Cleaning the sensor A7R/A7S

Hi guys

I love my A7R/S but one thing i noticed is, how fast the sensor gets dirty due to the fact that there is so less space from the mount to the sensor. During lens changes it happened a lot to me that i then got specks of dust on the sensor without noticing, which is a PITA when post processing.

So usually, i was always careful about cleaning sensors and what i came up with to clean it, is to use a brush to apply make up. I have the one i attached below.

My girlfriend bought me this because i was joking and saying that i want one just to play with it haha, however she got me one and then i came to the idea to wipe away dust with it which sits on my sensor. This works very well, as it is very smooth and i dont think it damages anything. However, i dont know if it is okey to do so, because it works very well, and if it works that well im wondering why nobody else came to the idea to wipe with something like this.

What do you think? Is there any danger in wiping the sensor clean with a brush like that?

What keeps the brush clean?! After you have used it the first time, the dust removed from sensor is nicely attached to the brush, isn't it? Now maybe if you had an oil-free air compressor to vigorously blow the dust off the brush, or maybe use of the canned 'air' to blow off the brush.

It would seem to be fundamentally a sounder approach to start with a clean, unused sensor cleaning pad, which you unwrap to use new and then throw away after use.
There are sensor cleaning liquids, for which the vendor also makes pads available for applying the cleaning fluid, which you can use dry rather than with the liquid, if you choose.

BTW, tell your girlfriend that makeup professionals do not generally use the re-useable applicators (brush, pads) for hygiene reasons... it spreads bacteria from person to person! If they do use a brush, for example, it is used only on ONE person and must be washed and sanitized before it is used on another person. And used brushes/pads should never be dipped into (multi-client) facial powder repeatedly for the same bacterial contamination reasons. This is a principle that any photography studio that maintains a make-up supply for application to clients should adhere to.

just be careful, pretty sure the sensor cover uses a softer glass or even plastic. I scuffed up my sensor/cover with a lenspen

I also have pec pads and eclipse solution... a little bit of streaking

surprisingly, the scuffs dont show up at F22, however the tiniest spec of dust will. Never had a problem cleaning my canon gear, however sony's stuff is softer and I would avoid touching the sensor when possible. In the end, my cleaned by slightly scuffed sensor works better than a dirty sensor. Just kinda annoying knowing that my sensor is scuffed.

You may be aware of this site but in case you're not:

http://www.cleaningdig​italcameras.com

It makes for a good read. Be aware that several products carry warnings against being used on Sony cameras due to proprietary coatings.

Charlie wrote in post #17518383
just be careful, pretty sure the sensor cover uses a softer glass or even plastic. I scuffed up my sensor/cover with a lenspen

I also have pec pads and eclipse solution... a little bit of streaking

surprisingly, the scuffs dont show up at F22, however the tiniest spec of dust will. Never had a problem cleaning my canon gear, however sony's stuff is softer and I would avoid touching the sensor when possible. In the end, my cleaned by slightly scuffed sensor works better than a dirty sensor. Just kinda annoying knowing that my sensor is scuffed.

Hmm, i wouldnt think that the hairs of that brush could scuff the sensor?

it probably wouldnt, however I didnt think a lens pen could scuff the sensor either

Charlie wrote in post #17518383
just be careful, pretty sure the sensor cover uses a softer glass or even plastic. I scuffed up my sensor/cover with a lenspen

Even worse the manufacturers of the Lens Pen openly state that their product can leave behind a bunch of carbon particles, which you can blow off a lens surface but can create an even more horrid mess on a sensor!

But isnt a lens pen like some kind of rubber? I wouldnt come to the idea of using something like that on my sensor?

buy the sensor cleaning kit only like $15 off ebay

It is actually more like felt.

Good way to ruin an expensive investment. Beware of considerable "advice" on the web from those who don't know what they are talking about regarding sensor cleaning. Do your homework by posting as you have and web searching. Most who use these products do so by eyesight alone which is going to look considerably less an issue or damaging than if looking at a sensor using a stereo lab microscope and a high powered LED flashlight. Most photographers would puke if they saw what is still on their sensors after they supposedly cleaned them or what a sensor looks like after using anything less than products made to do this.

Users need something from this supplier including swabs, cleaning fluid, and presurized air tool.

http://www.amazon.com …hic+Solutions&n​ode=502394

But i dont get it. I was asking if that brush would be okay to wipe the dust of. I dont intend to clean it with fluid or something else, because i just want to get rid of dust. Cleaning with fluids sounds scary and i dont see why i should do it that way, since i just want to remove the little specks of dust...

I use the Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly brush along with a large Giotto large rocket blower. Works well on my a7R.

If particles become lodged, then I'll wet clean - but only rarely.

An LED sensor loupe is invaluable to see every little spec.

davidfarina wrote in post #17519386
But i dont get it. I was asking if that brush would be okay to wipe the dust of. I dont intend to clean it with fluid or something else, because i just want to get rid of dust. Cleaning with fluids sounds scary and i dont see why i should do it that way, since i just want to remove the little specks of dust...

I would definitely use a rocket blower before using a brush. It's by far the most useful cleaning tool for your sensor and lens for that matter. Even if your brush works to dislodge the dust, you should have a blower to make sure it's gone.

This discussion is an opportunity to point out that while dSLRs have shutter curtains over the sensor except at the time of the exposure, mirrorless cameras always have a naked sensor to allow the view to the EVF at all times. So, analogous to the Canon Pellix and the Canon EOS RT full time view (no flipping up of the reflex mirror) more vulnerable to dust getting on the pellicle which is always in the optical path, the mirrorless camera is more vulnerable to dust on the sensor yet being subject to viewfinder blackout like a conventional dSLR.