NOTE: Some mirrorless cameras also have a cleaning mode that might lock the sensor down. Check your camera's manual. Here are the links: Micro Four Thirds (Panasonic & Olympus): sdp.io/DDR12 APS-C (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, Pentax): sdp.io/DDR16 Full-frame (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax): sdp.io/DDR24
iuriius: There's no standard way that focusing screens are installed. Occasionally it even varies between versions of the same camera. For example, my Canon AE-1 (original) film camera requires almost totally disassembling the camera to get the focusing screen out, while the AE-1 Program version made it fairly simple to remove. I suggest you Google for instructions for your particular camera model. (Please bear in mind that you'll be working next to the mirror, which has a _very_ delicate and easily damaged semi-reflective coating on it.)
You put the swap down on the table where is dust, then touched the swab with your fingers. This can get dirt/dust on the swab which may then transfer to the sensor. So good to open first the bottle, put it on the table, and then remove the swab from it's sealed bag - careful to tear at the end where you grab the swab. Better also not to touch the swab with the tip of the bottle. Just squeeze the bottle from a distance and let a few droplets fall on the swab. This way the swab doesn't touch on anything before placing it on the sensor so it stays 'sterile' of any specs, so to speak. Since I'm a little obsessive, better also not to talk over the sensor, tiny saliva droplets may as well jump on it. I've learned these techniques while in the surgery room, they use a special task order in order not to touch sterile surfaces. Great video and great explanations, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this comment. I cringed when he opened the swab, only to put it on the friggin' table, open the bottle and then *touch* the god damn swab 🙄 Oh well.. Tony's a pro... He *must* know what he's doing 😁
You could not be more right. This work should only be done in a clean and dust free environment. You should wash your hands well first. You should wear a mask and hair covering. You should be wearing clothes that do not shed lint and dust. If you touch the swab or of it comes into contact with any surface that could contain dust it should be discarded. (If you ever use a swab that has come into contact with your greasy fingers, please do not sell your camera until the sensor has been replaced.) Use a dust blower before touching your sensor with a swab. If dry cleaning does the trick, leave it at that. Do not use any liquids unless it is totally necessary.
I just did this on my ancient Pentax K100D Super (6MP is more than enough for ebay!) and it worked like a charm! I was questioning the usefulness or even the wisdom of doing a dry wipe first like the instructions said to do -- I am glad that you said to just go for the wet wipe first. Because the sensor had never been cleaned before, I had to repeat with a second swab and was able to remove the remaining bit of dust/dirt. Even though I have torn apart and rebuilt engines, transmissions, computers, kitchen appliances and many things I never should have touched, I was a bit fearful of messing up my camera sensor. I needn't have worried, it was easy. Thanks again for the encouragement!
In case someone followed these instructions (or any other on RUclips cause they're all the same procedure), and saw that the sensor was full of streaking after cleaning, don't panic. I don't know why no one mentions this but it's very common. Just use a dry swab after the wet one and wipe the sensor a few times in multiple directions till it's spotless (took me 4 wipes in 3 directions). The cleaning fluid should not leave residue in theory but many of them do (according to my quick online research) for whatever reason. That is why cleaning kits state you should use a dry swab after the wet one. They just don't mention that most of the time, one swipe isn't enough to remove the streaking. Would have been nice to know this info before I cleaned my Sony sensor and almost had a heart attack after seeing the streaks xD
An easier way for the Lightroom - open Remove (spots) menu in the same place where cropping etc is located then click Visualize spots (and drag the slider if you need).
On cleaning my camera sensor, i have been using Sensor Swabs by Photographic Solutions. Its very effective and cleans instantly without residues or marks. This video shows how to clean the sensor properly and I recommended sensor swabs and eclipes solutions using this technique
The second half touched me in a way I never thought possible, I'm not ashamed to say I even cried. Truly your greatest piece of work on this earth lies within the last 5 minutes of this video.
Thanks very much Tony - you saved me a bunch of money. I have a several-year-old Pentax that I have never cleaned the sensor and noticed 3 blobs of dust on my photos the other day. After cleaning the lenses thoroughly, I found out they were on the sensor. Thought I had to take it in to a photo shop and have the sensor cleaned for $100. But your video gave me the courage to try it myself with the recommended kit. Worked great and it was easier than I thought. Thanks again!
Glad to see you doing this video. I remember I used to be so scared to clean my sensor, but with mirrorless is became something I just had to do (just because it get's more exposure to dust). I can recommend using a blower first before using the swabs as a precaution - I skipped that step once - and it was actually a tiny piece of sand and I ended up with a tiny scratch on the sensor. Quite funny though - it does not actually affect the performance of the sensor and does not show up on photos (everything works flawlessly - I could send you a picture of the sensor and an example file if you are interested). It actually means that I am even more comfortable cleaning my sensor because I know it is not as delecate as I once thought it was. Still though.. use your blower first :)
Cleaned my sensor successfully yesterday. I used your link to buy the cleaning kit (easiest way to find those swabs online) and followed your instructions. Thanks for the video, had no idea how easy it was to do at home.
I tried mu Lumix cleaning mode and then a "rocket blower" first but it did not get the dust off. I have no idea how it got there. Hopefully its just static electricity holding the dust on the sensor.
My A7rIII has cleaning mode, which is recommended to enter before cleaning. It fixes the IBIS so sensor won't move. Ive not needed a wet clean yet, and I am super picky with clean sensor. Rocket blower has been fine til now. 👍 Back in the Nikon days, Rocket blower did nothing. Always had to do wet cleans. So Sony is saving me money there....
Great video showing how to clean your camera sensor properly. As a photographer i do the cleaning myself using the Sensor Swab kit by Photographic Solutions with the Hepa Orbit blower and Eclipse solution. You shoud try it out!
Thanks Tony! I've been having nightmares about these small little dust specs in the top right of my frame for months now I'm glad I can finally take care of that.
