the sensor. Best done with a
    fresh charge.

    Ian

    I use an AC adapter for the best margin of safety, unless the power goes out. bncry.gif
  • turkishturkish Registered Users Posts: 10 Big grins
    edited January 12, 2004
    Baldy wrote:
    Interesting. When I bought my 10D I swore I just wouldn't change lenses because I have a D60 and two lenses. One thing led to another and I changed it carefully only a few times. And now I can't believe it but I have gray spots.... Aiiiieeeeee!
    Keeping one lens on the body might reduce dust as long as it's not a zoom lens. I think those things move air around like a bellows when you change the focal length.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited January 12, 2004
    this thread fascinates me. i hear so much on this issue and from i can see it's 50/50 split, some say "no issue at all" others say "dust is really a problem"

    couple of questions:

    1) does it vary from one brand of dslr to another? or within a brand, say 10d vs. 300d?

    2) just how difficult is it to clean the sensor?
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited January 12, 2004
    andy wrote:
    1) does it vary from one brand of dslr to another? or within a brand, say 10d vs. 300d?

    I would say model to model it would, the 10D and 300D have the same type and size of sensor. The 1D is a larger sensor and the 1Ds is larger still. Sometimes this will collect more dust but show it less (the 1D pixels are bigger than the 10D etc.). It also depends on the type of sensor, some attract more dust, CCD vs. CMOS. One of the biggest factors is the aperture used, the more closed down the more dust will show up.
    andy wrote:
    2) just how difficult is it to clean the sensor?

    It is not too bad. I have tried the pec-pad swab method and it work ok. My sensors tend to stay fairly clean, sometime I can simply use a bulb blower to get off the bigger dust. I am very quick with my lens changes, I make sure the rear of the lens is dust free and always put a body cap on the camera.
  • turkishturkish Registered Users Posts: 10 Big grins
    edited January 12, 2004
    andy wrote:
    2) just how difficult is it to clean the sensor?
    The hardest part for me was finding a store that had Pec*Pads. I bought a bottle of Eclipse cleaner and it came with a pack of 10 pads and that was more than enough to the sensor and two lenses.
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