It's mainly hot air

[pnodrog]

Should I try cleaning the sensor myself or should I take it into a camera repair centre to remove the dust spots from the sky?





Returning to Melbourne on the ferry from Tasmania and I was surprised at how many hot air balloons were taking off.

[ST1]

I wouldn't bother paying for a sensor clean Paul. Those large regular sized dust bunnies will disappear if you remove the lens face the camera down, then jump with joy at the amount of money you've saved
Nice image you've taken too


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[pnodrog]

I wouldn't bother paying for a sensor clean Paul. Those large regular sized dust bunnies will disappear if you remove the lens face the camera down, then jump with joy at the amount of money you've saved
Nice image you've taken too


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I was going to reply 5 minutes ago but my keyboard stopped working. I have now replaced the batteries and can get on with my life.

Thank you for your comments. Any suggestion to save money is taken very seriously.

Actually the sensor self cleaning facility has worked very well for the about 10years I have used the D800 and I have been lucky enough to never had a dust problem. My D200 which I still occasionally use has needed a few cleans over the years and is showing signs it needs another. As I have a cleaning kit I will probably use it once again. If I can't find it I may well resort to your suggested method.

[Geoff F]

I can only see one very faint dust spot in your sky so I wouldn't worry about it at this stage.

The professional camera repairers say never use any wet type self cleaning kits because they simply make the sensor problems worse. Just try very carefully with a weak blower/suction device.

In the overpriced UK there are a few companies which will do a sensor clean for as little as £50. Probably less in many other countries.

Pollen grains are a frequent issue for me when doing summertime lens changes. No matter how careful I am, eventually I get some pollen/spores on my sensor and they are too sticky for the self cleaner to shake off.

[DanK]

I see several, I think.

I've always cleaned my own. I do it in three steps:

1. a blower (not canned air), with the camera facing down and the mirror locked up. this is sometimes sufficient, and in any case, it gets off particles that might scratch.

2. a static brush. The expensive one is called Arctic Butterfly, but I got a cheap one from a company that's no longer in business. i suspect you can find cheap ones. This is sometimes enough, and it too helps clear off particles.

3. Wet swabbing, if the first two don't work.

I also have the sensor pen by LensPen, but I've only tried it once, and perhaps irrationally, it makes me nervous.