Does my sensor need cleaning?

[elbirth]

I've had my 20D a little over a week now, but I'm wondering if maybe I've somehow gotten some dust on the sensor? I've changed the lenses somewhat often at home where we have cats and dogs, and they tend to cause dust and hair to be fairly present even moments after a good vacuuming of the house.

Anyway, I first noticed last night this 1 spot in a couple of my pictures I had taken of the sky down near the bottom. It appeared in the same spot on all 3 of the pictures. I wondered if it was the lens (my new 50mm I had just gotten) but then just now I was looking at some pictures I took with my Sigma 100-300mm and noticed the same spot, but also one more a little to the right!

Are these indicative of dust on the sensor? Or is this something else? This is my first SLR, so I'm far from an expert in all this, but if it's just dust, I should be able to just use my little hand pump blower to blow the dust off most likely, right?


http://www.heycubed.net/pics/spotsinpic.jpg



The 2 red arrows point to the spots I'm talking about.

[Belmondo]

Yup. It looks like sensor dust to me.

No biggy.

[johneo]

I've had my 20D a little over a week now

Congrats and good luck with it!


I'm wondering if maybe I've somehow gotten some dust on the sensor?

Sure looks like it! I've had the same thing with my 10D and it looks the same.

I've changed the lenses somewhat often at home where we have cats and dogs, and they tend to cause dust and hair to be fairly present even moments after a good vacuuming of the house.

It can happen anywhere under any conditions. I've got 8 dogs that shed all the time (so it seems) and even changing a lens where there are no dogs I've had dust on the sensor.

I asked the same question a long time ago and it was suggested to make sure and turn the camera off before I remove the lens and put another on. Seems to work because I seldom get dust spots anymore.


I should be able to just use my little hand pump blower to blow the dust off most likely, right?

That's all there is to it! Sometimes they may take a little longer and harder to get off but a blower should do the trick!

Good Luck!

[FlipsidE]

Yeah, I have something that looks kinda like that on my sensor. Fortunately, it seems to be an easy fix (probably just need to buy a rocket blower). Unfortunately, it's on my brand new Rebel. But, as was said above, it can happen anytime anywhere. So, it's really not so bad. Could be that while seating my lens for the first time, some dust got in.

I'll buy a rocket blower soon. So far, I've only taken indoor shots with it. But, it's only barely obvious (thank goodness).

FlipsidE

[robertwgross]

Isn't that what Belmondo once called "sensor snot"?

---Bob Gross---

[Belmondo]

Isn't that what Belmondo once called "sensor snot"?

---Bob Gross---

Ewwwww. I don't think so. I did have something on my Mk II sensor that looked like it had been liquid at one time, but it was pretty dry by the time I discovered it. My camera didn't eve have a cold.

[drisley]

Just ordered a "Rocket" today.
I saw a video of a pro photog showing how to clean the MKII sensor.
All he did was hold the camera so it faced down, hit "sensor clean" on the menu, then he pointed a Rocket Blower up into the camera and squeezed the blower a few times. Closed it up, and voila, he was done.
If that is how the pros do it, it's good enough for me.
Although, I have a sensor swab sitting here unused. But I still have to get some eclipse and pec pads before I use that.

[elbirth]

Thanks a lot for the replies!

With this being my first SLR and all, I'm sure you can understand my concern about it... I was guessing it was just dust, so I'm glad to have that confirmed. And yeah, I always turn my camera off before I swap lenses or CF cards.

I'll go on and try blowing the dust off and see how it works out.

[drisley]

Everybody swears by the Giottos Rocket Blower. It's over half a foot long and is pretty cheap.
Something else that works well, and is even cheaper, is a large ear syringe!
http://instacontent.mirror-image.net/henrys/websnaps/140DAY001.jpg

[FlipsidE]

Are there any step by step walkthoughs on cleaning sensors? Or is it just as simple as facing the camera down, turning on the sensor cleaning mode, blowing it off, and closing the sensor back up?

FlipsidE

[elbirth]

I was looking through the manual for the 20D and it has a couple pages talking about it.
Also Drisley said the video he saw was just that simple, so I'm guessing that should be all there is to it.

