[Julie]

I had two brush blowers sitting on my desk- one clean/good one that I use on my K-5 and another one, along with lots of other camera junk that I had pulled out of my misc. 35mm equipment box. Without looking, I picked up the dirty one that was in the box with all the junk and proceeded to clean my camera... it must have had something on it...

I didn't notice it until I was taking photos @ f/16-22- my flash batteries were dying and they didn't go off. I was surprised to see all these dots when I looked closer... My first thought was the dreaded sensor stains . After doing a quick search through other K-5 photos taken before the cleaning at higher f stops, I could not locate any spots with the exception of a small dust particle here or there.

So now, suspecting that that brush I used was to blame, I take it and try to clean a filter with it- sure enough, it leaves behind this light oily-like haze.

How do I go about cleaning this? Any help, please?

[calsan]

Sadly, yes - you've gone and greased up the sensor. Please go and chuck your brush blowers in the bin ASAP.
If you check the appendix of the manual, there is cleaning the sensor chapter. It says "use a brush-less blower"

Next is to either go to a camera shop and get the sensor cleaned professionally or buy a sensor cleaning kit, but get the official pentax one as mentioned in the manual.
http://www.adorama.com/IPXISCK.html
Put this down to a learning experience. The good news is that the cleaning kit can be used many, many times and isn't as hard as you would first expect.

[calsan]

I might mention, I don't use blowers on my sensor any more and have had ZERO dust issues with the K-7 since getting the cleaning kit out once every 12 months. I figured puffers were just blowing dust up under my viewfinder.

[Philoslothical]

The O-ICK1 isn't going to cut it for grease/oil. It's supposed to be good for dust, but any liquid film like that is just going to smear further, and dirty the surface of the cleaning tool.

This sounds like a time for a wet cleaning with Eclipse or similar. That should clean it right up, done properly.

[amorificus]

You could try this: set your k-5 on a tripod, put it in mirror-up mode and then use a vacuum cleaner to carefully suck the dust out of the inside of your camera.

[wildweasel]

I got coal tar (don't ask) on the sensor of my kx and cleaned it off easily with lens tissues held in plastic tweezers and moistened with isoprop. I recently bought one of these LENSPEN is The superior Camera lens cleaning system for all fine optics, rifle scopes, camcorder and camera viewer screens, binoculars to clean dust out of my k5 and it worked perfectly. Sensor cleaning is no big deal, all you're doing is cleaning a tiny glass window.

[altopiet]

This sounds like a time for a wet cleaning with Eclipse or similar. That should clean it right up, done properly

+1

@Julie, I see you have a few lenses, thus your chances of getting dust on the sensor increase every time you change lenses. If you can change lenses in a place where dust would be at a minimum, like a bathroom, or a room where there is no draught, keeping the camera mount pointing down when you mount the lens, after you've cleaned the back of the lens with a blower, the chances of getting dust on the sensor will be minimal. I usually check for dust as soon as possible after changing lenses, because if some dust did manage to get in, it will still be loose and possible to remove with a blower. I found that if you try and remove dust after using the camera for a while, it seems as if the heat of the sensor tends to weld the dust to the sensor, making the removal more difficult, and sometimes the only option is a wet clean. The old saying of "prevention is better than cure" is applicable.

[NaClH2O]

Hi Julie,

I agree with Philosothical above; you need to do a "wet cleaning". However it isn't all that difficult. Here is a good website for all things cleaning, good cleaning info they are a bit over careful in my opinion, but their info is still good. BTW, if you have access to a chemical supply store, reagent grade methanol is a LOT cheaper than Eclipse fluid, and that is what Eclipse fluid is. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get methanol (or any pure alcohol) sent thru the mails due to their flamability. Anyway, sensor cleaning swab and Eclipse or reagent grade methanol, and a bit of time will fix your problem. You may have to clean the sensor several times, your's seems to be well and truly gunked up.

NaCl(good luck and let us know how you make out)H2O

[NaClH2O]

I got coal tar (don't ask) on the sensor of my kx and cleaned it off easily with lens tissues held in plastic tweezers and moistened with isoprop. I recently bought one of these LENSPEN is The superior Camera lens cleaning system for all fine optics, rifle scopes, camcorder and camera viewer screens, binoculars to clean dust out of my k5 and it worked perfectly. Sensor cleaning is no big deal, all you're doing is cleaning a tiny glass window.

I've found that methanol (methyl alcohol) works much better than isoproanol. The problem with isopropanol is that when it dries it can (it doesn't always) leave water-spot like residue. Methanol never leaves any residue. In fact Eclipse fluid is nothing more than reagent grade methanol. The other thing I need to mention is that the filter over the sensor isn't glass, it's plastic and much more prone to scratching than glass. I use lens pens for my lenses, but keep them away from my sensor, it's much softer than the coated optics in my lenses. Instead I use a foot pump rather than a rocket blower as the foot pump provides a longer and more powerful "puff".

NaCl(a clean sensor is a thing of beauty)H2O

[TER-OR]

If you do use isopropyl, look for 99% - anything less is "rubbing alcohol" and has water and potentially other ingredients like oils. The pure methanol is a better idea, I think.

[wildweasel]

I live in the UK so it's hard to get anything from a camera shop other than isoprop - though it is 99%. We don't get rubbing alcohol over here so no worries about getting some with water in it. I've never used methanol as the stuff over here is dyed purple and contains Bitrex to stop people from drinking it and I'm concerned that this would leave residue. The pen I linked to isn't for lenses, but specifically for sensors, despite the name of the company. And are you sure the filter is plastic? I've read many times that it is glass and it appears to be to me. If it is plastic then I'll take a bit more care in future when cleaning the sensors in my cameras... And +1 for a foot pump, I use one of the bellows type for air beds. The metal ones for bicycle tyres contain grease to lube the parts and I can see some of that being present in the air stream.

[creampuff]

You could try this: set your k-5 on a tripod, put it in mirror-up mode and then use a vacuum cleaner to carefully suck the dust out of the inside of your camera.

This is the most idiotic advice ever. This will introduce even more dust into the camera.

[altopiet]

This is the most idiotic advice ever. This will introduce even more dust into the camera.

Denis, have you tried it?

[amorificus]

This is the most idiotic advice ever. This will introduce even more dust into the camera.

I've done it to get some dust from my focusing screen and it worked and didn't introduce more dust. Of course I used a vacuum cleaner hose (not a floor brush) and I didn't put it inside of the body. Just a few millimeters outside of it.

[Blue]

This is the most idiotic advice ever. This will introduce even more dust into the camera.

Denis, have you tried it?

That system would be real efficient if he reverses the vacuum cleaner.