I need HEEEEEEEEEELP (please!!)

[Lachesis00]

My camera once again has fuzz on the senor. I am thinking it never totally got cleaned before I left Phoenix. I paid for it to get cleaned, but the fuzz showed up 1-2 days later and I had not even used the camera yet, didn't change/mess with the lens, nada.

Can I use canned air to clean it? I do not have a blower here in Alaska. And it is definitely affecting my photos. I just wanna cry
The photos are really affected close up. I took some eagle shots and they looked fine zoomed out, they did not look fine zoomed in I am so disappointed.
Sadly there is no place that sells a blower, not even a baby blower (for babies with plugged noses) here.

Suggestions? Pretty please.

Also they seem a bit on the dark side... these were taken around 1:30. Lots of light. ISO was 400. I am seeing a lot of grain when I try and bump up the light.

 

[jann1033]

i think i recall reading not to use canned air, thinking it may have some kind of residue it leaves behind(?) ...sorry that is all i know, maybe you can use photoshop techniques to get rid of spots( pain but at least is would be better than nothing)?

 

[AndrewWG]

i think i recall reading not to use canned air, thinking it may have some kind of residue it leaves behind(?) ...sorry that is all i know, maybe you can use photoshop techniques to get rid of spots( pain but at least is would be better than nothing)?

Yep, you DO NOT want to used canned air. The regular canned air isn't really "air". It is a mixture of chemicals that can "freeze" when blown out. Not good for your sensor. I would guess that there would be residual junk on the sensor after that too as Jan said.

If there is a way to get a rubber bulb or something that you could force air through, it may help. That would be most like a rocket blower. I don't know any other ways.

Edit: Now I see that you can't find a rubber bulb anywhere. Maybe I should read the whole post before answering.....

 

[Lachesis00]

Yeah I was worried about that, dang it.

Problem is, it is affecting my focus when I zoom in. There is no reason those eagle shots should be blurry I was almost right under the tree.

Actually it's affecting my focus period, but I can see it more so when I zoom in. I wiped down the mirror, but no luck, so it must be on the sensor.

I am glad I asked before doing something beyond stupid!

 

[Lachesis00]

LOL thanks! Yeah I do not have a bulb or anything remotely like one. I am in a TINY town in Alaska. I brought one w/me, but my older son dumped, oh I am sorry, cleaned out my suitcase and it got left in Juneau.

Yep, you DO NOT want to used canned air. The regular canned air isn't really "air". It is a mixture of chemicals that can "freeze" when blown out. Not good for your sensor. I would guess that there would be residual junk on the sensor after that too as Jan said.

If there is a way to get a rubber bulb or something that you could force air through, it may help. That would be most like a rocket blower. I don't know any other ways.

Edit: Now I see that you can't find a rubber bulb anywhere. Maybe I should read the whole post before answering.....

 

[AndrewWG]

LOL thanks! Yeah I do not have a bulb or anything remotely like one. I am in a TINY town in Alaska. I brought one w/me, but my older son dumped, oh I am sorry, cleaned out my suitcase and it got left in Juneau.

Well, if it makes you feel better, it looks like a big piece of "smutz" that is on the sensor that a bulb may not get cleaned off anyways. Usually smutz is best cleaned by using the sensor swabs. And yes, I think smutz is the correct term in this case as it probably isn't dust.

I can think of many "MacGyver" type ways to blow air onto the sensor, but none are less than VERY risky, so probably not worth it. In a pinch, I would try the canned air but I would do it from a distance so very far away from the sensor that it probably wouldn't make any difference. One thing to make sure you do not do with canned air is have the can at any kind of an angle. Always keep the can straight up. Upside down will shoot cold liquid all over the place and I would imagine that varying angles would result in varying amounts of chemical coming out. Put it this way, I use the canned air upside down to kill yellowjackets. It freezes them in mid air.

 

[Lachesis00]

I am not going to risk the canned air. It just is hacking me off b/c it is affecting the focus, especially close up. I am also hacked off b/c I paid to get it professionally cleaned and apparently that didn't happen. They said they did it 3x. Makes me wonder what exactly they did.

What are sensor swabs and where would you find some? What are on the swabs? I do have a cleaning cloth, but it seems to leave little specs behind.

I even changed the focal point when I did the eagle photos, and as you can see it did not do me any good

I am going to try and take photos of my boys later. Wish me luck!! Son #1 got his hair cut yesterday

Well, if it makes you feel better, it looks like a big piece of "smutz" that is on the sensor that a bulb may not get cleaned off anyways. Usually smutz is best cleaned by using the sensor swabs. And yes, I think smutz is the correct term in this case as it probably isn't dust.

I can think of many "MacGyver" type ways to blow air onto the sensor, but none are less than VERY risky, so probably not worth it. In a pinch, I would try the canned air but I would do it from a distance so very far away from the sensor that it probably wouldn't make any difference. One thing to make sure you do not do with canned air is have the can at any kind of an angle. Always keep the can straight up. Upside down will shoot cold liquid all over the place and I would imagine that varying angles would result in varying amounts of chemical coming out. Put it this way, I use the canned air upside down to kill yellowjackets. It freezes them in mid air.