This was definitely one of the hardest things I had to do to my sony , I was so nervous but I kept it together and got it done , nice and clean thanks Tony
This is the best advice for cleaning, as far as I know. I use that same VSGO kit, and it works perfectly. Not only that, but it is the ONLY thing that has worked. Those blowers blow MORE dust on the sensor. But as for me, I use a wet swab and then a dry one. The reason is that I often put a bit extra liquid on the first one, and the second one insures that any left over wetness is absorbed and off the sensor.
Just cleaned my Nikon D750 sensor for the first time. Took 4 swabs to get the dirt off but in the end its super clean thanks to this tutorial. Really appreciate the help!
Thank YOU, I just bought the Nikon FX kit using the link. needed to clean my D5 and didn't have time to send it off for routine maintenance. Spots were showing up in my macro video work... thank you as always Tony!
This is like the 6th time since last July when I first discovered Northrup Photography that I've had and issue and Tony has uploaded a vid addressing my issue seemingly out of the blue. It's uncanny.
In 4 years and around 26 000 shutter actuations I have never cleaned the sensor in any way other than the self cleaning it does when turning on and off.. So far that seems to have done quite a good job. Whenever theres something actually visible in the shots it's usually on the lens, and not the sensor. But it's comforting to know that it can be this easy if I ever need to clean it as I don't really look forward to it.
This is a really nice no-nonsense approach. I personally use a sensor brush first. Often that’s all I need. If you do use a brush, use the rocket blower on the brush, not the sensor. That cleans the brush and imparts a static charge on the bristles that supposedly helps dust to stick to the brush. Aiming a rocket blower at the sensor can throw crud at it at high speed. Too bad Tony can’t sell some of his cool demeanor. Being relaxed and efficient really helps.
Great video Tony! I use them too... Best quality value for money swabs.. Just an advice as a proactive measure. ALWAYS have your camera sensor facing to the ground when you don't have a lens attached on it! I do it every time I change lenses (I attach the camera to a peak design clip if needed) and It has saved me a lot of cleaning since I started doing it:)
Thanks for changing your method on cleaning the sensors. I was not looking forward to the loop method you presented in one of your books. I suggest you change that video to this one. I purchased the kit for my canon t2i which is an 6 year old camera and needed cleaning badly. I had noticed spots on the sensor when I purchased it a year ago. I ordered the aps censor kit. Using this kit the cleaning went very easy. I noticed spots on the sensor when I flipped the mirror up and after cleaning did not see them anymore. The only surprise I got out of this was that the swaps for my camera sensor seemed slightly larger than half the size of the sensor, I expected it to fully cover the height of the sensor, so I needed to clean the top and bottom of the sensor separately. I tested the camera afterward using a focusing chart and everything seems fine. My only criticism of the video was that you need to light the inside of the camera better during cleaning, also you should probably do a mirror camera as well. For a mirror camera the sensor is really deep inside, I found this a little intimidating but after cleaning the sensor I'm not as nervous about it anymore. Thanks for presenting this!
Won't leave without it. I have been using that since I purchased my A7r. Good stuff and super easy to use. Once I got the A7rII I had to get wider swabs. A little goes a long ways. My fluid container has a better top. I don't just use the swab just once but I always put it back into the package and close it up. Never had an issue with using one more than once. Also give the remaining fluid a chance to evaporate before using the camera. Don't use too much fluid but be sure it covers the entire cleaning edge. I never use dry swabs. Ever.
I use this kit as well and I concur it is best to do it the same way as Tony shows. When I dry swapped my sensor (yes, I know it is not the actual sensor), it made a horrible streaking sound and scared the mess out of me. It took a couple wet swabs to learn the right amount. I would use them without hesitation. But I do recommend using a bulb blower first-- a lot cheaper if your dust isn't stuck.
I love your clips. Sometimes I think about sharing my tricks online but then get discouraged reading the comments people make so I don't :-) It's amazing how some people just like to attack anything given half a chance. I believe if you have nothing nice to say then just be quiet. Thanks again and keep posting. Oh, I got one of those kits as a dust spot found its way to my sensor one day but chickened out when I saw the swabs. I tried a stronger blower as a last resort before using the swabs and was happy to see a clean sensor. One day, however, I am sure I will need to be brave enough to do what you just showed us what to do.
Tnx for you useful advice and demonstrating the wet cleaner/ing method. I took several test shots of my sensor at f/36 (my max) in both my bodies using different lenses. My Canon 7DMII (which I had for a couple of years doesn't have a single spot) which made me proud but I do not use it very often and usually stays with one lens attached (the 100-400 II or the 70-200 II) most of the time. My 6D which I had for 4 years and in which I change lenses all the time only had a couple of tiny spots which I'm also very happy about (I thought it would be far worst) and under normal shooting I never noticed them. When I visually inspect my 6D sensor, even with a magnifying glass and a headlamp I cannot identify these two tiny spots on my sensor. My first question therefore: a) when I look at the photo with the spots at the LCD back of my camera the spots appear to be on the left hand side towards the edge and half way through in terms of height. When I visually inspect my sensor at the front should I expect to find these spots at the same coordinates or is the sensor their reverse or upside down or something along these lines. So for example what I see in the picture at the back as left when I look at the sensor at the front is it right or left? Ditto for up and down. By the way both my bodies have auto sensor clean, which is done every time the camera switches on and off, I also used a rocket blower and a few of these auto sensor cleans in the hope to dislocate these two tiny spots from my 6D; to no avail. My second question, thus: b) shouldn’t one clean the sensor box, mirror, etc. first in some way (blow, silica brush, gel, wipe) before attempting to wet clean the sensor because dust/dirt may transfer from the sensor box to the sensor; esp. since the mirror needs to go up for the sensor cleaning. If so, any advice for cleaning the sensor box area (I appreciate there isn’t much of a sensor box in mirrorless bodies) but a lot of us still have mirror ones ☺ Carry on the good work.
Well it's time for me to learn to clean the sensors on my two Sony bodies. Thanks for the clear instructions! ps: please always highlight in your reviews which mirrorless cameras have the features that the shutter covers the sensor when changing lenses. QUESTION: I recall that the Canon mirrorless bodies cover sensor when changing lenses (just the full frame ones?) and I *think* one of the Sony's had a firmware update to do this but alas I forget (which one?). Thanks!
