Are you terrified to clean your camera sensor yourself? You're not alone! It can be an intimidating feat, but if you know the correct steps, it can be easy and oh-so satisfying. Luckily, we are here to help! In our latest TCSTV episode, Dave and Evelyn walk you through the steps to clean your sensor at home so you can clean with confidence and get back out to doing what you love, shooting!
How to know if your sensor is dirty:
Before you can clean your sensor, you need to know if it's even in need of a clean. The first way to know is if you are shooting the sky or a big, solid colour and you notice little black dots that keep appearing in the same spot, regardless of the lens or zoom. The second step would be to visually take a look at your sensor, and if you see dust and/or smudges you know it's time for a clean.
Blow the dust off with a blower:
Fun tip from Dave, hold your camera upside down so the dust can fall out of the camera, then with your trusty blower, get close to the sensor, and with a few puffs, a lot of the dust should come off. Be careful not to touch your sensor with the blower. Looking up from underneath at your sensor helps you to get close enough to get the dust off without accidentally touching it. Also, do not use compressed air (air in a can), as it can cause damage to your sensor. Stick with a blower bulb, and you'll be good to go!
Often, this is enough to clean most people's sensors, however, if you have a smudge, it's time to go to the next step.
Identify your camera's sensor size:
There are different sized cleaning kits for different sensor sizes. Once you know what size your sensor is (full-frame, crop, micro four-thirds, etc.), you can then choose the correct cleaning kit for your camera. There are a bunch of different cleaning options out there, but Dave highly recommends Visible Dust Kits as they are simple, cost-effective, come with everything you need and are made in Canada!
We also always recommend going to your camera manufacturer's website just to confirm if there are any specific cleaning protocols they recommend or products you shouldn't use.
Time to clean your sensor:
First and foremost, make sure you are in a clean, dry environment with no wind or fans going. You want to make sure no more dust or particles get on your sensor! Then open up your camera and expose your sensor if you haven't already.
In the kit, there are different solutions for different materials. One is more for organic materials, the other for oils, but they both work fairly similarly. Please keep in mind that the items in the kits are single-use, so don't reuse them.
Start with green/the basic liquid solution, and add it to the dust swab/wipe. You'll see the solution absorb into the swab. The solution does evaporate quite quickly, so make sure it's nice and saturated because you don't want a dry swab going across your sensor. If it feels like there is too much liquid on the swab, you can give it a light wave to evaporate some of the liquid.
Then, do a nice clean sweep, with just a little bit of pressure, from one side of the sensor to the other. We know this part can freak people out, but don't worry, you've got this! Usually, one sweep is enough, but if you need to do another, just flip the swab to the unused side and do another sweep of the sensor. You can then throw the swab away after use.
If you find the green/the basic liquid solution didn't quite do the trick, you can swap to the blue liquid solution and try again since one is for organics and the other for oils.
And just like that, you're done! Now, you can be the cool photographer who knows how to clean their sensor like a pro, though you may be asked to clean your friend's sensors. In that case, show them this video/blog!
