Originally posted by dvest Thanks for the advice. I have cleaned sensors before but haven't had to since I got my first camera with self cleaning sensor. The Eclipse kit I have is about 3 years old so I don't know if the solution might weaken over time. I think I will buy one of the Visible Dust kits and give it a try. The spot was there from the first frame so it came from the factory with the spot. I really don't want to have to exchange the camera. The first K-5 I bought was a refurb and had a couple of issues with it so I returned it and exchanged for this new camera. The people at ProDigital 2000\Carman's FotoSource I bought it from were very nice about exchanging and even paid the return shipping. If I can't get the spot off I will probably just send it to Pentax and have them remove it under warranty. I hope I can get rid of it without sending it back. I waited a long time to get this camera and I really don't want to be without it for who knows how long while it is being cleaned. Thanks again for your help.
"Eclipse" fluid is nothing more than pure methyl alcohol = methanol. Doesn't degrade with time. If you want to save some money and you have access to a chemical supply house you can buy reagent grade methanol for less than half the price of the Eclipse fluid. Put a
few!! drops on the end of the proper sized pec pad, one swipe accross the sensor, turn the pad over and swipe the other way. Wait about .5 min and test. If the spot is still there repeat but with a new sensor pad.
Instead of a rocket blower I use a foot pump with a small nozzle, I get greater pressure and a longer duration "puff". Foot pumps can be found in most camping supply stores. I got this tip from a professional Nikon repair tech, they use footpumps in their shop.
NaCl(tips from the pros are always nice)H2O