How Often Should I Clean my Camera Sensor?
In this post I talk about DSLR Sensor Cleaning. There is nothing more irritating than to come back home after a photo shoot with stunning photographs only to see marks on your images caused by dust & debris. These imperfections can definitely ruin a photograph. Even the tiniest of marks detract from the image when you enlarge it for printing.
So how often should you clean your sensor?
The simple answer is whenever you need to. If you take your camera out regularly, and you switch lenses for different situations, then you might have to do it once a month. If you stick to a single lens and do not go out that often, then you might get away with DSLR sensor cleaning every few months or so.
You also need to take into consideration the environment in which you take the majority of your images. There is very likely less dust outdoors compared to indoors.
Here are a few good rules for DSLR camera sensor cleaning
Try to keep the camera body pointing downwards when swapping out lens to reduce the risk of dust and debris entering the camera body and landing on the sensor.
Get into the habit of wiping down your equipment with a soft microfiber cloth especially designed for photography equipment to remove any dust or debris from the outside of your camera. You can find some here.
Be very gentle with your lenses and wipe clean in a circular motion. The last thing you want to do is scratch the outside coating of your very expensive glass!
As for the sensor, most DSLRs have an internal sensor cleaning feature in the menu. My 7d Mkii automatically cleans the sensor when I power the camera down. Most camera manufacturers use an ultrasonic vibration to shake the dust free from the sensor and trap it. This is probably the safest and pain free way to clean your sensor, however it is not guaranteed to remove all the dust and debris.
Being realistic, there are going to be times when you must manually clean the sensor. While you can always take your equipment to a camera store to have it cleaned, it really is not too difficult to clean the sensor yourself.
DSLR Sensor Cleaning
I’ll give you a quick rundown of how to clean your sensor here.
First, make sure it is absolutely necessary. To check if you have a dirty sensor you can run a quick check.
- set your camera to the lowest ISO it can go – most probably 100
- pick the smallest aperture (f/16, f/22, f/32)
- focus on a clean white piece of paper and take a shot
- enlarge that photo in lightroom or photoshop and check for smudges, marks, splotches or even a thin line which might indicate there is a piece of lint on the sensor.
You can always remove these blemishes in post-processing but that will get annoying, tedious and time consuming after a while.
If you discover foreign objects on your lens or sensor it is time for the cleaning squad.
Where can I find DSLR sensor cleaning supplies?
There are kits available that have all the pieces in one easy package but make sure you carefully read the instructions before proceeding. The kit I use includes cleaning swabs, solvents and gloves. For more information on the specific tools in a cleaning kit and where to buy one click here. As always, when dealing with your sensor, be careful and gentle.
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