Sensor Cleaning - How often ?

[Paul_O]

Just got me thinking from another thread that was started re: how you change lenses. How often do you/have you cleaned your sensor? I've had my 300D for 14 months or so (about 3000 shots) and my sensor is as clean as new. I have a bit of dust on my mirror or in my (penta-prism?) but obviously it doesn't affect the results. Also, when you send your camera to Canon for "servicing", what do they actually do?

I look forward to your responses

Paul

[griff2]

I've had my 300D for about 7 months now, and still don't need to clean the sensor. There's some dust on the mirror, but I'm resisting the temptation to blow it off, since I WILL then have to clean the sensor.

[Jon]

Cleaned my D60's sensor once since I got it December '02. Haven't cleaned the 20D sensor yet. I suppose Canon could have cleaned the sensor when the D60 went in because the viewfinder LCD display died in Dec. 2003, but I don't know.

[chris.bailey]

Have never cleaned any of mine (D30,D60,10D and 1dMkII) any have found that a quick and gentle blow with the Rocket Blower is all I have needed to do

[cactusclay]

You must clean the sensor every six hours, or you are in danger of exploding the battery :D On the other hand, maybe just when it gets dirty. I don't know, but that I do know for sure.

[cageyjay]

I asked the same question in a different thread. I found I had to clean mine after less than 3 weeks of use. When I'm talking cleaning I mean blow off the dust. (A Gerber Nasal Aspirator works find. Use a new, clean one however!) I wonder if static electricity builds up on the senor attracting dust. During winter in Minnesota we have lots of very dry indoor air heating -28 degree F. to 65 does that. In Minnesota getting shocks from door knobs is a winter pasttime. But I see a some of you come from dry places, AZ, so I'm not sure about my theory.

[robertwgross]

The necessity to clean the sensor depends a lot on the environment. For example, when I change lenses only in a safe place, I'll go for months without touching the sensor. On the other hand, when I am shooting at Death Valley and the wind is blowing desert crud all around, I clean the sensor once or twice per day after a lens change. That is one extra reason why I tend to use zoom lenses more, since I won't have to change them so often to affect the focal length.

---Bob Gross---

[Jim_T]

I've wet swabbed my sensor three times in the almost two years that I've owned my 10D..

I change my lenses a lot and don't even think about keeping dust out when I change them. I find the less I worry about dust on the sensor, the less I get :)

[ssim]

I've had my 1DMKII since July of last year and have cleaned my sensor about 3 times. As Bob puts it, it all depends on where you are shooting.

[Joytek]

In genreal I clean my sensor on the 1DmkII after a few (2-3) lens changes. After a shoot I always take a blank frame (f16 or more (f32)) with MF set to infinity and the camera pointed at a blank paper or something like that.

I shoot lots of tripod shots with the lens sopped down for deep DOF....so dust shows up a lot.

I guess most of you guys shoot closer to wide open and possibly action....in this case dust does not show up too much (or at all)

I am fairly anal about dust, since I don't like to have to spot every pic I shoot.

I have a hard time beliving that you are satisfied with a dirty sensor....and YES IT DOES happen to all DSLRs eventually. The sensor gets statically charged and attracts any dust present around it.....and dust is always present everywhere.

I wish that camera makers finally did something about this obvious short comming of DSLRs......I would buy a LOT more primes if I would not have to worry about dust problems between changes.

w.

[Joytek]

In genreal I clean my sensor on the 1DmkII after a few (2-3) lens changes. After a shoot I always take a blank frame (f16 or more (f32)) with MF set to infinity and the camera pointed at a blank paper or something like that.

I shoot lots of tripod shots with the lens sopped down for deep DOF....so dust shows up a lot.

I guess most of you guys shoot closer to wide open and possibly action....in this case dust does not show up too much (or at all)

I am fairly anal about dust, since I don't like to have to spot every pic I shoot.

I have a hard time believing that you are satisfied with a dirty sensor....and YES IT DOES happen to all DSLRs eventually. The sensor gets statically charged and attracts any dust present around it.....and dust is always present everywhere.

I wish that camera makers finally did something about this obvious short comming of DSLRs......I would buy a LOT more primes if I would not have to worry about dust problems between changes.

w.

[tim]

Clean it when the dirt on the sensor is visible in the photos you take.

[pierrot]

Clean it when the dirt on the sensor is visible in the photos you take.
Hehe, I couldn't have said better ;)
Or do like HKfever does: send your body back for exchange any time you suspect a possible dust :mrgreen: <<< (no pun intended)

[defordphoto]

I'll ditto Tim's post on sensor cleaning.

Also, DO NOT under ANY circumstances attempt to clean the mirror or focusing screen with anything other than a shot of air. That dust will NOT affect your photos and is only an annoyance. The mirrors are extremely fragile and if you attempt to clean it or the focusing screen, your camera will be making a trip to a Canon Service Center.

[neil_r]

I clean when it is needed. D60 needed one blow in 2 years, 1D Mk II about one a month!. I do change lenses a lot.



N

[charlesu]

I clean my 1dmkii when it gets dirty. Not to be a smart ass, but that's when it needs cleaning. I don't clean it more often than that.