[ A True Story: The Road to Victory Begin With A Clean Sensor ]
THE SUBJECT OF CAMERA SENSOR CLEANING is rife with controversy, fear and doubt that can leave you helpless and frustrated. So I’ll begin this post with a humour to take the edge off a bit. It’s also a reminder why we’re better at technical documentation than the affairs of the heart!
W H Y G U Y S D O N ‘ T W R I T E A D V I C E C O L U M N S
Dear Abie,
The other day I set off for work. I hadn’t gone more than two kilometres when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home, only to find my husband making love to our neighbour. He was let go from his job six months ago, and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but I don’t know if I can trust him any more. What should I do?Dear Frustrated,
A car stalling can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Check that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it’s clear, check the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the inlet manifold. Or it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber. I hope this helps.from E.T. Thompson in Reader’s Digest April 2008
Love it or hate it, digital photography is a can of worms. Dust in the polluted environment we live in is inevitable. It’s the one common element professional and serious amateur photographers have in common with their digital SLRs. Some of us are fortunate to have their equipment professionally cleaned at a facility near them. The nearest facility for me is a 2.5 hours two-way commute just to drop the camera off! Failing that, I could always catch a plane and drop it off at Canon Singapore and hang out at Starbucks for a few days!
Either way, it’s financially and logistically impractical. So I had to improvise in order to make life’s inevitable more manageable. Something I’m sure you all can appreciate! The motivation for this effort comes from fellow professionals and SHIMWORLD readers who’s asked me about how I clean my EOS 5D and 20D sensor and focus screen.
© Jan Shim Photography
Cleaning the focus screen and sensor is no laughing matter and it isn’t something I recommend doing DIY. The chances of screwing things up as I’ve done so in the beginning are quite high so YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. There are tens and hundreds of sensor cleaning articles on the web so I won’t repeat what’s been written. I will however say this—there has been repeated warnings to leave FOCUS SCREEN, MIRROR and even the SENSOR alone for obvious reasons—the focus screen can be cleaned successfully using the right combination of products. In this case, the items are SENSOR SWABS and ECLIPSE fluid. The crystal-clear focus screen you see here is after cleaning using a used swab (I recycle the used swabs handy after I’ve used them on the more delicate sensor). The picture below (right) shows mechanism that holds the focusing screen between metal shims. It’s important to note the direction they come out so you don’t end up putting them in reverse.
© Jan Shim Photography
THE TOOLS to get the job done. Sensor Swabs/PEC PADS. Many say they are the same thing both being “non abrasive” and lint-free but the cost of the Sensor Swabs is astronomical compared to a pack of PEC PAD. Putting them side by side, the texture of the wipes are visibly different. Photographic Solutions, the manufacturer advises against using the PEC PAD to clean camera sensors and prior to getting the Tin Oxide coated EOS 5D sensor, I had been using them on the 20D’s sensor successfully.
© Jan Shim Photography
The SENSOR SWAB wipes come in a variety of sizes to accommodate the different sensor sizes. For instance the swab on the left below is Type 2 for use on cropped sensor such as Canon 400D/20D, Nikon D1/H/X, Olympus E1 and so forth. Type 3 on the right is much bigger for full frame sensors such as Canon 1Ds, 5D, Kodak 14n, Leica Digital Modul-R etc. I have found Type 3 swab annoying to use even on the 5D sensor. Although it fits comfortably in the 5D chamber, there’s no room to wiggle the wand when needed. It’s my personal preference to use Type 2 swabs instead.
© Jan Shim Photography
ECLIPSE fluids come in two types. The original Eclipse is pure methanol while the newer Eclipse E2 is a mixture of methanol, ethanol and isopropanol developed for cleaning tin oxide coated sensor. According to a source, testing showed that pure methanol reacts with tin oxide coating. Before you embark on DIY cleaning, you should find out the type of sensor coating your camera has. Photographic Solutions has an updated list of the right products for your camera.
