I used a mini lint roller to clean my 10D sensor and now....

[BCdives]

(JUST KIDDING)

I have approx. 7000 shots since July when I got my 10D, I am always careful and meticulous, when changing lenses. I'll gently puff the mirror and sensor from time to time with compressed air.

Recently, especially blue sky shots, I have 5 little circles that are showing on my images and starting to annoy me. And the compressed air isn't helping.

I have read Canvanaugh's page on cleaning and purchased all the proper materials to do it.

My ramble on question is this............Is it time? Or is this a "Don't try this at home" kind of thing.

Any experiences would be appreciated,

BC

[mattchase]

I would say it is time. My camera is approaching this point too, has a few specks that aren't going away. I am hesitant to use swabs / cleaner on the sensor, prefer the less tactile method of air, but I have used swabs in the past. It isn't that bad, nor that hard, and it does work well. Start off gentler than you think you need to, and you will get a feel for how to do it right.

So if you are comfortable doing it, then I would say go ahead and do it. If you aren't comfortable doing it yourself, then don't. Send it to Canon and let them deal with it. That's the best advice I can give.

[BCdives]

Thanks Matt,

I am preparing the patient for surgery as we speak, I appreciate the comback.

BC

[defordphoto]

First off remember you're cleaning the filter and not the actual sensor.

Your choices are:

1. Buy REAL PecPad Sensor Swabs from Photographic Solutions and Eclipse solution and clean it yourself.
2. Get a stronger air source.
3. Buy Eclipse solution and make your own, hokey PecPad Sensor Swabs
4. Send your camera to Canon Factory Service (CFS)

The downsides are:

1. Might not work. You could make it worse. You could scratch filter. I know of no cases of scratched filters using proper swabs.
2. Might not work. Do not use canned air with propellant. You could permanenty damage filter.
3. Might not work. You could scratch filter. Documented case at Fred Miranda's board.
4. Might not work. Your camera may come back with friends added to the wooly-boogers you already have.

I have Eclipse solution and the proper Sensor Swabs. I bought the kit when my D60 had a pesty speck. Turns out it was a defective filter. It was replaced by CFS and it took TWO trips to do it. They paid overnight shipping both ways the second time around.

I have not had to use the solution since on the D60 or ever on the 10D. I have blown off specks 2 times at best in both cameras over the past year. I have no idea if they are noth currently speck free as I only deal with it when the defects show up in photos. I don't perform a periodic speck-check on my cameras.

Good luck!

Oh yes, by the way. There are a limited number of people that will send Eclipse via mail/Net order. Glazer's Cameras out of Seattle has no problem shipping it. And they do have an 800-number. Great folks. Prices suck, but the people and service are awesome.

[robertwgross]

Mark me as low-tech.

When I clean the sensor surface on my D60, I use a simple Q-tip cotton swab with a half-drop of lens cleaner on it. I've used this technique maybe twenty times, and I have yet to see any problem from it.

I'm reluctant to use any air pressure to blow the speck around, because I don't know where the speck will end up. A miniature vacuum would seem better to me, unless you intend to save the dust speck.

---Bob Gross---

[BCdives]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help, and now the good news!

SPOTS are GONE! And if I'm not dreaming, the handful of samples I took are clean and sharp as a razor as if it were new again, maybe it's like after you wash your car it just seems to drive so much better :)

I was even able to remove some specks on the mirror always showed in the view finder and drove me nuts too, but never showed on photo's.

I Feel liberated!

BC

My operating room...
http://bc.kf4oal.com/CRW_6936.jpg

[defordphoto]

The razor blade was for slicing your wrists IF you scratched the filter right? :D

[BCdives]

Hey RFM, yea my wrists 2nd but to cut up my spatula 1st. Odd the timing, I had my 1GB Lexar flash card die tonight 20 minutes after I cleaned the lens, I thought it was something I had done, but turns out the card just finally bit it. I'll share that experience in another post, but thank goodness the camera survived the cleaning just fine.

Love your pic's RFM, keep em coming,

BC

[defordphoto]

Thanks BC. I have a pile to go through here over the next week or so that I shot during the big-freaking-freeze we had here in the Northwest. That's why I've been on the forum so much, working from my home office.

A Lexar CF bit the dust? Wow. You don't hear of that too often. What does the computer say about it? Can you format it on the PC?

Anyway, glad ya got that senor clean. It can be annoying.

[BCdives]

Yea I know the feeling I work out of my house ALL the time, yes it has it's up side but can get just as boring as any other job.

Annnyway, shortly after I cleaned the sensor, I took some sample shots to check for spots, everything went just fine. HOWEVER, while I was downloading the pic's with BreezeBrowser for whatever reason the program crashed (rare) OR the Card crashed the program. Regarless, I put the CF card back in the 10D and the camera froze with nothing more than PA-1 on the screen, which is the first thing you see when you power up. I took out the batteries, on and off, etc and it was still frozen. Then I took out the card, and the 10D went back to normal, just no CF card. Wheww thats a relief. The CPU and Lexar Card reader didn't see the card either.

Now the proof, I have ANOTHER 1G 32X card as a backup, popped it in and life was good.

The BEST part is, I went on line to Lexar's "Live" support and had a tech chatting with me in about :20 seconds (no lie) They agreed it was the card, sent me an RA for the old one and a new one is one the way, all that in less than 10 minutes, I couldn't believe it. I can't order a pizza that fast. Their support is amazing, and so are their cards 99.999% of the time.

Anyway, thanks for your time and responses for sure, it has been an exciting chain of learning events tonight, but I guess thats how you get savvy huh?

Talk to ya soon,

BC

[defordphoto]

Lexar rocks! That's pretty awesome for them to respond that quick. Customer service dowsn't gte better than that!

[nucki]

I brought it to canon! after my "first" visit I get it back almost as dirty as it was. ok, it was a little bit better but not that much! so I went back to canon, told my complaints and they cleaed it again. He told me, they are cleaning with alcohol! the second cleaning was done with some other special fluid and now its ok. He also told me that canon only assure till F13!!
I've tryed it till F32 and there is almost nothing to see. It costs me 24 € ( currently ~30$)

best regards
Peter

[robertwgross]

Peter, in many customer service organizations, when they have a customer "in their face" they will do practically anything or especially say practically anything to get the customer out of there. Sometimes they will tell you that it is alcohol, or something special, or even crazy stuff. Sometimes they are doing it to test your intelligence, and sometimes they are doing it for the joke factor, but basically they are just telling you anything to get you to leave.

It's harsh, but true.

I like to shop around until I find customer service organizations that do not try to lie to me.

---Bob Gross---

[pradeep1]

Just go ahead and do it. There are far more scarier things to life than cleaing your sensor cover.

Tell us how it went.

[BCdives]

Just go ahead and do it. There are far more scarier things to life than cleaing your sensor cover.

Tell us how it went.

OK...hit your arrow up button about 9 times and you'll can read how it went, just perfectly. But thanks for your macho vote of confidence, maybe someday I will learn how to juggle 3 10D's with my bare hands while spitting fire into the audience. And you don't have to tell me about scary I have looked scary right in the eyes..........and then shortly there after we got a divorce.