cleaning sensor on 10D and 20D

[autograff]

have any of you guys used this? http://www.visibledust.com/

it's been recomended to me by several other photographers. it's a little more expensive, but it supposte to do very fine job.

[Mills]

Yes. It works beautifully. In my opinion, worth every penny. Used on my MK II. Take a look at these pictures to get an idea of the "finished product". The sensor on my MK II looks better than when I got the camera.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=65932

[PhotoEcosse]

Thumbs up from me as well.

I was petrified of cleaning the sensor having heard / read scare stories. The Visible Dust brush did a fine job on what was a shockingly dirty sensor for a brand new camera. Like most things in life, follow the instructions and the result should be a good one.

[autograff]

it puts a little hope in my heart. my camera right out of the box had substantial amount of dust.

[DavoMrMac]

There are quite a few products on their website, which ones have any of you used.

eg. Sensor brush, sensor clean?

[Jim_T]

Yes.. they have wet and dry cleaning kits..

I haven't had a chance to try any of their stuff..

I use Photosol and Sensor Swabs.. I bough a package of 12 sensor swabs a year and a half ago. I've only used 3 to date, so it looks like I've got a lifetime supply :)

I'm sure the dry brush works great, but I've got this "thing" about rubbing dry things across the sensor surface.. I can 'feel' the scritch of that little piece of sand as the brush drags it across the surface..

[Mills]

The Sensor Brush is dry, but there is no scritch involved.

[autograff]

I have not use any of their projects yet, but I was looking into buying Sensor Brush. There is definitely a price difference between other products on the market, so I want to hear some feedbacks before I buy one.

[autograff]

Or would you recommend using something like this ? http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

[lime]

For my 10D, I use the 8mm sensor brush (cheaper) & works great!
I chose this over the rest after reading the Rob Galbraith's article.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-6460-7296

Emil

[ron chappel]

I'll keep doing my normal method for cleaning the sensor as these brushes will only pick up loose dust specs not ones that are stuck .
I will certainly look at getting one of these one day to clean out the mirror box-they would be absolutally ideal for that!
Oddly (so far)-allthough my mirror box has a great multitude specs of various sizes,very few ever make it to the sensor.Don't know why yet...

My usual cleaning method involves lifting the specks off the sensor one by one-something i taught myself while servicing lenses.So far i've only 'cleaned' my sensor three times using this method,removing less than 20 specs total.Not bad for 15000 pics taken huh?

[mdr]

Any retailers in the UK selling these?

[Merc]

In the UK try

The Right Image
Unit 7
Leathley Road
Leeds LS10 1JD

Sorry but I don't have Telephone ot web details

Merc

[Redbird_xo]

Or, as an alternative to Visibledust's expensive brush, this method looks promising. Although I haven't actually tried this method myself, I am serioulsy considering it. It probably takes an adventurist to adapt this method - caveat emptor.

http://194.100.88.243/petteri/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.html

[agwright]

In the UK try

The Right Image
Unit 7
Leathley Road
Leeds LS10 1JD

Sorry but I don't have Telephone ot web details

Merc

Try http://www.therightimage.biz/

[toner]

I have a 20d and was wondering at which settings one is most likely to notice a dirty sensor. I've noticed spots in the sky in daylight outdoor shots, but usually when the zoom's at 300m and the aperture's on the small side.
Also, is there any way to tell if your dust specks are lens or sensor related? I "blow-cleaned" my sensor yesterday with a Rocket blower and wonder what would be the best way to test the "cleanliness" of the sensor.
Any help would be appreciated.

Toner aka Cliff

[PhotoEcosse]

Toner,

My recipe for seeing what gunk is on the sensor is....
1. Av mode
2. Set lens to smallest aperture possible (f22 - 32)
3. Aim camera at a (ideally 18% grey) light source - I use either overcast skies or the screen of my laptop running a powerpoint slide that is plain grey.
4. Set focus to manual and set at infinity (you may not get a focus lock but this isn't important)
5. Take the shot - ideally this will be at 1/4 sec or greater. Whilst taking the shot I rotate the camera around so that I know that any marks are on the camera and not in the atmosphere.
6. Upload into P/shop and apply Auto Levels.
7. This is what you get ......
http://www.qd-design.co.uk/images/dustTest9thMarch_web.jpg

This was from an out of the box 20D :cry:

HTH,

Nick

[Jesper]

Or would you recommend using something like this ? http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning
Yes, this is also a very popular method to clean your sensor, I use this for my 10D. It works well and is cheap.

[autograff]

Redbird_XO

thanks man!

I found enough courage tonight to follow the method, that you have suggested. It's truly unbelievable!!!!
I HIGHLY recommend to anyone! Absolutely, "visible dust" is great method, that comes with $$$ price. If you read the link, that Redbird_XO submitted earlier you'll be able to see things from slightly different perspective.
I've followed each step carefully and.........results are amazing! And the cost is ...........$12.00

Thanks Redbird_XO!!!

[Pb2Au]

I was really getting close to using the copperhill method, and I have two of the sensor swipes sitting in my camera case. However, I thought I might try my new rocket-blower instead. The blower alone, with the camera held pointing down and on the "sensor clean" function, cleaned out almost all of my visible dust/spots at F22.

[autograff]

Pb2Au

same thing. i got most of it out, but decided to try method suggested by Redbird_XO. Great results!

[tom30]

I just bought a 20D and did this sensor test.
http://tom-wirth.fotopic.net/
How dirty is this considered to be?

[Marshy]

I just bought a 20D and did this sensor test.
http://tom-wirth.fotopic.net/
How dirty is this considered to be?
Is this an image of a light surface without a lense on ? I , like a lot of others like tinkering with my camera equipment nearly as much as using it but touching the inside of a camera is a no go for me unless i have too , my philosophy is i take a pic once a week of a bright surface ideally a blue sky and check for dust specks if i can,t see any it can,t be too bad , at the end of the day clear images are what i strive for so if i am generally attaining this why try and fix something that isn,t broken .

[lancea]

How dirty is this considered to be?
Looks horrible! But how did you take that? I first noticed dust as a problem only against blue sky. Unless it's a problem for your regular shooting, then no matter what a test shot shows it is not worth worrying about. It's like when someone comments about an imperfection in something you own. You were happy before, but you're driven nuts now you know about it. It's all a state of mind :).

[Redbird_xo]

Redbird_XO

thanks man!

I found enough courage tonight to follow the method, that you have suggested. It's truly unbelievable!!!!
I HIGHLY recommend to anyone! Absolutely, "visible dust" is great method, that comes with $$$ price. If you read the link, that Redbird_XO submitted earlier you'll be able to see things from slightly different perspective.
I've followed each step carefully and.........results are amazing! And the cost is ...........$12.00

Thanks Redbird_XO!!!

Good for you, autograff. Due appreciation should be given to the author of that site. He has attracted some critical comments from some other stuff that he said in his website. Nevertheless, I picked out the "good" and forget the rest.

My 300D's sensor is relatively clean. In the meantime, I'm actively looking for the right brush from various art supplies store. I will definitely go for this route...worse case is that I have an excuse to tell the wife for a need of a new dc. ;)

[tom30]

I took the picture of an 18% grey card with the manual focus set to infinity, mode set to AV, and set at f32.