© Jan Shim Photography
Before you think about wet cleaning method, a good blower ensures easy removal of larger dust particles and other non-sticky debris. The GIOTTOS Rocket blower is a recent addition to my arsenal of cleaning items along with HOYALUX Summit Pro lens cloth. In a recent sensor inspection, the Giottos Rocket blew a sticky gunk onto the 5D sensor and it came off only with wet cleaning. I don’t know if my blower has manufacturing debris from the factory which it really shouldn’t or perhaps it blew grease from the mirror assembly. In any case I am glad I was able to effortlessly cleaned it. Imagine the trouble I’d have to go through just because of one incident like this.
© Jan Shim Photography
FINALLY THE SENSOR! All this time I’ve been talking about everything but the most exciting part—the SENSOR. Or more accurently, the glass that protects the sensor below it. It is on this piece of glass that newer cameras have the Tin Oxide coating. There’s enough information on the web on the actual cleaning process so I’ll spare you any write-up or pictures that necessary. Below is a photo of my 5D with the Mirror flipped to expose the sensor.
© Jan Shim Photography
So if newer DSLRs come with clever sensor cleaning electronics, why is there a need to know this? Well, I’ve researched enough to know that at the level of sophistication implemented in today’s DSLRs, the technology is not perfect and while Olympus has the upper hand with their UltraSonic technology extremely effective, it is also not perfect. Don’t believe? Check out the review of the new Nikon D300 anti-dust by CAMERA LABS …
The D300’s built-in automatic cleaning is good only for light casual dust. Basically, all it’s going to do is stretch the time between manual cleanings, not solve the entire sensor cleaning problem. By way of illustration, three of those dozen D300’s at my Patagonia workshop required a wet cleaning during the three weeks, and several others required blasts of air to remove dust the built-in system didn’t get. – Tom Hogan
BEFORE YOUR FIRST SWABBING I highly recommend you take a look at COPPER HILL IMAGES online tutorials written for first-timers. They include very useful pointers that I have not covered here so please invest in a little quality time to read up before attempting your first swab.
p.s. It has also been widely suggested that you should never touch the Mirror no matter how dusty it is for fear of scratching the very delicate silvery surface. In my unorthodox wisdom, I gently wipe it with a piece of HOYALUX Summit Pro Micro-fiber lens cloth as part of my cleaning routine. It helps to always use a blower to make sure the bigger particles are blown off first.
If this article has helped you, please consider making a small donation.
All contributions are gratefully accepted. Thank you very much!
Related Posts
SPEEDLITE 580EX-II HOTSHOE FIX | EOS 20D GRIPPING ISSUES | EOS 1D MkII FINDS A NEW HOME
SHIMWORLD 
Cool.. been looking forward for a great post like this. thanks for your great effort. I am sure this post will be a great hitssss… cheers
LikeLike
i admire your passion for photography. and very nice article.
LikeLike
You should know that the Focus Screen is not the ones pictured above (top and second) but the third one that isn’t shown clearly. The screen with the 9 focusing rectangles is called the Superimposed Indicator Plate or focus points overlay screens which can just as easily get dirty but takes a bit of effort to remove and clean.
On my 5D, the focusing screen is easily taken out with a flick of the metal bracket lock. The 5D comes with two other optional focus screens: Ee-D Precision Matte with Grid and Ee-S Super Precision Matte. I have both of these on order and I look forward to testing the Super Precision Matte that’s designed for manual focusing. With the 5D’s large and bright viewfinder, manual focus is comfortable to use but there’s a catch. It is optimised for lenses whose maximum aperture is f/2.8 or larger. Lenses falling short of this requirement, the viewfinder looks darker than attaching the standard focus screen. I’ll report back as soon as I have them in my hands.
LikeLike
Hi Jan,
Great article btw, to complement those already available on the web.
Where did you buy the Eclipse E2 solution in Brunei? I tried to buy it in Malaysia or Singapore but the airline had restrictions on flammable liquids for carry-on luggage. I have an EOS 5D and I’ve only wet cleaned the sensor with Eclipse (the original version) twice with Type 3 Swab during the 15-months that I’ve owned it. So far, no horror story to tell as the original Eclipse solution hasn’t damaged the tin oxide coating (yet) but to be on safe side, I wanted to get the E2 solution for use in the future.
I didn’t know that the SI plate and focus screen can be successfully cleaned with Eclipse and sensor swab! I was so afraid that either the methanol or sensor swab will damage (or scratch) the focus screen or SI plate, so I just tolerate the dust in the viewfinder for a long time.
