D-SLR SENSOR CLEANING EXPERIENCE

Thursday, September 29, 2005

This is a sequel to my post on discovering dust on my camera’s sensor. I went through much trouble since then, and finally I have it back dust free. I had to go without my camera for about more than a month. There was enough dust on the sensor that question of taking any pictures would not arise.

The trouble started when I came home from a weekend trip in mid august. I took a few landscape pictures at very small aperture and it had big dust spots that would show even on the lcd. See the image below.



This image was taken at f/19 which is how I came to know about the dust.

That was too big to be ignored(especially when you see full size image), so I decided to do something about it. The first thing to do was to open the camera manual and check how to clean the sensor. Canon had recommended using a blower to blow off the dust on the sensor.

I felt compelled and in a hurry to go out with camera. And I presumed the dust could be blown off from the surface. But I did not have a blower or any other equipment. I was in no mood to do some research either on how to go about cleaning the sensor. Instead I thought I would blow air from the mouth and blow off the dust! Call me stupid for coming up with the idea and I will thank you for being kind to me. Moisture went in and got deposited on the sensor, and it got so bad that I wondered if I would ever get to use my camera again. The images below tells you what I mean.



The image to the left is how it looked immediately after I blew into the sensor. The second image was taken a few minutes later and things seemed to get worse. These are images of a wall are taken at f/22



It looked slightly better after a few hours when it dried up. But it was still no good and completely unusable.


I hoped things will get better when it dries off. It did, but it was still not much use. There was no way I could use it without getting it cleaned. Finally I had no choice but to logon to internet and look do some research.

I looked around for a couple of options including visible dust, intemos, copperhill and some other methods such as using the blower. I read lot of praises and recommendations on copperhill cleaning technique. Meanwhile, I contacted my camera vendor who promised to talk to Canon and get it cleaned. But I was not very keen to give it to them since they could take a long time to work on it. And sensor dust being a common problem, I would be better off having a dependable cleaning system available with me, instead of knocking Canon’s door every time. So I decided to place an order for copperhill kit. It would cost me a bomb, with international shipping charges costing as much as the kit itself, but I thought it would be worth it.

The kit arrived in a week’s time, much earlier than I expected. I had to wait a few days before actually using it since I needed to source methanol(or eclipse fluid) for the cleaning process. And this time, when I got everything ready for cleaning, I made sure I did not hurry like I did before. I just did not want things to get any worse.

THE PROCESS

I meticulously read through the directions for cleaning. It is a long and boring read but I stuck with it and read to the last word. And it surely helped. It took me almost 2 hours to read it, re-read it, go through the pictures again and again, make sure that I have understood and not missed anything. And then I started the cleaning process which took me around another thirty minute to complete(Now I guess I can do it in 30 seconds).

I practiced the technique on a CD case as the directions suggested(something I would never have realized if I did not read patiently till the end). One swipe on the CD case and you will realize why this is such a good technique. Methanol will not leave a single trace and evaporates in no time. I realized that it is not a very difficult process but I need to be fairly careful until I get some practice. I started the cleaning process, with some anxiety, hoping for good results.

The first swipe did make things only slightly better. But I decided not to get discouraged and got on with another iteration. Again, it got only a little better than before. The moistened surface had dust stuck to it and would not come out easily. By this time, although I did not get good results, I was getting comfortable with the process and was pretty convinced that this is going to work well for me. I considered taking the next step and try the brooming technique. Again, I would never have realized the technique if I did not read through the whole thing patiently. It started showing results. 30 minutes and 5 iterations later, I had a real wide ear to ear grin on my face. See the results yourself. It seems too just good to be true!



The results of first and third iterations. At each iteration, the dust was fading a bit, but was still a long way to go. These are images of a wall are taken at f/22



Remarkable improvements happened once I used the brooming method. I could no longer see any dust by just looking at the full image on the LCD. But when I zoomed in I could still see some dust particles.



After 5th and last round of cleaning. I could no longer zoom in from the LCD and see any specks. It was squeaky clean and time for the ear-to-ear grin! I uploaded the image and checked it on the computer. There was a very small speck in the entire image which was not visible even at the size of 1028 pixels. I decided to leave it there for now and take care of it in next round of cleaning a few days later. I was overjoyed to see the camera back in shape. Phew!!


THE PREPARATION AND A FEW TIPS

There are 3 very very important things to do before you start with the cleaning process.

1. Read through the entire instructions carefully and make sure you know what you are doing.
2. Read through the entire instructions carefully and make sure you know what you are doing.
3. Read through the entire instructions carefully and make sure you know what you are doing.

Having done this much, I am pretty sure you will get good results. Unless you have a thick layer of tar on your sensor that is!

Some more useful things:

1. Do practice on CD case. It helps a lot and educates you a great deal about what you are upto.
2. Keep everything ready and handy so you don’t need to run around for everything after you start. It is important to finish the job tidily and quickly so you will leave minimum chance for more dust to accumulate. As I counted, these are the things you will require:
a. SensorSwipe and PEC*PADs
b. Methanol
c. Keep the instructions given with the pack in front of you when you are doing it the first time.
d. Tape. For fixing PEC*PAD on the SensorSwipe.
e. Scissors. To cut the tape.
3. Make sure the battery is fully charged if you are not using the AC adapter. You are better off with a dusty sensor than watching the shutter trying to close mid-way of cleaning.

And I forgot to mention… Don’t forget to lock your cat away somewhere. You don’t want the kittie hanging around anywhere close by!

The process is much easier than it seems to be. So relax, do not hurry and go easy. And get ready to smile at the end of the job. You definitely will, once you see how clean your sensor turns out.

THE GOOD THINGS

The instructions compiled by Nicholas are fabulous(thank you very much!). Unlikely you can go wrong if you follow them. The kit gives excellent results(as you can see with the pictures above) and there is nothing to complain about the outcome. And I received good service from them. A couple of emails I shot off were replied promptly by Nicholas. I would not think twice about recommending copperhill technique to anyone.

THE NEGATIVES

There is absolutely nothing negative about the kit as far as I can think of. But international customers are forced to buy the lens cleaning kit with sensor cleaning kit. I think that is not a right thing - to push products that someone does not want. And despite that, overseas kit is not complete. You still have to source your own cleaning solution(methanol). But this is an obligation that is understandable since methanol(or the more popular eclipse fluid) is inflammable and can’t be shipped by air. I tried hard to find someone who would ship eclipse fluid overseas, but without success. Nevertheless, methanol has worked pretty well for me and should suffice for all purposes.