sensor cleaning - safest method???

[jayz]

what is the best method of cleaning the sensor for my rebel when using a blower won't work?  i've read about the copper hill, visible dust.  the local camera store sales rep recommended the a eclipse cleaner and swipes they sell.  I've also read that canon is selling a sensor cleaning kit in japan.

kind of leery of cleaning bcoz of the warnings in the manual & don't know which product is safest and most effective.

[Nill Toulme]

I use the Rocket Blower first. That works most of the time. If that fails, then I go to the Sensor Brush (original version). That too works most of the time. Once in a very blue moon I have to go all the way to wet, for which I still use the old Eclipse/Pecpad method.

So far so good with about a quarter million frames through five different bodies...

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

[dwdallam]

The safest method is to return it to Canon everytime you need it cleaned. Otherwise, what Nill said is about it. I don't use the pens because they can carry dust that you move around on the sensor, which I refuse to do. I use the Rocket blower, and then the pecpad/Eclipse if needed. Once you get use to the pecpad cleaner method, it's a breeze.

[DiaAzul]

I use the Rocket Blower first. That works most of the time. If that fails, then I go to the Sensor Brush (original version). That too works most of the time. Once in a very blue moon I have to go all the way to wet, for which I still use the old Eclipse/Pecpad method.

So far so good with about a quarter million frames through five different bodies...

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
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The only long term aspect of using the sensor brush is that over time the bristles accumulate gunk from the air or contact with other surfaces (for some reason my bristles acquired an oily residue which ended up on the sensor). So, even though sensor brushes are good and clean when you buy them, it is worth either disposing of them after a period of time or giving them a good old fashioned clean every so often to make sure that any accumulated crap doesn't end up where it shouldn't.

[Nill Toulme]

...it is worth either disposing of them after a period of time or giving them a good old fashioned clean every so often to make sure that any accumulated crap doesn't end up where it shouldn't.
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They're way too expensive to dispose of!  How do you clean them?  I don't use mine very often (because the RB does the job 90% of the time anyway), but that time may come.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

[Fred Ragland]

The only long term aspect of using the sensor brush is that over time the bristles accumulate gunk from the air or contact with other surfaces (for some reason my bristles acquired an oily residue which ended up on the sensor.
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Canon 1D (and other) bodies have lubricants on the walls of the cavity out from the sensor.  If the bristles touch these surfaces before getting to (or from) the sensor there's a risk that the bristles  will become oily.

To get a good look at what I'm doing, I hold a penlight pointed down into the sensor cavity in my mouth and gently move the brush bristles past the walls and onto the sensor.  By being careful not to touch the walls while going in or coming out, I haven't had a problem with oily residue.

Good luck!