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Thread: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

  1. #1
    davidedric's Avatar
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    Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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

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    Moderator Donald's Avatar
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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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.

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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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.

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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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
    Last edited by Rent; 28th November 2017 at 10:09 AM.

  5. #5
    James G's Avatar
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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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.

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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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.

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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    Quote Originally Posted by Acorn View Post
    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

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    davidedric's Avatar
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    Re: Sensor cleaning in the UK - any suggestions

    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

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    davidedric's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    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

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    Moderator Donald's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    Quote Originally Posted by davidedric View Post
    ... but I'm happy.
    And that, at the end of the day, is all that matters!

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    Re: A bit strange but good

    Quote Originally Posted by davidedric View Post
    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

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    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    Quote Originally Posted by davidedric View Post
    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.

  13. #13
    davidedric's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    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

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    Re: A bit strange but good

    Quote Originally Posted by davidedric View Post
    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

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    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    Quote Originally Posted by davidedric View Post
    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.

  16. #16
    davidedric's Avatar
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    Re: A bit strange but good

    You certainly learn stuff here. Thanks everyone.

    Dave

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    Re: A bit strange but good

    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.

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    Re: A bit strange but good

    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

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