I did remove the stock 5D focusing screen a little while back in order to fit the Ee-D grid focus screen. It’s great! The tool supplied in the kit was very useful to grip the focus screen without scratching it. I also took the apportunity to use the rocket blower on the underside of the SI plate and new focus screen before snapping it back into place. My viewfinder was much cleaner than before (but not 100% totally free of dust, IMHO). However, I use my 5D most with the EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM zoom (my walk-around lens) and the viewfinder is now darker compared with the stock focus screen. Remember to change the C.Fn #00 to match the focusing screen fitted in the viewfinder.
About a 1-1/2 years ago (when I was still a DSLR newbie) I couldn’t stand anymore the few specks of dirt in my EOS 30D viewfinder that I couldn’t remove by rocket air blower. I promptly removed the focus screen and SI plate for cleaning – and immediately scratched the surface when I rub it with a soft lens cloth. They’re very easily scratched – avoid the temptation to clean them with soft brush, lenspen or lens cloth. Don’t EVER try this folks! Luckily, they are not that expensive to replace but ordering it took 2 months. Both of them also inherently have a bit of static i.e. dust inside the mirror box area tends to land and stick on the surface by static electricity and no amount of air blowing will get it off, unless you have a way to apply an opposing charge to neutralize the static.
IMO a little bit of dust in the viewfinder is normal and as long as it doesn’t affect the final picture taken, all is good.
Cheers.
LikeLike
Hi there! As long as I’ve known, flammable liquids have always been restricted to check-in luggage only. Methanol burns with an invisible/colourless flame making it even more dangerous than any other flammable items. Like many, I started my cleaning experience on the 20D with the original Eclipse solution and PEC Pads and only when I began shooting the 5D that I had to spend more on E2 and Sensor Swabs. Type 3 swabs are for full frame sensors that I particularly do not like so after I’ve finished them I’ll switched to the smaller ones—I like to have room to wiggle the wand a little over more stubborn dirt where the Type 3 would restrict. Besides making two passes or more during cleaning is no biggie. I got my E2 in Singapore last year and a bottle lasts forever unless I decide to get into the sensor cleaning business!
Don’t you just hate it when manufacturers play mind games with their customers? PEC Pads vs Sensor Swabs both promise “non-abrasive”, “lint-free” and “ultra soft” with the PEC Pads declared safe for use on “critical surfaces without scratching when used with appropriate cleaning liquid. Safe for emulsions, optics, scanners, copiers and compact discs.” Wait, did I just say optics? Yet somewhere on their website (www.photosol.com) is a caution that the material used on the Swabs are not the same as that of the PEC Pads. After an unscientific side by side comparison, they appeared different and since no one has disputed this, I take it they are indeed different products for different purposes.
As far as PEC PAD goes Ive found them to be lint-free, NOT! They come apart pretty easily if by chance you accidentally rub them against the rough or edgy bits in the chamber such as the flipped mirror and you end up with tiny specs of lint on the sensor glass. The sensor swabs appear to be more resistant in this regard.
I spent quite a bit of time researching on a number of forums and you’ll almost in any certainty find 9 out of 10 warnings NOT to touch SI plate, Focus Screen and Mirror under any circumstances. I spent countless hours searching for that 1 out of 10 argument to say it’s perfectly safe to do so. Ang guess what, I found it else I wouldn’t think of attempting something that might have me labelled as stupid or professional suicidal.
Interesting. The grid screen is said to be have identical VF brightness to the original piece but you find it darker now compared to when you had it installed? My most used lenses on the 5D is the EF70-200mm f/2.8 IS, EF24-70 f/2.8 and EF100mm Macro f/2.8 which is said to work well with the Ee-S screen. Here I was thinking bright full frame view finder + f/2.8 lenses + “super precision” equals a good buy but it isn’t what reports indicate. In addition, the Haoda split-screen for the 5D costs USD$200 per piece compared to Canon’s allergedly SGD$7.00 for the Ee-D (someone quoted this on ClubSnap forum)
I think we’ve all been there. I found myself in the same situation when I had the 20D and agitated with dust in the viewfinder. Dust on sensor glass was a lot easier to deal with in comparison. I had the 20D’s focus screen replaced and penta prism cleaned at the same time the shutter was replced. Over time, you learn to separate real concerns vs waste of brain matter and unjustifiable frown lines.
