Sensor swabs.
- Thread starter ethan
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They cost so little that I wouldn't risk washing them. Generally I'll use two per sensor clean. The first with a drop of the cleaning fluid - usually needs a few wipes in each direction to get all the spots from the edges and corners. I keep that wipe until I have finished the sensor clean. Usually the dust spots I get are "sticky", so a dry wipe or a blast with a rocket blower isn't sufficient.
Once the sensor is looking cleaner/clean enough using the swab with the cleaner fluid (fit lens, take a test shot, examine at 100%), I'll open a new swab and do a quick once over without cleaning fluid to catch any stray bits of dust, quick puff with the rocket blower (camera body upside down), fit lens and test shot. I'll then keep the "dry" swab for use as the wet swab on the next clean. Wet swab gets binned.
Once the sensor is looking cleaner/clean enough using the swab with the cleaner fluid (fit lens, take a test shot, examine at 100%), I'll open a new swab and do a quick once over without cleaning fluid to catch any stray bits of dust, quick puff with the rocket blower (camera body upside down), fit lens and test shot. I'll then keep the "dry" swab for use as the wet swab on the next clean. Wet swab gets binned.
Soldato
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As above, but their costing pennies each leads me to bin both wet and dry patches once the sensor is clean.
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I generally just buy the ones of the correct size from the rainforest. The ones I’m using are Sanhooi or something like that. I still had plenty fluid left so just bought a pack of swabs on their own last time.
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The vibrating sensor does help a lot of dust from sticking, but over time you can still get some stubborn spots that need some attention. Take a test shot in manual mode of a white ceiling at f20 -f30, iso 100 and a shutter time of about 1-2 seconds. You can put the lens in manual focus mode as you don’t actually need to focus on anything. Try not to overexpose so everything is pure white, slightly underexposed light grey is ideal, and adjust the shutter time to suit.
Then just zoom in at 100% looking for spots that persist across several frames. Mirrorless cameras are less prone to dust/oil spots than DSLRs.
Most lenses get minor dust on the inside over time. You don’t need to worry about it, you are very unlikely to ever see it in a photo. For the front element, a quick blast with a rocket blower should suffice, but a soft microfibre cloth with very light pressure (just the weight of the cloth) will work and avoid scratches if there’s any sand/grit/salt on the front element. If you have greasy fingerprints, then do the above two steps first, then a damp microfibre cloth and possibly a quick spray of isopropyl alcohol should do the trick. Once you are sure there’s no grit on the front element you can rub a bit harder with a clean microfibre cloth.
It appears it is a done thing and I have only done it on when finding out I'd ran out of swabs.
That being said, I've come across someone who used a lint cloth by wiping it across the sensor with his finger, which is crazy.
I've only just discovered the A1 offers the option to close the shutter when the camera is powered off (in the setup menu) which should help along with loupe illustrated by Footman with anything that is missed.
That being said, I've come across someone who used a lint cloth by wiping it across the sensor with his finger, which is crazy.
I've only just discovered the A1 offers the option to close the shutter when the camera is powered off (in the setup menu) which should help along with loupe illustrated by Footman with anything that is missed.