Sensor cleaning disaster, please help!

I think is safe to say that the vast majority of photographers who have used pec pads and eclipse have not had issues. I too have used them for over a decade on multiple cameras without issue. As mentioned above, this is all we had for years and it worked perfectly when done properly. There are newer products out there but they also cost way more then pac pads and eclipse.

Pec Pads and Methanol (Eclipse or equivalent) work quite well when done properly. The biggest issues with the wrap your own method is that you can have sharp things from the handle and poke through the pad and/or debris that came onto the pad while wrapping the handle. The other issue is that they won't get edge to edge of the sensor like a proper pre-made swab will. If this was a cleaning issue it was from too much chemical on the swab and this can happen with wrap your own or the pre-made ones. I personally have always used the pre-made swabs as I know they are debris free and ready to use. My time is worth money and I don't want to take the time to wrap a swab that wont get edge to edge.

There are some swabs on the market now that use heat to seal the polyester material to the handle. The process of using heat can leave sharp edges (due to melted polyester) at the corners that can come in contact with the sensor. You want to be very careful when using these type of swabs.

Curt,

Which premade do you use/recommend?

Nice website, just glanced, but bookmarked for later

My favorite use to be the Sensor Swab by Photographic Solutions but when they discontinued it last year and replaced it with the Sensor Swab Ultra, I stopped using them. They have since put out an urgent announcement to not use the Sensor Swab Ultra with eclipse on Sony sensors due to sensors getting damaged. Their swabs with the rubberband on them are the original ones I used for over 15 years.

I'm now using the Alpha Swab. I recently tested all the major players swabs currently on market and listed their pros and cons over in the methods and tools section

I think it has all been covered here by everyone.
I have had the same thing happen as I am sort of sure others here have to.
When I have had to clean the sensor, I always do another test shot of something white or the sky with no clouds.
I have had to redo it all over again.
On one youtube thing about this they said to remove your battery as it can cause a magnetic field and this brings in the dust.
But I have not done that myself.
What I do use is a torch light to see the sensor a lot better, all you have to do is move the light around to see it clearer.
If this fails try to use a magnify glass and shine the torch light through that.
I have been doing mine like this and got the dist bunnies off my sensor.
Using those swaps on a stick.
Not sure if you are still trying to work this out or not, but I thought I would throw mine in also.

Aussie1 wrote in post #18010883
...
On one youtube thing about this they said to remove your battery as it can cause a magnetic field and this brings in the dust.....

If you remove the battery you cannot open the shutter. The battery has to be in and the camera turned on to put it into cleaning mode.

don1163 wrote in post #17965691
A quick quote from the manufacturers of Pec Pads, for the benefit of the OP..

"PEC*PAD is not recommended for cleaning the CCD. It is not the same material used in the Sensor Cleaning Swabs. PSI does not approve or warranty the CCD or any camera part from any damage caused by using non approved products."

Personally I would take the advice of the product manufacturer and use the tool designed for the job, but that is just my opinion.

Except that this advice is from the manufacturer's lawyers in order to stave off any unpleasantries that follow when somebody doesn't follow the instructions or has a clumsy hand. As has been said, many of us have used pec pads for years without any issues.

Aussie1 wrote in post #18010883
I think it has all been covered here by everyone.
I have had the same thing happen as I am sort of sure others here have to.
When I have had to clean the sensor, I always do another test shot of something white or the sky with no clouds.
I have had to redo it all over again.
On one youtube thing about this they said to remove your battery as it can cause a magnetic field and this brings in the dust.
But I have not done that myself.
What I do use is a torch light to see the sensor a lot better, all you have to do is move the light around to see it clearer.
If this fails try to use a magnify glass and shine the torch light through that.
I have been doing mine like this and got the dist bunnies off my sensor.
Using those swaps on a stick.
Not sure if you are still trying to work this out or not, but I thought I would throw mine in also.

This is incorrect information. Yes if you try to clean your sensor while using a bulb setting or long exposure then yes this would be the case. The cleaning mode is specifically designed for cleaning your sensor, It opens the shutter and holds it open without energizing the sensor. For non-miroless cameras you can't get the shutter to stay open without a battery. On a mirrorless camera, sure you could take the battery out for the sensor cleaning but that would accomplish no more than turning off the camera.

Good ol' youtube, just like the internet, a majority of the content is more harmful/incorrect than helpful.

joedlh wrote in post #18010934
Except that this advice is from the manufacturer's lawyers in order to stave off any unpleasantries that follow when somebody doesn't follow the instructions or has a clumsy hand. As has been said, many of us have used pec pads for years without any issues.

Their guarantee up until last year was that if you used their products (as they recommend to be used) they would guarantee that you would not damage your sensor. They no longer offer that guarantee and now only offer a guarantee that says "will not cause any chemical damage to the CCD or CMOS sensor coating". So maybe they might change their Pec*Pad on sensors statement seeing how their guarantee has changed but on the other hand I'm sure they would prefer to sell more swabs.

I do know that there are 1000's of you out their cleaning your sensors every day with a wrap your own tool and doing so successfully. Just be cautious to make sure your paddle/handle has NO sharp things that can come in contact with the surface of your sensor. The other thing to watch out for is having CLEAN wipes. Over 90% of the damaged sensors that I have dealt with have been damaged while using a wrap your own method so please be cautious.

gjl711 wrote in post #18010924
If you remove the battery you cannot open the shutter. The battery has to be in and the camera turned on to put it into cleaning mode.

Not in a mirrorless cameras as their sensor is exposed to the elements every time you take the lens off. This is why mirrorless cameras need sensor cleaning more often than the non-mirrorless.