We are in an age now when manufacturers can no longer deliver dust-free products so we are now expected to live with such QC quirks. On top of that, high tech dust eliminating technology that still leaves dust on the sensor. In the department, Olympus ultrasonic cleaner tops the list in terms of most effective. I personally tested Jason’s much neglected E-series that he often leaves on the floor at times with the lens cap off. I tested a number of f/22 shots and they came up so clean it blew my mind. However, as he has recently switched camps (the lure of full frame 5D was too overwhelming to resist) he’s joined the ranks of many like us who need to clean the sensor ourselves.
Sorry Jason, I haven’t given you a red carpet welcome but you know what they say about carpets—they’re dusty!
LikeLike
Love those swabs,
Remember the days when using them totally saved my s3pro, which was a real dust magnet.
😀
LikeLike
Tonight, I cleaned a Nikon D3 that had gotten contaminated from our recent Dumpling Festival leisure shoot at the beach (worsened by unprotected lens changes). Previous attempts by owner to remove grime with a charged brush had failed and resulted in streaks across the sensor glass.
At this advanced stage of contamination, wet cleaning using the Eclipse E2 and SensorSwab is the last resort. Four swabs later, the sensor is squeaky clean!
LikeLike
A lesson to be learn: Do Not Change Lenses At the Beach.
BTW Jan, Nice meeting you for the first time at the Canon Pro Seminar.
LikeLike
Moved from Canon 85mm Focus Test
bLind,
Nothing is ever out of topic on Shimworld but not everything is a matter of personal interests either! I’m not in the business of cleaning sensors and do not wish to start one. The potential liability from camera failure of sort (related or not related) is too great to even consider it. Read this post, find out who the official stockist of Eclipse E2 fluid is in Brunei and I suggest you learn to clean the sensor yourself. Why? The long term benefit of knowing how-to outweighs the inconvenience and cost of getting someone to do it—*if* anyone is brave enough to do it without due consideration of its consequences.
With regards to the Sigma autofocus failure, I found the following warning rather disturbing but I hope that’s not what caused AF to stop working. I’ve never used Sigma lenses I suggest you return to where your bought the lens from (it’s a good time to test their after-sales support commitment to you).
LikeLike
Hi BLind. Did you tried on other camera? Since there’s no official Sigma company, why not just ask the shop that “TheBruneEye” bought from? (I Think it’s QQestore, or maybe Leong Camera).
LikeLike
Ive told him about the lens and he just ask me to return it to him. I feel so guilty if I just return it to him just like that. If its QQ..then I think the warranty period is already over. Now I never want to borrow anything from other people…to scared if the same thing happens again.
LikeLike
@ Addict59
Speaking of which, whatever happened to “The Brunei Eye” aka Zul? There was a time he would leave comments every other day. Perhaps after realising that I use outdated photo editing software, there’s nothing perceivably exciting in the pipeline! Shimworld misses him coming and going like the wind 🙂
@ bLind
Doesn’t seem like luck is on your side, huh? I read your post regarding the 70-200 f/2.8 presumably non-IS that fell to the floor for “unknown” reasons. Accidents do happen but I think you’re very fortunate in that not only AF isn’t affected (I do not expect internal mechanism to break as L’s are designed to handle a certain amount of shock—I’ve read where the lens fell at much greater height ie side of a cliff and survived) but the lens mount and electrical contacts were spared. Imagine if the entire mount had to be replaced including electrical contacts.
As for your friend’s lens, I don’t know what to say other than things happen! One way or another, we learn to deal with it.
LikeLike
Jan, “TheBruneiEye” is busy with the expo at the mall, where I think this year it’s the 10th time alredy that there’s a computer expo at the Mall Gadong. You can find him there.
As for bLind’s lens, the AF doesn’t affected from the fall, he just can’t believed that the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L fell from the 2X extender and dent the mount part. The lens that affected the AF is “TBE”‘s Sigma 70mm Macro where the gear seems to be loose.
LikeLike
Hi there,
I’m new with Dslr, and the other night I don’t know why ! I clean the mirror with a regular swab using canon lens liquid.