 

[AndrewWG]

I am not going to risk the canned air. It just is hacking me off b/c it is affecting the focus, especially close up. I am also hacked off b/c I paid to get it professionally cleaned and apparently that didn't happen. They said they did it 3x. Makes me wonder what exactly they did.

What are sensor swabs and where would you find some? What are on the swabs? I do have a cleaning cloth, but it seems to leave little specs behind.

I even changed the focal point when I did the eagle photos, and as you can see it did not do me any good

I am going to try and take photos of my boys later. Wish me luck!! Son #1 got his hair cut yesterday

Sensor swabs are made to clean your sensor. They are made by photographic solutions Inc. Basically it is a plastic paddle of sorts with a piece of lens cleaning paper on it (lint free paper) and you add 2 drops of their solution (methanol) onto the swab and run it across the sensor. It is a mildly risky procedure, but you get used to doing it and it becomes quite easy. It is probably what your professional cleaning consisted of. Cleaning it 3x probably meant using 3 swabs. I have been known to use up to 8 to really get the smutz off my 30D sensor (although I could have used less if I knew what I was doing a bit better). You can buy them at the site below, but they aren't very cheap. Check out the site though, they have many options available along with tutorials on how to use the products.

http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=products

 

[jann1033]

boy between you and dvc jen, it sounds like it's a bad idea to get your sensor cleaned...same thing happened to her, it was worse when she got it back

 

[DVC Jen]

boy between you and dvc jen, it sounds like it's a bad idea to get your sensor cleaned...same thing happened to her, it was worse when she got it back

I was just thinking that too - that is why I do it myself from now on. Once ya get over the initial nervousness it really isn't bad at all.

 

[barrie]

Ugh! I had the same problem with a cleaning. They actually scratched my sensor and it is being repaired now. It will be 2 months before I get it back. I'll never take it back there to be cleaned again, or purchase anything from them. It's been a nightmare and the manager acts like I did it - which just really irks me.

I got some good advice in this thread. It saved my butt on my December trip.

I also did some research on how to clean it myself. From now on, that is the route I'll take. Good luck.

 

[Lachesis00]

If I had the stuff to do it I would. Problem is, the blower did NOT work back in December. If anything, I just made it worse. I normally do clean it myself. I need to look into some of those sensor swabs.

MY thought is they never cleaned it right?

I was just thinking that too - that is why I do it myself from now on. Once ya get over the initial nervousness it really isn't bad at all.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

What kind of camera? I know my D200 has a feature that will negate the sensor fuzz. Check your camera menu.

D4D

 

[JR6ooo4]

But if it is affecting focus..

Doesn't the camera focus before the mirror slaps up? So dust on the sensor would not cause a focus problem.

Maybe the dust is in front of whatever does the focusing.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I still do not see the dust in any of the pics. Is your only symptom the fuzzy or missed focus on the center eagle picture?

Mikeeee

 

[Lachesis00]

I cropped out the dust. I will upload and post a couple with the dust. It's in the upper right hand corner. At least 4 spots I can see.

I took photos of my son last night and they were CLOSE up to maybe 10' away and didn't see the spots.
This is exactly what happened back in Sept-Nov when I was here. Some shots it showed up in, some it didn't. It was so random. I even changed my focal point to be dead in the center, and to the left in some shots.

No, I am seeing focus problems in several photos. However, last night, the ones of my son, amazingly enough, the eyes were almost glassy clear.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I am seeing focus problems in several photos. However, last night, the ones of my son, amazingly enough, the eyes were almost glassy clear.

It still sounds to me like it is a focus issue and the dust is perhaps distracting from the real problem.

Did you mention what camera it was? If you did I missed it.


Mikeeee

 

[Groucho]

Considering how cheap the parts to clean the sensor yourself are, I'd definitely go with a do-it-yourself job. I'm sure some people have had good luck getting their sensor professionally cleaned, but I haven't heard any happy stories yet.

Canned air will definitely blow gunk all over - big no-no!

I would agree that it sounds unlikely for the dust to affect the sensor, which doesn't see the image at all until after it's already been focused.

If your kids are leaving your rocket blower behind, may I suggest bringing two next time, and keep them in separate suitcases.

 

[Lachesis00]

The KID is almost 17 I'd love to know what he was looking for or why he dumped my suitcase!
Normally the stuff is in my camera bag but we traveled from Phoenix to Alaska, and I kind of combined my diaper bag w/my electronics.


When I get home I am going to look at a better way to clean. I know there is stuff on the sensor. I am positive. And it may not affect the focus, but sure makes for an ugly photo if you've got a lot of white or light blue sky.

Gunk COULD be on the mirror or above it, but if it is, I can't (see it for one) seem to wipe or blow it out.

I'm just bent out of shape, I paid to have it cleaned and it apparently didn't work.

Sorry it took so long to reply. I have been doing close ups and I am not seeing the gunk which is what happened last time. It seems to hide. Drives me mad.

Considering how cheap the parts to clean the sensor yourself are, I'd definitely go with a do-it-yourself job. I'm sure some people have had good luck getting their sensor professionally cleaned, but I haven't heard any happy stories yet.

Canned air will definitely blow gunk all over - big no-no!

I would agree that it sounds unlikely for the dust to affect the sensor, which doesn't see the image at all until after it's already been focused.

If your kids are leaving your rocket blower behind, may I suggest bringing two next time, and keep them in separate suitcases.