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Find out if your sensor needs to be cleaned in just 4 steps. It's quick, easy, and with the good weather coming, it could save you hours of cloning marks from dust and dirt out of your images! 1: Set your camera to Aperture Priority Mode and set your aperture number to the largest number available – e.g. 1/16 -1/22 or above (which will depend on your lens). 2: Set your lens to manual focus. 3: If you are outside and there is a clear blue sky (hey, it could happen!) then point your camera at it and take a picture. Otherwise, take a test shot on neutral background – a white or grey wall works great. Make sure the lens is completely out of focus. That way, only dust particles will be visible. 4: Zoom in on the image (rear camera LCD). Scroll from left to right and top to bottom all over the image and see if you can find any dark spots. If you cannot see any, your sensor is clean. If you see dark spots like in the above example, then your sensor has dust on it.

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"Automatic Sensor Cleaning" - what is it, and how does it work? Many Nikon & Canon cameras now come equipped with an automatic sensor cleaning mode. Most systems work by using piezo-crystal induced ultrasonic vibration of the IR filter on the sensor at 35-50kHz. Other systems vibrate at a much slower frequency of around 100Hz, but with much further travel. What happens to the dust? When vibrated off the IR filter, it should fall to the bottom of the sensor where a dust trap collects it. The dust will fall unless the air currents around it, or electrical charges acting on it, are stronger than gravity. How does it work compared to a blower? It depends on the type of dust or other substance. Normal dust is fairly easy to remove. Dust that has been damp is more difficult because it causes the dust to be more strongly attached to the surface it lands on. Other substances, such as the lubricants used inside the camera body, can become a gooey mess that neither an automatic cleaning system nor a blower can remove. Another problem with using blowers is that they often introduce more dust into the system than they remove, especially if you are using one without a filtered intake on one side and the outlet on the other. So, in summary, the automated sensor cleaning mode is a useful feature, and definitely better than not having it. It can be about as effective as a blower in most scenarios. BUT, it can’t deal with residues, lubricants and other stubborn dirt that may find its way onto the sensor. What's the most effective and safe way to clean a sensor? There isn't just one method. There are more effective methods, and there are safer methods, and these are generally inversely proportional to each other. In order of risk, the methods are: Automatic dust removal system, air blower, electrically charged brush, and wet cleaning systems that use swabs and cleaning fluid. At Sensor Cleaning Ireland we use a combination of methods to ensure the safest and most effective clean. If you have stubborn dust, residue or marks on your sensor that the automatic cleaning mode isn’t removing, contact us and we’ll be able to help you out.

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We are running a special promo for our followers. €10 off our Premium Sensor Cleaning service, making it only €40! Valid until 20/10/2016

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Barker Photographic Ltd.

There will be some great offers from Barker Photographic at PhotoVision, next Tuesday the 6th of September in Croke Park.

Sensor Cleaning Ireland's cover photo

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We are running a competition to win 5 Premium Sensor Cleans for your DSLR camera (worth €50 each). Simply like the page and share this post to be in with a chance to win. The 5 winners will be announced on Sunday, 3rd of July at 6PM.

Sensor Cleaning Ireland will be closed from tomorrow until the 30th of June for holidays. If you require sensor cleaning urgently, please contact us via this page and we will do our best to facilitate you. Best, Aaron

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Nikon D4 sensor before and after cleaning. This is a perfect example of a sensor that was in need of cleaning. Numerous dust spots and residue from previous cleaning. Sensor was returned to great condition by a 3 step clean. First a thorough no-contact blow out with a jumbo blower, then dry cleaning using the Kinetronics StaticWisk. The persistent residue then required a longer clean using Photographic Solutions Sensor Swabs (Size 3) and Eclipse Cleaner. Fortunately all the residue was removable and the camera is back to taking great shots.

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What not to do when cleaning your sensor: We are big proponents of people learning how to look after their own equipment, and we are advocates for those comfortable with cleaning their own sensor. But this is something you should be careful NOT do when cleaning your sensor. Do NOT use "clean air" or "canned air" to clean your sensor. Canned air is not just normal air compressed into a can. It contains contain a variety of gasses such as 1,1 - difluroethane and additional lubricants. These are nasty to get on your sensor, will often leave a residue, and can be a complete pain to clean off. Instead, use an air blower (such as the Rocket Air Blaster) which will push clean, contaminant free air out of the nozzle and will be much better for your camera's health.

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A quick post to help those who don't know want to know whether their sensor needs cleaning or not. Try this! Take out your camera and set it to manual mode, with aperture priority. Close the aperture down as tightly as you can (IE: Use a high f-number. Generally over f 1/16 or as high as your camera will allow). Now take a test shot on a neutral background. A white or grey wall works great for this. If you're fortunate enough to have blue skies, even better! Import the test shot to your computer and zoom in on the image. Scroll from left to right, top to bottom on the image. If you can see any dark spots, then your sensor has dust (or other contaminants) on it. If you cannot see any, your sensor is clean! Note: You will not see this dust in your cameras viewfinder, so you won't discover that you have spots on your image until you go to use it. The image below is from my personal 1200D, taken at the highest aperture setting. The large smudges caused by dust are pretty obvious in this photo... time for a clean!

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Before and after view of an Olympus E-1 sensor with heavy dust covering. Cleaned using non-contact cleaning only. Experience is what tells you to use just one tool when you have a whole arsenal. No need to risk damage to the sensor by taking more invasive measures when the sensor is already perfectly clean.