Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

[davidedric]

My (newish) Panasonic G85 seems to have a mark on the sensor (which I didn't realise at first!)

I don't feel confident in cleaning it myself, can someone suggest where in the UK I could get it cleaned. I assume by sending it away.

Thanks,

Dave

[Donald]

A J Johnstone in Glasgow (http://www.ajjohnstone.co.uk/). I'm sure they will do a Panasonic as well. They are Canon and Nikon repair agents. I got mine done there before I became brave enough to do it myself.

[loosecanon]

There are a number of good companies out the, locally I have Advanced Camera Systems in Watton Norfolk.

However if its oil from the shutter then the retailer/manufacturer are responsible as its a fault and should be dealt with at no cost to you. Remember in the first 6 months in Europe the presumption is that a fault is thier responsibility.

[Rent]

Dave If you have a Wikinson's near you ( I think there's on in Chester or Warrington ) they will do it
Roy
ps I mean the camera shop not the hardware store

Sorry they don't have one in Chester. They do in Liverpool, Southport and Warrington

[James G]

Dave, I have used both Calumet and Jessops.

One suggestion though.. cleaning the sensor was ok but I had a persistent bit of crud on the mirror and could not blow it away. Jessops did remove it, but in brighter light I noticed some degree of smearing on the mirror.
It is not enough to be noticeable most of the time, but I have this feeling that I would have put up with the bit of crud had I realised the smearing would occur.

[Acorn]

There's a very good and obliging outfit on the outskirts of the Potteries, PJ Camera Repairs, based at Porthill. But really, consult your camera handbook, acquire a sensor cleaning kit that includes a blower and it's a simple task to go about the procedure.

[MrB]

But really, consult your camera handbook, acquire a sensor cleaning kit that includes a blower and it's a simple task to go about the procedure.

+1

Having reached the stage where the sensor was quite filthy, it really had to be cleaned. I was very nervous about doing this but, after watching several helpful YouTube videos showing how to do it, I bought a cleaning kit and followed the instructions. I was surprised how easy it was and, after using two sensor cleaning swabs, the sensor was spotless and working perfectly.

Cheers.
Philip

[davidedric]

Thanks for the suggestions. I still feel nervous about diy, and PJ Cameras are only about a 30 minute drive away, so I think I'll give them a call.

Dave

[davidedric]

Before taking this further, I thought to take a few frames just to check - and the mark had gone. I can see it my holiday pics, but not now. Maybe it was a bit of dust that the internal sensor cleaning took care of? I don't know, but I'm happy.

Thanks for all your input and advice,

Dave

[Donald]

... but I'm happy.

And that, at the end of the day, is all that matters!

[george013]

Before taking this further, I thought to take a few frames just to check - and the mark had gone. I can see it my holiday pics, but not now. Maybe it was a bit of dust that the internal sensor cleaning took care of? I don't know, but I'm happy.

Thanks for all your input and advice,

Dave

How did you look at it? Should be something like a white wall, the highest, smallest, aperture and move the camera a little.

George

[Manfred M]

Before taking this further, I thought to take a few frames just to check - and the mark had gone. I can see it my holiday pics, but not now. Maybe it was a bit of dust that the internal sensor cleaning took care of? I don't know, but I'm happy.

Thanks for all your input and advice,

Dave

I find running the sensor cleaning cycle 4 or 5 times gets rid of the dust issue well over 90% of the time. After that a "Rocket Blower" tends to work on the rest. While I own an Arctic Butterfly cleaning brush, I've only had to resort to it two or three times over the past 3 or 4 years (across 4 camera bodies) when the other cleaning techniques did not work. I've never had to use a wet cleaning solution.

As George suggests, a low aperture shot of a clean surface (including a blue sky) and then upping the contrast is usually a good check to see if the sensor is clean enough.

[davidedric]

I didn't know about the low aperture (I basically used similar settings to photos that had shown the problem), I photographed a light yellow wall and a grey sky. As well as upping the contrast I took them into Silver Efex Pro and mistreated them there, but could not get anything to show.

The G80 does not have an anti-aliasing filter, and I didn't know what difference that may make to cleaning.

Dave

[george013]

I didn't know about the low aperture (I basically used similar settings to photos that had shown the problem), I photographed a light yellow wall and a grey sky. As well as upping the contrast I took them into Silver Efex Pro and mistreated them there, but could not get anything to show.

The G80 does not have an anti-aliasing filter, and I didn't know what difference that may make to cleaning.

Dave

The idea behind it is that the smaller the aperture, the sharper the dust on the image. And a bright background so you can see the "un-exposed" area easier. And I move the camera a little so I get less confused with details in the backgound. Blurring the background, doesn't influence the "dust exposure" .

George

[Manfred M]

The G80 does not have an anti-aliasing filter, and I didn't know what difference that may make to cleaning.

No impact at all. The rest of the sensor stack is still there; the Bayer filter, the UV and the IR filters.

[davidedric]

You certainly learn stuff here. Thanks everyone.

Dave

[loosecanon]

Beware of the Artic Butterfly if the mark is a grease spot. the brush will smear it, and the brush will also put grease on any sensor you subsequently clean unless you spend a lot of time cleaning it. Many persistent marks are from shutter lubricant.

[Tringa]

Glad you sorted out the problem, Dave or perhaps the problem sorted itself.

I know you said you are not happy about cleaning the sensor yourself but it is a straightforward procedure. There are plenty of guides online. While some, probably many, places will do a good job I have seen 'before' and 'after' shots of sensors where the results were not encouraging.

It also seems most camera shops do not provide a while you wait service so you need to make two visits and the cost for what is probably less than a 10 minute job is high.

Dve