How do you know when your sensors cleaning?

I have had my 40D for about 3 years (7,000 clicks), and never thought about cleaning the sensors until now, and only now because of something I read. Is this type of camera maintenance something I need to do now? How do you know when your sensors are dirty? Is there a rule of thumb as to when this job needs to be done, such as age of the camera or shutter clicks? I have never taken my camera to potentially harsh environments such as the beach, or desert, dirt fields on a wind day. The worst environment has just been the neighborhood park. Thanks, -rick

Shoot a bright sky or white wall at a small aperture and look for dust spots.

Dust and dirt will always depend on use, environment and various other factors. There is no set timetable for cleaning - do it when it's dirty.

The 40D uses microvibration to knock loose dust off the sensor, so it doesn't get scummy as fast as some older cameras, but this will never remove all dust. A rocket blower is a great investment, but when a really dirty sensor crops up, a wet cleaning is the way to go.

If you start seeing spots in your images then you should look into cleaning your sensor. It will only be evident at smaller apertures such as f 16 and above. You can take a photo of a bright white wall or the sky at max aperture and see if there is dust on the sensor. But as to whether or not to clean it? I would recommend it only if it affects the image or your piece of mind. Cleaning can be done DIY or professionally for a small fee.

I check mine before every event.

Hold a white piece of paper against the wall and shoot it. Quick easy test.

Nature Nut wrote in post #15114193
If you start seeing spots in your images then you should look into cleaning your sensor. ....

bigVinnie wrote in post #15114247
I check mine before every event.....

I clean mine or at least check mine before every even. I use to just wait until I saw a speck. Then one ay I did so I cleaned it. Well, I checked some older pictures and that speck was there for several hundred pictures. Then I saw another speck. I go through all the old pics from that time and all I see is specks. My eye darts right to them.

It's so much easier to clean the darn thing before a shoot than to clone out of the boogers. I use my monitor as the light source.

I set the lens to it's minimum aperture (usually f/22 but some lenses go down more.

I bring up a blank word document and set it to full screen

Then manually focus to infinity so that it's as out of focus as possible. Set to ISO 100 and with a shutter speed so that it's exposed properly. Usually around 1/4 sec or so, maybe longer.

Take the picture as close to the monitor as possible and move the camera around a lot. All your trying to do is get the boogers on the sensor so the blurrier everything else is, the easier it is to see the boogers.

Bring the pic into P/S and adjust the levels and the specs will just pop out clear as day.

This is one of my bodies a while back before a cleaning
https://photography-on-the.net …ntid=179745&d=1​1814202322

I will check for specks tonight when I get home. Thanks!! -rick

Virto wrote in post #15114181
Shoot a bright sky or white wall at a small aperture and look for dust spots.

f22 against a blue sky will really show any dirty sensor spots

when you get sick and tired of the clone tool.

gl711 - Many thanks for the helpful tutorial above! - OneWatt

Rocket blower is all I've used so far since I started in 2009 & tbh [touchwood] I don't get/notice many spots. It's only landscapes/ND shots I shoot at smaller apertures anyway as most other stuff is prime lenses nearer to wide open.

LR's clone/heal tool with auto sync makes things a little easier though