[FlipsidE]

So, I'm curious. Let's say you were out on a paid shoot, and a some dust floated onto your sensor while shooting. When you got back to your computer, you noticed spots like the ones in the first picture of this thread.

Thing is that these spots aren't tiny (like a small group of hot pixels), and therefore, they wouldn't be very easy to clone out, heal, or otherwise fix. So, it would seem that sensor dust could end up being a pretty darn big issue. I would assume that, if you found these after a paid photoshoot, you'd be working late into the night and long hours to clone them all out.

This kinda scares me, actually. So many things that can go wrong with a DSLR.

FlipsidE

[elbirth]

That's a valid concern, but the only time I've noticed it on mine is when I took shots of the sky where I had the solid blue sky. Every other picture that has had even the slightly amount of change in color it hasn't really shown it.

If it DOES always only show up on solid colors, then it's really easy to clone it out and shouldn't take too much time.

[FlipsidE]

That's a valid concern, but the only time I've noticed it on mine is when I took shots of the sky where I had the solid blue sky. Every other picture that has had even the slightly amount of change in color it hasn't really shown it.

If it DOES always only show up on solid colors, then it's really easy to clone it out and shouldn't take too much time.

Very good point! I have to admit that I've only seen it on bright colors too (like white and sky blue). I first found this issue when I was taking pictures of something with a white wall behind. Honestly, unless I was REALLY lookin hard for it (like I was), I might not notice it...but it is there. It's like a little dark ghost. Had I not been using my fine toothed comb to go over the shots, I probably wouldn't have ever noticed it. As a matter of fact, had you not pointed those spots out on the picture you took, I'm not sure if I would have ever spotted them.

But, I go over my shots with a figurative microscope making sure there isn't a single flaw that was caused by the camera.

I didn't think it was an issue because the darker color shots never showed this. But, when you posted this thread, I attached my flash to my camera and snapped off four pictures of my white wall...each at varying distances. Come to find out that it was there all the time afterall.

EDIT: I want to try to get some good shots of my niece this weekend, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it. But, I think I'm going to order that Rocket Blower this weekend (along with a few other goodies).

FlipsidE

[robertwgross]

Are there any step by step walkthoughs on cleaning sensors? Or is it just as simple as facing the camera down, turning on the sensor cleaning mode, blowing it off, and closing the sensor back up?


I use a different approach using a cotton swab and a half-drop of lens cleaning fluid. I set the camera into the right mode, then remove the lens. Then I point the camera straight up. I have a very bright overhead lamp, maybe five feet above. When the mirror goes up and the shutter opens, I can see the sensor. By wiggling the camera position around, the bright light will be reflected in that multi-color fashion, and I can see the surface pretty clearly. The wet swab goes around, and then I'm done.

---Bob Gross---

[FlipsidE]

Are there any step by step walkthoughs on cleaning sensors? Or is it just as simple as facing the camera down, turning on the sensor cleaning mode, blowing it off, and closing the sensor back up?


I use a different approach using a cotton swab and a half-drop of lens cleaning fluid. I set the camera into the right mode, then remove the lens. Then I point the camera straight up. I have a very bright overhead lamp, maybe five feet above. When the mirror goes up and the shutter opens, I can see the sensor. By wiggling the camera position around, the bright light will be reflected in that multi-color fashion, and I can see the surface pretty clearly. The wet swab goes around, and then I'm done.

---Bob Gross---

I'm curious though...wouldn't exposing the sensor to that much light for an extended period of time end up causing hot pixels to show up more often or more quickly in the life of the camera?

FlipsidE

[elbirth]

I just gave it a shot with a small hand-held blower (somewhat similar to the Giotto, but definitely not as nicely made). I did it as Drisley described, and I took a couple sample shots of a white surface and they appear to be gone :)

[johneo]

I'm curious though...wouldn't exposing the sensor to that much light for an extended period of time end up causing hot pixels to show up more often or more quickly in the life of the camera?

FlipsidE

When the camera is in "Sensor Clean" mode I believe it opens the shutter but the sensor stays off.

[wolf]

Are there any step by step walkthoughs on cleaning sensors? Or is it just as simple as facing the camera down, turning on the sensor cleaning mode, blowing it off, and closing the sensor back up?

