Junk on my Sensor

I am assuming that the dark spots on the blue sky in this photo is junk on my new 30D's sensor. If so, can someone point me in the right direction as far as cleaning it?
Never had an issue (20,000+ clicks) with my XT. I have about 300 with the 30D. Thanks!

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Thanks DDan for the quick response!

Kafn8td wrote in post #4066511
I am assuming that the dark spots on the blue sky in this photo is junk on my new 30D's sensor. If so, can someone point me in the right direction as far as cleaning it?
Never had an issue (20,000+ clicks) with my XT. I have about 300 with the 30D. Thanks!

Yeah those spots are a concern, but those brown streaks are hideous!

I'd recommend trying a blower first. Pull off the lens, set the camera to sensor cleaning, hold the camera backside-up so any debris will fall down out of the camera and use a blower to shoot air into the camera. This has worked fine for me.

I know its not a popular comment (I get a lot of flak for it) but I really don't recommend blowing air into your camera. A guy in one of these subforums did that and knocked dust from the camera to the top of the focusing screen, something he'll need to send to Canon to get cleaned.

I did it once and got what looked like miniature eyelashes on the focusing screen. Cleaned it myself - a BIG hassle. Since I clean about a dozen camera sensors for work ever since I have told our people not to use blowers not only are they not at risk of blowing dust deeper into the camera, their sensors are much cleaner between cleanings. The whole inner walls of the camera usually are dusty, when you blow off the sensor are you blowing other dust that was not an issue onto it?

I can see using a blower if you have a large hair or something completely screwing up your image. Last ditch effort. All I know is that I really don't want to mess with Focusing screen removal and cleaning for a nice long time.

Copperhill has a great brush, cheap too. Wet scrubbing is easy too but at least get yourself a brush. Rarely will you get sticky dust that won't remove or smears when you try.

-John

I would really hesitate recommending to anyone that they touch their sensor with anything but air. The sensor is quite delicate and expensive to replace and there's too much that can wrong with using brushes or swabs. The trick with air is to hold the camera upsidedown so that dust doesn't fall back into the camera.

Kafn8td wrote in post #4066511
I am assuming that the dark spots on the blue sky in this photo is junk on my new 30D's sensor. If so, can someone point me in the right direction as far as cleaning it?
Never had an issue (20,000+ clicks) with my XT. I have about 300 with the 30D. Thanks!

Sorry to hear that your new 30D has junk on its sensor. I can relate to your situation. My XT was much like yours, however, my 40Ds have not been, in spite of that, I think the 30Ds and 40Ds are incredible cameras.

Look out, there are soon to be many who might lambaste you for bringing this up. You might expect mocking comics, rude offline emails, and who knows what else. Don't let those things, if they happen, get you down.

I must say, however, there are a lot of folks here, including me, who are sincerely interested in helping you out, sharing information, and being a friendly forum member. Like I said, don't let the negative ones who insist on talking down to you put you off.

Best regards,

Michael

JackProton wrote in post #4073621
I would really hesitate recommending to anyone that they touch their sensor with anything but air. The sensor is quite delicate and expensive to replace and there's too much that can wrong with using brushes or swabs. The trick with air is to hold the camera upsidedown so that dust doesn't fall back into the camera.

i agree. wet cleanings should be infrequent as possible. i use a rocket blower frequently.

ed rader

Since my 5D came back from Canon after having a replacement IR filter fitted I'm very hesitant about wet cleaning. I've invested in an Arctic Butterfly, which appears to do the job of removing loose dust just as well as the Rocket Blower does, but without the risk of bits of crud being shifted from one place to another inside the camera . . .

M24 wrote in post #4074100
Look out, there are soon to be many who might lambaste you for bringing this up. You might expect mocking comics, rude offline emails, and who knows what else. Don't let those things, if they happen, get you down.

LOL Does this really happen?

Yes it does, and all too frequently. Just ignore the ignorant, and the others will help as much as they can.

Think about where to use a blower, at the end of the day, it has to suck air into the blower from somwhere & you must just end up in a loop of clearing dust & blowing on fresh dust.

I had the same problem yesterday & I wasn't getting anywhere with a blower.
In the end I cleaned it up with some Isopropynonl & a satin cloth.
Thread https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=387952

Its all down to how you treat/respect your equipment & how confident you are in your abilities to clean. I even managed to get somthing caught in shutters closing & knocked them out of alignment. Managed to get them back in place & the camera is now functioning almost perfect. Though I am going to get some of those Proper cleaning Swabs.

Eggtastico wrote in post #4075772
Think about where to use a blower, at the end of the day, it has to suck air into the blower from somwhere & you must just end up in a loop of clearing dust & blowing on fresh dust.

I had the same problem yesterday & I wasn't getting anywhere with a blower.
In the end I cleaned it up with some Isopropynonl & a satin cloth.
Thread https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=387952

Its all down to how you treat/respect your equipment & how confident you are in your abilities to clean. I even managed to get somthing caught in shutters closing & knocked them out of alignment. Managed to get them back in place & the camera is now functioning almost perfect. Though I am going to get some of those Proper cleaning Swabs.

Don't!
You should not clean your sensor yourself..

I've still got the 10D I bought 4 years ago. I change lenses frequenly and take absolutely no dust precautions when I do. I have to wet swab the sensor about once every three months on average. I use photosol and sensor swabs.... It's a 1 minute job, so I've spent about 4 minutes a year tending to my sensor.. I've sustained no damage..

We REALLY need a sticky topic or even a dedicated forum dealing with spots in the viewfinder and/or on images


Edit..... I just noticed there is info on this in the sticky post entitled: -=FAQ=- EOS FAQ -=READ FIRST=- located at the top of the message list.