Great video. Had crud on my sensor from changing lenses on a windy day, bought said cleaning kit, used displayed technique, and what do you know? Clean as a whistle sensor! Much thanks.
Hello Tony. Love your videos. I just wanted to add that if you put the a7riii in cleaning mode, it will lock the stabilizer so it doesn't get damaged when doing manual cleaning.
Used this kit and it works great using the technique show here. Thanks T+C for giving me the confidence to try it out. (PS - I did try it out on a very old camera before doing it on my modern kit.)
Used the swab on my camera last week. Easy to use. Sensor was completely clean. Saved me 60€ the camera shop was asking. Using the "sticky pen" also helps for those pesky hard sticking particles.
Thanks for this. My Lumix advanced point and shoot is always getting dust on the sensor and that requires disassembly of the camera which is a pain due to all the ribbon cables and tiny screws. I would have to cut the swab down since my sensor is smaller than an MF3 sensor. I usually just use air but a wet swab is worth a try.
A particle of dust is accurately referred to as a "mote" (of dust). Dr. Carl Sagan taught me that... and I thought I would "pass that along" to you. He was a "stickler" for accuracy in language. :o)
Good swabs, I found that just using the dry swab with two passes and a blow from my blower was enough to rid the dust spots. If you have a sony a7rIII or similar just enter the cleaning mode first in the menu and keep the camera turned on for manual clean, so that the sensor locks.
Strange - my Pentax bodies (even my old K200D) have a feature in the menu for detecting dust. You end up with a white image with black spots on it that you can view on the camera's screen or download to a computer to view. I assumed all other brands had this, I guess I was mistaken. Aside from the mirror, there is the focal plane shutter over the sensor. I have never owned a mirrorless camera, I assumed they had one as well, but maybe not since they are operating in "live view mode" all of the time.
A fellow photographer taught me the dry method using a lenspen (sensor type) and LED lighting kit which sits over it. It works perfectly for me, but I tend not to change my lenses in harsh conditions. It's usually a piece of lint that has a static charge. I'm glad I haven't had to use the wet method yet (knock on wood). It's actually harder to get stuff off the mirror.
Setup -> Cleaning Mode, then perform the auto image sensor cleaning. That will shake the sensor and then lock it up. That's when you can swab away. Sony is just the best at UX, amirite?
I still don't see any reference to this locking up IBIS in the manual, and I tried actually poking at the sensor in this mode and without the mode and I don't see any difference. But just to be safe I did add a note about this.
You will see the message "Auto cleaning is finished. Turn the power off. You can also clean the sensor manually..." Do not turn the camera off, at this point it's in lock down mode. Although the camera is 'on' the sensor is not being read and it's safe to clean.
Today I was thinking I need to clean inside my camera since a dust spot has started causing problems. I googled around and there's lot of advice from random people when it occurred to me maybe Chelsea and Tony have a how-to. What a coincidence, only 2 days old! Thanks! What about cleaning the mirror and just in general around the inside of the body? There's a lot of dust in there. Tony has a can of air as a prop on the set but didn't use it. Should one not blow one of those into a dslr?
I only put 1 drop as they say in the instructions. After using the swab I could see smears around the corners when I didn't use a clean swab without liquid. The third time (as I had to do it more than once to get rid of all dirt), I saw smears even after using the dry swab. Or maybe I'm wrong, but it definitely looks like smears.
Thanks so much for making this video and advice to bring a kit along while traveling. I’m in Japan and may never return. Mt. Fuji was clear and I had spots on my sensor. I cleaned and it’s ready to go.
I bought the VSGO with the blower, lens paper and the sensor swabs. I always use the blower first on the sensor with the camera upside down, if that doesn't do the trick, I use the dry swab (so far I haven't needed the liquid). Also make sure that you're doing this with a full battery... just in case :)
Thanks for sharing, I never noticed the specs or bloobs you are talking about till I set my lens to like f22 playing around had no idea why they where there and I didn't notice them before at a lower Fstop.
I was curious about the spraycan on the table. It's probably clean, dry compressed air. Does that work well? And how about when a spec of dust is very close to the edge? Surely it can escape the swab.
As always - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Thank You Tony! I went looking around at other videos for this topic. There are a lot of them. I then said to myself, "Wait! What does Tony and Chelsea do?" Talk about trust! LOL! Thanks again for your professionalism and amazing videos!
Thank you Tony for this video. Do you still use the Camera sensor magnifying loupe like you demonstrated in an older video on cleaning the sensor? I have it my list to buy. Do you also recommend any particular lens cleaning cloths over others? Thanks Shane and Michelle
Tony, as a NEW A7R III should I put the camera into cleaning mode to stabilize the mirror before cleaning? In other words keep the mirror from moving due to OSS
Hi, I took glass before sensor, to shoot infrared. Would I damage sensor if I clean it? I'm talking about actual sensor not the glass/filter in front of it. I'm having some kind of white shodow when I'm zooming in and it disappears when I'm fully zoomed out. Did I du something with sensor or just lenses needs to clean as it is old canon sx50. Thanks
Thank you! Great tutorial, I've just used now with succes. For camera with IBIS (my case A7 III) you should use cleaning mode which lock sensor in place and after that power off.
Thanks! Just received my VSGO kit. Literally took 30 seconds. I had some odd spots that weren’t dust but it removed them with the two swipes you recommended with one swab.
Why does this A7R have 6 mounting screws, whereas mine only has 4? Trying to eliminate mount wobble, no luck with the 'tough E-mount' from fotodiox. Did Sony change half way through their production run?
Although I appreciate you finally doing this video, after watching dozens of videos on peoples take on this and after reading some horror stories on Amazon reviews, from products like swabs (several kinds) and that "cube-stick" gel, I took my camera to get professionally cleaned. I also read that some of the liquid solutions leave streaks. You do this wrong and you can ruin your IR film or smear a big oily glob of schmutz across your sensor that will be difficult to rub off. The person at the photo shop I got the cleaning done at ($60 vs the usual $150 I have read about) said you should only need to do a pro cleaning a couple times a year. He described telescoping lenses are like bellows; if you imagine this you will see that in dusty environments you are literally sucking in dust into the lense and body. He recommended wrapping a rain shield around these lenses whenever outside or in dusty environments. I only noticed significant problems with dust on my lense after taking photos in the deserts of Idaho. Otherwise dust on my lense was not a constant problem. The photo shop showed me a before-and-after of the dust, btw: it was like a constellation of dirt.
I forgot to add that rocket blowers are supposed to be used - as gently as possible. They are not supposed to be used as blasters. You could end up shooting things right onto the sensor plate with a blower or canned air. Also, static is an issue and touching anything metallic to the sensor nodes could transfer static into the electronics. Watch how you touch the edges, not just for the static discharge, but also for grime from moving parts that can become dislodged.
i have my old Sony a6000 cropp sensor kit and now i buy full frame a7, can i use same kit on that camera ??? is the liquid the same in both packages and the tiles are just bigger in the larger sensor size camera cleaning package
(D300s)What does it mean when your sensor starts showing "hot spots" / dead pixels? I'll take a picture with my lens cap on, zoom in on the photo and have some pixels that are like stars. some brighter than others, some red, blue, white... etc. is my sensor dying? They are more noticeable on higher ISO (800 and up)
Hey Tony! Thank you for this great tutorial! I accidentally cleaned my lens without going into cleaning mode first. I just cleaned when my camera was turned off. Would there be any chance of my sensor moved or damaged by this? Thank you in advance.
what about the focusing screen? the las weekend my focusing screen got something in there i dont know how got in there its just annoying my pictures end great its just when a look in the viewfinder its something there lol
If it's on the Fresnel screen then no chance, you'll need a new one which won't be financially viable with the majority of cameras. Hopefully it's in the actual viewfinder itself then no problem to fix.
Hello sir. I just got very small spit spot in my cannon 77D mirror. How should i get that spit out and Could you please give me suggestion. That would be very appreciated. Thanks !
Hi Tony and Chelsea! Do you think it is worth it to purchase an A7 second hand for around $545USD? If so, what should I look out for when checking the camera? Thank you!
Interesting video. It's almost exactly how I do it. But I use a magnifier (from VisibleDust), which is a very good way to see dust on the sensor. And VisibleDust has also a holder with light to keep your swab. Very handy. Especially for DSLR where the sensor is deep in the body.
That used to be our technique (check our old sensor cleaning video). We stopped because long-term I found dust collecting in the corners or somewhere else within the sensor box. That's better than nothing, but over time you'll accumulate a visible amount of dust in the edges and corners of the sensor. Sometimes they add new dust, too.
This is actually the kit I bought most recently haha, guess my search for the best rating worked. Thanks for the tips on specific use, it's definitely a bit scary when you're not sure. I've had issues getting the last couple spots off my sensor, I might pull out the swabs today and have another go.
Hi Tony & Chelsea, when taking long exposure shots dust shows up on my lens like small black spots/dots. Although, when I take standard (Non-Long Exposure) pictures there are no dots on my sensor, how can I fix this?
NOTE: Some mirrorless cameras also have a cleaning mode that might lock the sensor down. Check your camera's manual. Here are the links:
Micro Four Thirds (Panasonic & Olympus): sdp.io/DDR12
APS-C (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, Pentax): sdp.io/DDR16
Full-frame (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax): sdp.io/DDR24
Thanks Tony, appreciate the pragmatic approach!!
👍
Please do a video how to change a focusing screen! Please!
iuriius: There's no standard way that focusing screens are installed. Occasionally it even varies between versions of the same camera. For example, my Canon AE-1 (original) film camera requires almost totally disassembling the camera to get the focusing screen out, while the AE-1 Program version made it fairly simple to remove. I suggest you Google for instructions for your particular camera model. (Please bear in mind that you'll be working next to the mirror, which has a _very_ delicate and easily damaged semi-reflective coating on it.)
errrr mirrorless cameras still have shutters
You put the swap down on the table where is dust, then touched the swab with your fingers. This can get dirt/dust on the swab which may then transfer to the sensor. So good to open first the bottle, put it on the table, and then remove the swab from it's sealed bag - careful to tear at the end where you grab the swab. Better also not to touch the swab with the tip of the bottle. Just squeeze the bottle from a distance and let a few droplets fall on the swab. This way the swab doesn't touch on anything before placing it on the sensor so it stays 'sterile' of any specs, so to speak. Since I'm a little obsessive, better also not to talk over the sensor, tiny saliva droplets may as well jump on it. I've learned these techniques while in the surgery room, they use a special task order in order not to touch sterile surfaces. Great video and great explanations, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this comment.
I cringed when he opened the swab, only to put it on the friggin' table, open the bottle and then *touch* the god damn swab 🙄
Oh well.. Tony's a pro... He *must* know what he's doing 😁
You sound neurotic
Obsessive lol. I would almost say you have serious OCD lol. But everyone has their own way and as long as job gets done that is all that matters. 😀
You could not be more right. This work should only be done in a clean and dust free environment. You should wash your hands well first. You should wear a mask and hair covering. You should be wearing clothes that do not shed lint and dust. If you touch the swab or of it comes into contact with any surface that could contain dust it should be discarded. (If you ever use a swab that has come into contact with your greasy fingers, please do not sell your camera until the sensor has been replaced.) Use a dust blower before touching your sensor with a swab. If dry cleaning does the trick, leave it at that. Do not use any liquids unless it is totally necessary.
I just did this on my ancient Pentax K100D Super (6MP is more than enough for ebay!) and it worked like a charm! I was questioning the usefulness or even the wisdom of doing a dry wipe first like the instructions said to do -- I am glad that you said to just go for the wet wipe first. Because the sensor had never been cleaned before, I had to repeat with a second swab and was able to remove the remaining bit of dust/dirt. Even though I have torn apart and rebuilt engines, transmissions, computers, kitchen appliances and many things I never should have touched, I was a bit fearful of messing up my camera sensor. I needn't have worried, it was easy. Thanks again for the encouragement!
In case someone followed these instructions (or any other on RUclips cause they're all the same procedure), and saw that the sensor was full of streaking after cleaning, don't panic.
I don't know why no one mentions this but it's very common. Just use a dry swab after the wet one and wipe the sensor a few times in multiple directions till it's spotless (took me 4 wipes in 3 directions). The cleaning fluid should not leave residue in theory but many of them do (according to my quick online research) for whatever reason. That is why cleaning kits state you should use a dry swab after the wet one. They just don't mention that most of the time, one swipe isn't enough to remove the streaking.
Would have been nice to know this info before I cleaned my Sony sensor and almost had a heart attack after seeing the streaks xD
Best way to locate the dust spots on your sensor is: high aperture (f11 works good), focus close, slow shutter speed (
An easier way for the Lightroom - open Remove (spots) menu in the same place where cropping etc is located then click Visualize spots (and drag the slider if you need).
The quick cycle on the dishwasher works fine for most Pentax bodies.....;-)
SPECIAL PRIZE FOR SEEING THIS FIRST: 5 minutes of black at the end of the video, directly from my soul.
I saw it
Same
I though you were gonna pop back in at 11:00 and yell "just kidding!!" :-)
Thanks for adding the silent, non color meditation vid!! ;p
I saw it!!!! Cost more than your books??? That isn't right!!!!????
On cleaning my camera sensor, i have been using Sensor Swabs by Photographic Solutions. Its very effective and cleans instantly without residues or marks. This video shows how to clean the sensor properly and I recommended sensor swabs and eclipes solutions using this technique
The second half touched me in a way I never thought possible, I'm not ashamed to say I even cried. Truly your greatest piece of work on this earth lies within the last 5 minutes of this video.
ohhh shut up..
Thanks very much Tony - you saved me a bunch of money. I have a several-year-old Pentax that I have never cleaned the sensor and noticed 3 blobs of dust on my photos the other day. After cleaning the lenses thoroughly, I found out they were on the sensor. Thought I had to take it in to a photo shop and have the sensor cleaned for $100. But your video gave me the courage to try it myself with the recommended kit. Worked great and it was easier than I thought. Thanks again!
Glad to see you doing this video. I remember I used to be so scared to clean my sensor, but with mirrorless is became something I just had to do (just because it get's more exposure to dust). I can recommend using a blower first before using the swabs as a precaution - I skipped that step once - and it was actually a tiny piece of sand and I ended up with a tiny scratch on the sensor. Quite funny though - it does not actually affect the performance of the sensor and does not show up on photos (everything works flawlessly - I could send you a picture of the sensor and an example file if you are interested). It actually means that I am even more comfortable cleaning my sensor because I know it is not as delecate as I once thought it was. Still though.. use your blower first :)
Cleaned my sensor successfully yesterday. I used your link to buy the cleaning kit (easiest way to find those swabs online) and followed your instructions. Thanks for the video, had no idea how easy it was to do at home.
I’ve cleaned with this kit many times, safe and effective. I do recommend trying a blower first though to save on supplies.
Michael Mangold He failed to mention many things.
I tried mu Lumix cleaning mode and then a "rocket blower" first but it did not get the dust off. I have no idea how it got there. Hopefully its just static electricity holding the dust on the sensor.
What a mind reader. I was wondering what was the best way to clean my Sony A7ii and here comes Tony to save the day!
My A7rIII has cleaning mode, which is recommended to enter before cleaning. It fixes the IBIS so sensor won't move.
Ive not needed a wet clean yet, and I am super picky with clean sensor. Rocket blower has been fine til now. 👍
Back in the Nikon days, Rocket blower did nothing. Always had to do wet cleans. So Sony is saving me money there....
Great video showing how to clean your camera sensor properly. As a photographer i do the cleaning myself using the Sensor Swab kit by Photographic Solutions with the Hepa Orbit blower and Eclipse solution. You shoud try it out!
Thanks Tony! I've been having nightmares about these small little dust specs in the top right of my frame for months now I'm glad I can finally take care of that.
I like that you had that can of dust remover waiting to trigger us in the comments.
then he touches the pad and drenches it... >.>
K. Adam Christensen will that damage the sensor?
I pump up the aperture to 22 and take a pic of the light blue sky (it really shows the dust prominently... learned this the hard way)
client saw and asked if that was a bug smooshed against the camera... i feel u
This was definitely one of the hardest things I had to do to my sony , I was so nervous but I kept it together and got it done , nice and clean thanks Tony
This is the best advice for cleaning, as far as I know. I use that same VSGO kit, and it works perfectly. Not only that, but it is the ONLY thing that has worked. Those blowers blow MORE dust on the sensor. But as for me, I use a wet swab and then a dry one. The reason is that I often put a bit extra liquid on the first one, and the second one insures that any left over wetness is absorbed and off the sensor.
That's right, gotta wipe in both directions, like a man.
Use a brillo pad and lightly scrub it. Stick in dishwasher. Then the microwave to make sure its dry.
gmcube thanks now my sensor it's like bran new
Do both!
Thanks. I think it looks clean now. But my camera won't turn on any more. Do you have a fix for that?
Red Bat Racing if you followed the steps carefully you should be covered under warranty.
I use a small pumice stone to remove stubborn particles on the middle of the sensor, a wire brush for the edges. Works pretty well.
Just cleaned my Nikon D750 sensor for the first time. Took 4 swabs to get the dirt off but in the end its super clean thanks to this tutorial. Really appreciate the help!
Thanks so much Tony! I ordered the kit that you specified in your tutorial, followed your instructions, and it worked beautifully. Thanks very much!!
The content of video sharing is really great! It must also be said that the sensor cleaning sleeve is really excellent!!
Thank YOU, I just bought the Nikon FX kit using the link. needed to clean my D5 and didn't have time to send it off for routine maintenance. Spots were showing up in my macro video work... thank you as always Tony!
I use the same sensor's cleaner... After 5 months I decided to clean my Sony A7RII... So easy! Perfect result with two sticks cleaners!
I'm new to photography and have really been appreciating your videos. Thanks!
This is like the 6th time since last July when I first discovered Northrup Photography that I've had and issue and Tony has uploaded a vid addressing my issue seemingly out of the blue. It's uncanny.
In 4 years and around 26 000 shutter actuations I have never cleaned the sensor in any way other than the self cleaning it does when turning on and off..
So far that seems to have done quite a good job. Whenever theres something actually visible in the shots it's usually on the lens, and not the sensor. But it's comforting to know that it can be this easy if I ever need to clean it as I don't really look forward to it.
Some people are just ocd
This is a really nice no-nonsense approach. I personally use a sensor brush first. Often that’s all I need. If you do use a brush, use the rocket blower on the brush, not the sensor. That cleans the brush and imparts a static charge on the bristles that supposedly helps dust to stick to the brush. Aiming a rocket blower at the sensor can throw crud at it at high speed. Too bad Tony can’t sell some of his cool demeanor. Being relaxed and efficient really helps.
Great video Tony! I use them too... Best quality value for money swabs.. Just an advice as a proactive measure. ALWAYS have your camera sensor facing to the ground when you don't have a lens attached on it! I do it every time I change lenses (I attach the camera to a peak design clip if needed) and It has saved me a lot of cleaning since I started doing it:)
Worked for me! Thank you Tony! Dust just wouldn't let go until I tried the wet swab... and I survived! [Sony A73]
Graham Jones so the dust already gone after u follow like in the video? no problem after that?
Thanks for changing your method on cleaning the sensors. I was not looking forward to the loop method you presented in one of your books. I suggest you change that video to this one. I purchased the kit for my canon t2i which is an 6 year old camera and needed cleaning badly. I had noticed spots on the sensor when I purchased it a year ago. I ordered the aps censor kit. Using this kit the cleaning went very easy. I noticed spots on the sensor when I flipped the mirror up and after cleaning did not see them anymore. The only surprise I got out of this was that the swaps for my camera sensor seemed slightly larger than half the size of the sensor, I expected it to fully cover the height of the sensor, so I needed to clean the top and bottom of the sensor separately. I tested the camera afterward using a focusing chart and everything seems fine. My only criticism of the video was that you need to light the inside of the camera better during cleaning, also you should probably do a mirror camera as well. For a mirror camera the sensor is really deep inside, I found this a little intimidating but after cleaning the sensor I'm not as nervous about it anymore. Thanks for presenting this!
I followed Tony's advice and it worked perfectly. I'm going the clean the sensor more often now.
Won't leave without it. I have been using that since I purchased my A7r. Good stuff and super easy to use. Once I got the A7rII I had to get wider swabs.
A little goes a long ways. My fluid container has a better top. I don't just use the swab just once but I always put it back into the package and close it up. Never had an issue with using one more than once. Also give the remaining fluid a chance to evaporate before using the camera. Don't use too much fluid but be sure it covers the entire cleaning edge. I never use dry swabs. Ever.
I use this kit as well and I concur it is best to do it the same way as Tony shows. When I dry swapped my sensor (yes, I know it is not the actual sensor), it made a horrible streaking sound and scared the mess out of me. It took a couple wet swabs to learn the right amount. I would use them without hesitation. But I do recommend using a bulb blower first-- a lot cheaper if your dust isn't stuck.
I love your clips. Sometimes I think about sharing my tricks online but then get discouraged reading the comments people make so I don't :-) It's amazing how some people just like to attack anything given half a chance. I believe if you have nothing nice to say then just be quiet. Thanks again and keep posting.
Oh, I got one of those kits as a dust spot found its way to my sensor one day but chickened out when I saw the swabs. I tried a stronger blower as a last resort before using the swabs and was happy to see a clean sensor. One day, however, I am sure I will need to be brave enough to do what you just showed us what to do.
Tnx for you useful advice and demonstrating the wet cleaner/ing method. I took several test shots of my sensor at f/36 (my max) in both my bodies using different lenses. My Canon 7DMII (which I had for a couple of years doesn't have a single spot) which made me proud but I do not use it very often and usually stays with one lens attached (the 100-400 II or the 70-200 II) most of the time. My 6D which I had for 4 years and in which I change lenses all the time only had a couple of tiny spots which I'm also very happy about (I thought it would be far worst) and under normal shooting I never noticed them. When I visually inspect my 6D sensor, even with a magnifying glass and a headlamp I cannot identify these two tiny spots on my sensor. My first question therefore: a) when I look at the photo with the spots at the LCD back of my camera the spots appear to be on the left hand side towards the edge and half way through in terms of height. When I visually inspect my sensor at the front should I expect to find these spots at the same coordinates or is the sensor their reverse or upside down or something along these lines. So for example what I see in the picture at the back as left when I look at the sensor at the front is it right or left? Ditto for up and down.
By the way both my bodies have auto sensor clean, which is done every time the camera switches on and off, I also used a rocket blower and a few of these auto sensor cleans in the hope to dislocate these two tiny spots from my 6D; to no avail. My second question, thus: b) shouldn’t one clean the sensor box, mirror, etc. first in some way (blow, silica brush, gel, wipe) before attempting to wet clean the sensor because dust/dirt may transfer from the sensor box to the sensor; esp. since the mirror needs to go up for the sensor cleaning. If so, any advice for cleaning the sensor box area (I appreciate there isn’t much of a sensor box in mirrorless bodies) but a lot of us still have mirror ones ☺
Carry on the good work.
Well it's time for me to learn to clean the sensors on my two Sony bodies. Thanks for the clear instructions! ps: please always highlight in your reviews which mirrorless cameras have the features that the shutter covers the sensor when changing lenses. QUESTION: I recall that the Canon mirrorless bodies cover sensor when changing lenses (just the full frame ones?) and I *think* one of the Sony's had a firmware update to do this but alas I forget (which one?). Thanks!
Great video. Had crud on my sensor from changing lenses on a windy day, bought said cleaning kit, used displayed technique, and what do you know? Clean as a whistle sensor! Much thanks.
will the aps-c one work for the a6300? its sensor size is 14.8mm, but the swab is 16?
Hello Tony. Love your videos. I just wanted to add that if you put the a7riii in cleaning mode, it will lock the stabilizer so it doesn't get damaged when doing manual cleaning.
WOW. Just did this with the kit and afterwards, I could see a tiny dark dot on the swab. Thank you Tony.
Used this kit and it works great using the technique show here. Thanks T+C for giving me the confidence to try it out. (PS - I did try it out on a very old camera before doing it on my modern kit.)
Used the swab on my camera last week. Easy to use. Sensor was completely clean. Saved me 60€ the camera shop was asking.
Using the "sticky pen" also helps for those pesky hard sticking particles.
I have a leaf blower will this do the job?
marvar gare Steel wool. That’s old fashioned. Use a dremmel with a wire brush. Then polish with tooth paste. Your lens will be minty clean.
Thanks for this. My Lumix advanced point and shoot is always getting dust on the sensor and that requires disassembly of the camera which is a pain due to all the ribbon cables and tiny screws. I would have to cut the swab down since my sensor is smaller than an MF3 sensor. I usually just use air but a wet swab is worth a try.
The best tutorial on cleaning a full frame sensor. Thanks :)
THANKS AGAIN. i use this video every year when i notice a dust spec and need to clean sensors!
A particle of dust is accurately referred to as a "mote" (of dust). Dr. Carl Sagan taught me that... and I thought I would "pass that along" to you. He was a "stickler" for accuracy in language. :o)
Good swabs, I found that just using the dry swab with two passes and a blow from my blower was enough to rid the dust spots. If you have a sony a7rIII or similar just enter the cleaning mode first in the menu and keep the camera turned on for manual clean, so that the sensor locks.
Strange - my Pentax bodies (even my old K200D) have a feature in the menu for detecting dust. You end up with a white image with black spots on it that you can view on the camera's screen or download to a computer to view. I assumed all other brands had this, I guess I was mistaken. Aside from the mirror, there is the focal plane shutter over the sensor. I have never owned a mirrorless camera, I assumed they had one as well, but maybe not since they are operating in "live view mode" all of the time.
A fellow photographer taught me the dry method using a lenspen (sensor type) and LED lighting kit which sits over it. It works perfectly for me, but I tend not to change my lenses in harsh conditions. It's usually a piece of lint that has a static charge. I'm glad I haven't had to use the wet method yet (knock on wood). It's actually harder to get stuff off the mirror.
You need to lock the ibis on the Sony cameras. Enter cleaning mode and then this locks the ibis.
Yes. Highly recommend locking the sensor first.
Setup -> Cleaning Mode, then perform the auto image sensor cleaning. That will shake the sensor and then lock it up. That's when you can swab away. Sony is just the best at UX, amirite?
I still don't see any reference to this locking up IBIS in the manual, and I tried actually poking at the sensor in this mode and without the mode and I don't see any difference. But just to be safe I did add a note about this.
You will see the message "Auto cleaning is finished. Turn the power off. You can also clean the sensor manually..." Do not turn the camera off, at this point it's in lock down mode. Although the camera is 'on' the sensor is not being read and it's safe to clean.
I contacted Panasonic about my G85 and they replied that I must turn on the camera or I could damage the stabilization system.
Today I was thinking I need to clean inside my camera since a dust spot has started causing problems. I googled around and there's lot of advice from random people when it occurred to me maybe Chelsea and Tony have a how-to. What a coincidence, only 2 days old! Thanks! What about cleaning the mirror and just in general around the inside of the body? There's a lot of dust in there. Tony has a can of air as a prop on the set but didn't use it. Should one not blow one of those into a dslr?
I only put 1 drop as they say in the instructions. After using the swab I could see smears around the corners when I didn't use a clean swab without liquid. The third time (as I had to do it more than once to get rid of all dirt), I saw smears even after using the dry swab. Or maybe I'm wrong, but it definitely looks like smears.
Very nice technique tip.
Question is it the very same process if there is AA filter and no AA filter? 🤔
Thanks so much for making this video and advice to bring a kit along while traveling. I’m in Japan and may never return. Mt. Fuji was clear and I had spots on my sensor. I cleaned and it’s ready to go.
I bought the VSGO with the blower, lens paper and the sensor swabs. I always use the blower first on the sensor with the camera upside down, if that doesn't do the trick, I use the dry swab (so far I haven't needed the liquid). Also make sure that you're doing this with a full battery... just in case :)
Felix Belanger This video was very incomplete.
Thanks for sharing, I never noticed the specs or bloobs you are talking about till I set my lens to like f22 playing around had no idea why they where there and I didn't notice them before at a lower Fstop.
Hakz olot If you don't see them then they're not a problem.
I was curious about the spraycan on the table. It's probably clean, dry compressed air. Does that work well? And how about when a spec of dust is very close to the edge? Surely it can escape the swab.
As always - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Thank You Tony! I went looking around at other videos for this topic. There are a lot of them. I then said to myself, "Wait! What does Tony and Chelsea do?" Talk about trust! LOL! Thanks again for your professionalism and amazing videos!
Thank you Tony for this video. Do you still use the Camera sensor magnifying loupe like you demonstrated in an older video on cleaning the sensor? I have it my list to buy. Do you also recommend any particular lens cleaning cloths over others? Thanks Shane and Michelle
Tony, as a NEW A7R III should I put the camera into cleaning mode to stabilize the mirror before cleaning? In other words keep the mirror from moving due to OSS
Hi, I took glass before sensor, to shoot infrared. Would I damage sensor if I clean it? I'm talking about actual sensor not the glass/filter in front of it. I'm having some kind of white shodow when I'm zooming in and it disappears when I'm fully zoomed out. Did I du something with sensor or just lenses needs to clean as it is old canon sx50. Thanks
Well, I did buy that kit but without the liquid very recently, tried it with good results so I guess I'm not doing too bad!