FlipsidE

Here (http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning) is a good tutorial on sensor cleaning. I have used this method many times and it works great.

[FlipsidE]

I had a cheap blower brush I bought at Wolf recently, and I gave it a shot. Whatever that spot is...it didn't go away. My guess is I either need a stronger blower (like the Rocket Blower) or there actually is a flaw on my sensor.

FlipsidE

[jcsorensen]

Remember also, that dust bunnies become more pronounced with smaller aperature settings. Sometimes you can only see them at f/16 and smaller. Frequently you can avoid the whole problem by using aperature settings in the large to mid range.

[Belmondo]

I had a cheap blower brush I bought at Wolf recently, and I gave it a shot. Whatever that spot is...it didn't go away. My guess is I either need a stronger blower (like the Rocket Blower) or there actually is a flaw on my sensor.

FlipsidE

That's extremely unlikely. I think most of the sensors are checked pretty well before leaving the factory. There are contaminants that will attach themselves to your sensor that just won't blow away, and they very well might require a less passive method of cleaing (ie Pec Pads, etc.)

[phili1]

Some spots do not go away but there is a way but you have to read his cleaning instructions carefully. He sells a kit to do it.

Go to this site

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

There is also a mfg produt you can use.

see attachment but I think the first one is best.

http://www.kinetronics.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.100.exe/online-store/scstore/speckgrabber_product.html?L+scstore+ybzy4676ff5dd9 5d+1117047472

[elbirth]

For those harder to clean instances, if you have a Canon service place anywhere nearby, would it be worth it to take the camera there and get them to clean it, or is cleaning it even with the cleaning solution and pec pads still fairly safe to do on your own.

Also, do they charge for that?

[phili1]

Go to the site I just posted and you will get a blow by blow description on how to do it. As I understand it at Canon they just blow it.

[Adam Hicks]

Yeah this friggin sensor is driving me up the wall. I'll bet it wasn't TWO days after I had my 20D that the sensor was filthy. I cleaned it and now it's dirty again. It's almost like my 100-400l came preloaded with dust or oil or something, because I put it on my DRebel and then my 20D and they both ended up with dirty sensors.

Oh well here we go again. Cleaning the sensor when I have a big shoot tomorrow and Sunday at the Nascar Truck and IRL races :(

Adam

[Chris1le]

My guess is I either need a stronger blower (like the Rocket Blower) or there actually is a flaw on my sensor.

There is a difference between "Dust Bunnies" and "Sensor Snot". DB's can be blown off. SS can not. SS needs to be cleaned much like a window with a sensor swab of your choice and some Eclipse or lens cleaner. Your sensor does not appear to be defective. :wink:

[elbirth]

Yeah this friggin sensor is driving me up the wall. I'll bet it wasn't TWO days after I had my 20D that the sensor was filthy. I cleaned it and now it's dirty again. It's almost like my 100-400l came preloaded with dust or oil or something, because I put it on my DRebel and then my 20D and they both ended up with dirty sensors.

Oh well here we go again. Cleaning the sensor when I have a big shoot tomorrow and Sunday at the Nascar Truck and IRL races :(

Adam

You mention Nascar races... do you change lenses frequently (or at all) while at this? And have you been to them before with this camera? It sounds almost like either you're leaving the camera on while changing lenses, which will draw dust because of the charge in the contacts in the camera, or changing it while in a situation where a lot of filth is going to be floating around in the air....

This may not be the case, but something to take into consideration. I feel your pain about it, though, my G3 was always so much lower maintenance in these kinds of aspects.

[Adam Hicks]

I only change lenses well away from any activity, and in the trunk of my car working from my camera bag. Even at that I generally don't change lenses more than once or twice. I can shoot 90% of everything I need with the 100-400L, switching to a wider angle lens only for some overall surrounding shots.

I 'think' I turn it off on every lens change, but sometimes it's hard to tell. Guess I'll just have to grin and bear it. Otherwise the camera has performed fantastically.

Adam

[danphoto1]

I guess we all have to learn how to use the eclipse and the swaabs evetually. Swish Swish goes my rocket. I does work however. Try this link. It should tell you about digital cleaning products

http://www.photosol.com/