Did I did any damage?, The pictures, I think they are still came up fine, Is there any test to test the colors an light in the exposure ?
Thanks for your help
LikeLike
Hi Pablo,
Chances are if your pictures appear fine and the mirror surface doesn’t appear abnormal then you’re OK. Until some anomaly has happened, I suggest you leave it alone and avoid using any liquids on the mirror again, unless of course, you have to! But seeing how you’ve done it and it caused no damage, you now know that you can!
LikeLike
Like others have said, great post. I have not yet had the guts to do my own cleaning, but when I get the courage, you had better believe I’ll be using your post as a reference. Guess I’m just not a gambler.
I recently did a dump of thoughts on sensor cleaning. I have yet to send my body back and have stuck to post processing and low f-stop in order to avoid botched prints.
Here are my thoughts:
http://blogs.adamparkerphotography.com/blog/Ive-got-sensor-dust-what-should-I-do/13/
Again, thanks for the pictures and attention to detail.
LikeLike
Jan,
THANKS A MILLION!
Not only you saved me from having to send out my canon D50 for a factory dusting but you also allowed me to “figure out what went wrong with my first camera when I first started 2 years ago, a Canon Rebel XS”.
I was never told about the focusing screens…and other than seeing the actual part listed in the owners manual camera parts breakdown, well they just tell you anything.
With so much emphasis on sensor cleaning (and I understand its importance) beginner like myself have no clue about other sensitive area often MORE prone to being dusty than the sensor itself, especially with “in the field” lens changes as I do.
Thank you for a great article. I used your directions on my $1500 camera body and I am extremely pleased with the results.
Patrick Lauzon
nature photographer
LikeLike
Adam Parker | Patrick Lauzon
It’s 6.41 am and I had woken up to the sound of rain waters hitting the roof of my car and to the sweet sound of birds chirping away now that the rain seems to have cleared and hopefully make way to a bright and sunny day.
Thank you for your comments and continued support for letting me know that the hours that I sometimes get carried away researching for a post have been worthwhile and that they continue to make a difference to those who seek help.
Having recently sold my EOS 5D, I am delighted to be picking up its successor, the 5D Mark II, later. This is going to be my first Canon body that has an Integrated Cleaning System and I know Canon’s ICS isn’t exactly best of class, I do hope and I have not seen it testified to that it’s an improved version over the “version one” ICS that made its debut with the EOS 40D or 1D Mark III. Regardless, having an ICS is probably better than no ICS at all and the years of cleaning my 20D and 5D will again be put to good use when more thorough cleaning regime is required to remove stubborn debris.
You can be sure I’ll be back with more unbiased findings about the effectiveness of ICS. Stay tuned.
LikeLike
Hi Jan,
Huge fan of your website since I first came across it last night while searching for a how-to on cleaning a 5D viewfinder. Do you use the same approach mentioned in your blog on the 5DMII? I tried clearing out the specks of crud in my viewfinder but ultimately, I think it’s stuck between the SI plate. In regards to the shims and the tabs that hold everything together. Is there a lot of give in them in that they “bounce” back when needed to hold the plates back. I’m an IT professional full-time so I’m comfortable in taking things apart but perhaps my fairly new 5DMII may be a bit overwhelming. The IT in me definitely wants to dig in and “master” cleaning it out as needed. Any additional insight would be greatly appreciated. In addition to your site, I came across the one below.
http://www.ascent-design.com/photo/Clean5D/
LikeLike
Hello,
I read your article and I found it very helpfull. I have purchased a second hand 5D and I noticed the AF indicator points are lighting up very dim (compared with an other body). They are almost non visible when focusing. Do you think it might have something to do with the super imposed screen? Maybe the previous owner damaged it somehow?
Thanks for your kind answer,
LikeLike
Hmm .. sounds like a vaguely familiar problem yet I can’t put my finger on whether I know what it is or not. It’s not the first time I’ve heard of this issue with dim AF indicator points. My initial reaction was whether the superimposed indicator plate (SIP) had been installed backwards (thinking if that’s a possibility) coz if you had the focusing screen reversed the entire viewfinder would be blurry. Again, I’m not sure if it’s possible to fit the SIP the other way round. Check that.
LikeLike
Where i can get Eclipse and Sensor Swabs in Brunei?
LikeLike