Have you been shooting shots of the new fallen snow only to notice some odd dark spots in the middle of what you thought was a pure white landscape image? Did you see some black spots in the middle of your sunset photos and think about reporting a UFO sighting? If you’re noticing some odd dark spots in your images, this could mean it’s time to clean your camera sensor. This is a common occurrence. Especially if you use your camera a lot, and switch lenses during your shoots. Here is everything you need to know about cleaning your camera sensor so your images turn out perfectly every time.
How Camera Sensor Cleaning Works
Make sure your camera battery is fully charged before cleaning your camera sensor. The mirror will slap down causing you to spend a lot on repairs. Make sure you find a clean and dust-free place for cleaning your DSLR sensor. Your bathroom, with the window closed, is usually a great place for cleaning your camera sensor. Most DSLRs, can be set to self-cleaning mode. This will flip the mirror up exposing the camera sensor. Make sure you turn your camera off when cleaning your camera sensor.
Begin by cleaning the exterior camera body. This will keep dust particles from entering your sensor while cleaning your camera sensor. Begin cleaning off the dust on the camera sensor by using a rocket blower to dislodge anything that isn’t stuck. Sometimes, using the blower to clean the dust on your camera sensor will be all that’s needed.
For dust on the camera sensor that’s stuck with either static or humidity, you can use a sensor brush. Gently pass a brush over your DSLR sensor. Cleaning your camera sensor with these brushes doesn’t actually require physically scrubbing. You can simply whisk away the dust on the camera sensor. If you’re still seeing spots on your DSLR sensor, use a Moment Mobile Lens Cleaning Pen from Buydig.com. This handy device has a felt tip pen for cleaning your DSLR sensor, camera lens, phone lens, security camera lenses, and so much more. It has a retractable brush on the other end to clean dust off of the front of your camera, phone lens, or action camera.Lastly, you can use the wet method to clean your DSLR sensor if you still see spots. Use a liquid cleaner and a cleaning swab as a final step towards cleaning your camera sensor.
How to Know if Your Camera Sensor Needs Cleaning
The easiest way to check for a dirty camera sensor is to simply take a photo of a clean piece of paper, a light colored wall, or a clear sky. There are certain settings you’ll need to use on your camera so the dirt on the camera sensor will show up. Set your ISO to the lowest normal range. On your Canon camera that will be 100. Your Nikon camera’s lowest normal setting will be 200. Use manual focus and shoot out of focus when trying to detect dirt on a camera sensor. Take the photo at the highest f-stop setting to help define the spots on your dirty camera sensor. This will probably be around f/22. Just remember the image you create will be flipped. The dust spots you see on the top of the image created from the dirt on your camera sensor are really on the bottom of the sensor.
What You Can Use to Clean Camera Sensors
When you’re ready to clean your image sensor, there are a few tools you can purchase to make the job easier and safer for your camera sensor. The best way to clean a camera sensor is to start with the lens blower. You might be able to clean your image sensor just by using this simple tool, and be finished. If the blower isn’t enough to remove those pesky dust specks, move onto these Deco Photo Camera Sensor swabs. These camera sensor swabs will remove build up in those hard to reach areas giving you a clean image sensor. This Xit 6-Piece Deluxe Digital Camera Starter Kit from Buydig.com is equipped with cleaning fluid to remove loose particles and stubborn contaminants your blower and brush couldn’t. With so many variations of camera sensor cleaning kits, you can find the best way to clean camera sensor.
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