Sensor Cleaning. DIY?
Discussion
The sensor on my Panasonic G9 needed cleaning. A friend said he had cleaned the sensor on his Canon and would 'show me how'. I sat next to him while he used a sort of spatula that spread a goo as it went. It sort of set.
I took the camera to a local camera shop. They examined it, bringing in their head cleaner so to speak. His opinion was that cleaning would take hours and there was a distinct possibility that the sensor would be damaged. Replacement of the sensor ran to £hundreds. I bought a s/h G9 instead.
It seems the cleaner my friend used was out-of-date.
I decided to have a go at cleaning off the muck. Did a bit of research, bought the cleaner and brush specific to my problem, and, being as gentle as possible, I started to clean using a cleaning brush in a rotary manner. Took me 42 hours. 42 hours that I'll never get back. It was over 2-weeks. It was boring and testing in equal amounts. It's now functioning perfectly with no damage visible and I have two Panasonic G9s.
I wish I had done more research, tested the cleaner on something I didn't need, and tested it all again. Cleaning the sensor was about £50 at Parks. I wish I'd used a bit of sense.
What irritated me most of all was that I sat next to the bloke while he all but destroyed my camera.
I took the camera to a local camera shop. They examined it, bringing in their head cleaner so to speak. His opinion was that cleaning would take hours and there was a distinct possibility that the sensor would be damaged. Replacement of the sensor ran to £hundreds. I bought a s/h G9 instead.
It seems the cleaner my friend used was out-of-date.
I decided to have a go at cleaning off the muck. Did a bit of research, bought the cleaner and brush specific to my problem, and, being as gentle as possible, I started to clean using a cleaning brush in a rotary manner. Took me 42 hours. 42 hours that I'll never get back. It was over 2-weeks. It was boring and testing in equal amounts. It's now functioning perfectly with no damage visible and I have two Panasonic G9s.
I wish I had done more research, tested the cleaner on something I didn't need, and tested it all again. Cleaning the sensor was about £50 at Parks. I wish I'd used a bit of sense.
What irritated me most of all was that I sat next to the bloke while he all but destroyed my camera.
I've cleaned my own sensors for many years (Canon full frame bodies).
Most of the time, I'll try rocket blower to clear off any large particles but in general it normally needs more than that.
My next line of approach is one of those gel on a stick cleaners, which you dab onto the sensor and then clean the gel by dabbing it onto a sheet of sticky paper (supplied with the gel stick cleaner). This works perfectly about 90% of the time and take minutes.
However, about once or twice a year I resort to a wet swab clean. Use a fresh lint free swab (buy packs/kits from Amazon) with a drop of sensor cleaning fluid. Clean the sensor in both directions taking care to get right to the edges/corners.
I always find it takes a few attempts with the wet swabs to get it perfectly clean, and in between cleans I take a photo of a white surface with about 1-2 second exposure and f20 aperture. Then look at 100% magnification for any remaining spots and target those areas on the next clean.
Most of the time, I'll try rocket blower to clear off any large particles but in general it normally needs more than that.
My next line of approach is one of those gel on a stick cleaners, which you dab onto the sensor and then clean the gel by dabbing it onto a sheet of sticky paper (supplied with the gel stick cleaner). This works perfectly about 90% of the time and take minutes.
However, about once or twice a year I resort to a wet swab clean. Use a fresh lint free swab (buy packs/kits from Amazon) with a drop of sensor cleaning fluid. Clean the sensor in both directions taking care to get right to the edges/corners.
I always find it takes a few attempts with the wet swabs to get it perfectly clean, and in between cleans I take a photo of a white surface with about 1-2 second exposure and f20 aperture. Then look at 100% magnification for any remaining spots and target those areas on the next clean.
There is really nothing to it.
A few wipes with a sensor swab kit and a drop of cleaning solution is all you need.
Emphasis being on "a drop" as a saturated swab will leave fluid marks.
Also, don't be tempted to wipe the sensor with the same side of the swab twice. You'll be dragging dirt across it, so flip it over for the second wipe.
I wouldn't dream of taking it to a camera shop, but then again I'm used to modifying cameras.
I've also a G9 in my collection, but haven't felt the need to clean the sensor yet. And as mentioned, the first stop is to invest in a decent rocket blower to remove any loose dust.
A few wipes with a sensor swab kit and a drop of cleaning solution is all you need.
Emphasis being on "a drop" as a saturated swab will leave fluid marks.
Also, don't be tempted to wipe the sensor with the same side of the swab twice. You'll be dragging dirt across it, so flip it over for the second wipe.
I wouldn't dream of taking it to a camera shop, but then again I'm used to modifying cameras.
I've also a G9 in my collection, but haven't felt the need to clean the sensor yet. And as mentioned, the first stop is to invest in a decent rocket blower to remove any loose dust.
_Hoppers said:
I've done it on my 5D. It was fairly easy but needed a 3-4 goes to get it spotless. It was difficult to see the dirt by eye but it was visible on test shots taken against a white(ish) background. From what I understand the sensor glass is more robust than some people make out!
Remember that the image is reversed. Won't make that mistake again.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff