Cleaning Sensor?

[R7andyking]

Hi, I have cleaned sensors on APC and full frame for years, I have cleaned the R5 a couple of times when I have spotted a spot that does not go, shoot a blue sky at F22 to see the dust, switch off in body IS otherwise the sensor will move. try a blower first, open the shutter and hold the camera downward and blow air across the sensor with airblower (do not use canned air!)

if this does not work use a cleanish room (window shut and not dusty)

I normally use 3 sensors swabs and a couple of drops of fluid on the middle swab. first swab do a dry clean, left to right then right to left using the other face of the swab, throw the swab away switch off the camera and reattach a lens and test at f22 if the dust is gone you are all done!

If dust is still there put a couple of drops on swab 2 near the edge and wait for them to spread do not get the sensor wet, clean left to right and right to left, throw the swab away and the use a third swab to clean again and test again, hopefully all done at this point, if not repeat with new swabs.

Hope this helps

Nick

I might be being thick, but how do you open the shutter with the camera switched? (or, come to that, with it switched on but no lens on?)
Thank you
Andy

 

[AntonLargiader]

With the R3 and the R7, simply turning the camera on exposes the sensor, lens or no lens. You can opt (in the menu) to leave the sensor exposed when powered down.

 

[Nick L]

Either select manual clean (sensor open - camera on, which is the way i have done it (IS off of course)) or as Anton said you can stop the shutter closing when off but makes it more accessible to the dust unless you set it back after the cleaning. As i said I have only cleaned twice in 2 1/2 years I do check regularly that the sensor is clean. one single spot on the edge is not worth a clean but one in the middle is. Hope that helps.

 

[R7andyking]

With the R3 and the R7, simply turning the camera on exposes the sensor, lens or no lens. You can opt (in the menu) to leave the sensor exposed when powered down.

Thank you

 

[David Berry]

With the R3 and the R7, simply turning the camera on exposes the sensor, lens or no lens.

I suspect that this is so with every mirrorless camera, irrespective of brand or model.

Does anyone know of exceptions?

… David

 

[koenkooi]

I cleaned it once, pretty easy. Set aperture as high as it'll get, like f18, take a photo of a white sheet of paper, load it up and see if there are black/grey dots present.

The sensor, although covered with glass, is pretty delicate; and there are other sensitive parts that can be easy to damage. So if you don't have very good dexterity and delicate touch I wouldn't recommend trying it. But if your handwriting is good, it's a pretty easy and quick fix. The cleaning kit is like $15 here.

And to make it worse: if your camera has IBIS the sensor isn't rigidly mounted, so pressing down on it needs more care.