For viewing dust in live view or on images, it helps to stop down to smallest aperture (e.g., f22)
Thanks. B Roll really helps seeing what you're doing.
Thank you!
Great tutorial, I've just used now with succes.
For camera with IBIS (my case A7 III) you should use cleaning mode which lock sensor in place and after that power off.
Thanks! Just received my VSGO kit. Literally took 30 seconds. I had some odd spots that weren’t dust but it removed them with the two swipes you recommended with one swab.
Why does this A7R have 6 mounting screws, whereas mine only has 4? Trying to eliminate mount wobble, no luck with the 'tough E-mount' from fotodiox. Did Sony change half way through their production run?
do you need to turn your camera off after toggling manual sensor cleaning? asking for a friend with a sony a7 3... :)
Is the dry swab after the wet swab recommendation from VSGO intended to remove any potential streaks after a wet clean?
Sorry Tony but Matt showed me how to save money and still get it clean! Highly recommended!
You have a cleaning mode on the Sony as well that will lock the IBIS btw. Also give a try to the Arctic Fly, it works really for me.
Thanks Tony! Easier to follow someone I trust rather than wading through all the info out there :).
Wouldn’t you want to air spray the focus sensors first at the bottom of the camera?
Good timing on this video. I just recently noticed those spots the other day on my camera.
i got sent the 24mm size swab but my camera needs a 17mm swab head. Can I carefully trim the 24mm to approx 17mm?
Perfect ! Short and Sweet and so very useful! Thank you Tony!
If you ask, ASTRONOMIK MC filter (Don't remember the filter for fullframes). Best purchase anywhere for Canon EOS cameras.
Although I appreciate you finally doing this video, after watching dozens of videos on peoples take on this and after reading some horror stories on Amazon reviews, from products like swabs (several kinds) and that "cube-stick" gel, I took my camera to get professionally cleaned. I also read that some of the liquid solutions leave streaks. You do this wrong and you can ruin your IR film or smear a big oily glob of schmutz across your sensor that will be difficult to rub off.
The person at the photo shop I got the cleaning done at ($60 vs the usual $150 I have read about) said you should only need to do a pro cleaning a couple times a year. He described telescoping lenses are like bellows; if you imagine this you will see that in dusty environments you are literally sucking in dust into the lense and body. He recommended wrapping a rain shield around these lenses whenever outside or in dusty environments.
I only noticed significant problems with dust on my lense after taking photos in the deserts of Idaho. Otherwise dust on my lense was not a constant problem. The photo shop showed me a before-and-after of the dust, btw: it was like a constellation of dirt.
I forgot to add that rocket blowers are supposed to be used - as gently as possible. They are not supposed to be used as blasters. You could end up shooting things right onto the sensor plate with a blower or canned air. Also, static is an issue and touching anything metallic to the sensor nodes could transfer static into the electronics. Watch how you touch the edges, not just for the static discharge, but also for grime from moving parts that can become dislodged.
+Tony & Chelsea Northrup How do you clean the body mount and contacts? Is it okay to use a clean cue tip with 91% isopropyl ?
i have my old Sony a6000 cropp sensor kit and now i buy full frame a7, can i use same kit on that camera ??? is the liquid the same in both packages and the tiles are just bigger in the larger sensor size camera cleaning package
Do you still use a blower or brush before using the swabs?
(D300s)What does it mean when your sensor starts showing "hot spots" / dead pixels? I'll take a picture with my lens cap on, zoom in on the photo and have some pixels that are like stars. some brighter than others, some red, blue, white... etc. is my sensor dying? They are more noticeable on higher ISO (800 and up)
Hey Tony! Thank you for this great tutorial! I accidentally cleaned my lens without going into cleaning mode first. I just cleaned when my camera was turned off. Would there be any chance of my sensor moved or damaged by this?
Thank you in advance.
U have dslr or mirrorless?
How many times we can use each swab and how to preserve the swab or the entire kit if this is not a use-n-throw article.
I use this method too on my Sony a7rii. Works a treat. Sometimes I have to use two swabs. I never reuse a swab and I don't do dry either.
what about the focusing screen? the las weekend my focusing screen got something in there i dont know how got in there its just annoying my pictures end great its just when a look in the viewfinder its something there lol
John Smith thats what happen to mine all the pictures are great it's just in the viewfinder not in the picture its just annoying that's it :)
If it's on the Fresnel screen then no chance, you'll need a new one which won't be financially viable with the majority of cameras.
Hopefully it's in the actual viewfinder itself then no problem to fix.
Hello sir. I just got very small spit spot in my cannon 77D mirror. How should i get that spit out and Could you please give me suggestion. That would be very appreciated. Thanks !
Hi Tony and Chelsea! Do you think it is worth it to purchase an A7 second hand for around $545USD? If so, what should I look out for when checking the camera? Thank you!
Interesting video. It's almost exactly how I do it. But I use a magnifier (from VisibleDust), which is a very good way to see dust on the sensor. And VisibleDust has also a holder with light to keep your swab. Very handy. Especially for DSLR where the sensor is deep in the body.
That used to be our technique (check our old sensor cleaning video). We stopped because long-term I found dust collecting in the corners or somewhere else within the sensor box. That's better than nothing, but over time you'll accumulate a visible amount of dust in the edges and corners of the sensor. Sometimes they add new dust, too.
Does using a filtered air pump help removing the dust off at all?
Is it dangerous to use the full-frame swab and swipe the aps-c sensor vertically?
I purchased the wrong one by mistake.
This is actually the kit I bought most recently haha, guess my search for the best rating worked. Thanks for the tips on specific use, it's definitely a bit scary when you're not sure. I've had issues getting the last couple spots off my sensor, I might pull out the swabs today and have another go.
Hi Tony & Chelsea, when taking long exposure shots dust shows up on my lens like small black spots/dots. Although, when I take standard (Non-Long Exposure) pictures there are no dots on my sensor, how can I fix this?
How many times can you use the swabs? I heard that one can be used only once.