[John Kovarik]

.....after 18 months of use I am noticing some dirt on my images that is not lens or mirror in origin. Before doing the sensor cleaning I thought I'd ask if anyone has some advice. I do not have an AC adapter........

Thanks, in advance........

[rfortson]

Giottos Rocket Blower. Just pop the lens off, hold the camera with the opening pointing down, stick the tip of the rocket blower just at the entrance (don't risk sticking it inside the camera) and blast away.

I don't recommend canned air as it has propellant that can get in the camera. Also, a typical bulb blower can just suck dust in and blow it into the camera. IIRC, the rocket blower draws air in from the bottom through a filter, and expells it out the tip.

I bought a wet cleaning system but have never had to use it, through owning a *istDL, K100D, K10D, or K20D. The Rocket Blower has never failed me. Costs around $25.

[alohadave]

As long as your batteries are fully charged, you don't need the AC adapter. The whole process shouldn't take more than 5 minutes tops.

I've got the Giottos Rocket Blower and a SensorPen. It works well for all but the most stubborn stuff (I think it's pollen, since it won't budge). The remaining stuff is at least small enough that it's much easier to clone out than fibers.

[Fritz]

I would try the rocket blower first. That usually does a pretty good job of getting most particles off. If that doesn't work I have had good luck with Pec pads, on a sensor wand and a few drops of Eclipse fluid. Swab carefully and even stubborn dust will come off. I've done it half a dozen times with no problems. Always use fresh batteries.

[Wheatfield]

I'm quite the little heretic. I use "canned air".
It works fine. The trick is to give a few squirts into the air before you squirt inside the camera to make sure no propellent gets expelled, and also to get a bit of a feel for the trigger. If it is pulled to hard, propellent can be expelled as well. The procedure gets easier as the volume in the can is reduced, as this also reduces the likelyhood of squirting raw propellant onto your sensor.

[Ex Finn.]

Shop-vac.
Mirror up, close in in a 45 degree angle from the right side.
I place the hose in my right hand, finger tips extending past the hose.
This way I can feel the amount of airflow and also prevent the hose from sucking itself to the body. Possibly removing more than just dust particles!

Try this at your own risk.
I refuse to be responsible if things go wrong.

Cheers.

[kmccanta]

Here is my first (and second and third?) attempt to clean my K100D sensor. Using Sensorwand, eclipse and pecpads.

I was given the advice to cut the pec pads into strips to avoid wasting so many. So I cut each pad into 5 strips and swiped with each, then tested. Here are the tests. Keep in mind I am swiping five times or so for EACH attempt.

after first cleaning...

File Date

View Picture EXIF

After second cleaning

File Date

View Picture EXIF

After third attempt

File Date

View Picture EXIF

I think I will try not cutting up the Pec pad next maybe I am adding lint from the edge of the pad?

[Tom S.]

Five times!? I had to clean my sensor and only went across it once. Here's a good site: Cleaning Digital Cameras - Introduction

[kmccanta]

Yeah, I know. I am a little disappointed myself.

I had read that link. this is the first time I have done this, so I *think* I was following the instructions...

The major difference is that the guy who sold me the equipment suggesting cutting the pec pads down. Every other reference online says to wrap a single pec-pad around the wand, use both edges and you are probably done.

[dosdan]

I've got a K100D Super that does the "shake, rattle and roll" at startup, so dust is less of a concern than the K100D. But I had spots on my sensor. I think they came when I was changing lenses in slight rain recently and must have had the camera body tilted too far back so that some raindrops landed on the sensor and dried.

I purchased a PENTAX Image sensor cleaning kit O-ICK1 off ebay. Expensive, but cheaper than sending it in for cleaning.

Here's a youtube tutorial, using this kit on a Nikon D-40 sensor:
YouTube - Pentax O-ICK1 Image Sensor Cleaning Kit

Below is a example of the smudges. I've cropped a shot and adjusted the black level to 139 instead of 0. That's way too high for normal processing, but it does darken the smudges considerably and make them easier to see:

[Fritz]

I was given the advice to cut the pec pads into strips to avoid wasting so many.

As you probably already know, this was bad advise. Do not cut the Pec pads!

[John Kovarik]

Thanks to everyone. I think I'll try the in-camera program first though some of the other hints are appealing. I'll have to do some shopping before trying anything else........

Regards to all.........JK

[chedoy]

Here's a good site: Cleaning Digital Cameras - Introduction

It is a good site. I made my cleaning swab per his instructions out of a popsicle stick And I did cut the pads. At most two drops on the swap, one or two wipes. I had to order the Eclipse fluid from Adorama, as I couldn't find it in the local camera shops.


A lot of your dust is already under the mirror. Tape or maybe a small vacuum along the walls of the mirror box (but never put adhesive tape on the sensor) gets rid of most of that.

On a three week trip, I had to clean the sensor twice.

[ManuH]

.....after 18 months of use I am noticing some dirt on my images that is not lens or mirror in origin. Before doing the sensor cleaning I thought I'd ask if anyone has some advice. I do not have an AC adapter........

Thanks, in advance........

I'm using the rocket blower for removing the biggest spots, but if I want the sensor as clean as possible (rarely since very small spots are not really visibles in real world conditions) I'll use the Pentax Kit (O-ICK1). This is not very expensive (unless you have to use it every day) and it's very effective. In fact I don't know why you would want to use anything else. Third party tools are a lottery IMHO. The Pentax official kit has been tested with Pentax cameras, and it's 100% working.

[RiceHigh]

.....after 18 months of use I am noticing some dirt on my images that is not lens or mirror in origin. Before doing the sensor cleaning I thought I'd ask if anyone has some advice. I do not have an AC adapter........

Thanks, in advance........

Do a wet swap with fully charged batteries. Its easy. Apply gentle force, lean on the sensor, swap horizontally slightly tilted with steady motion, swap back with another side and tilted differently. Then done!

Remember don't apply too much solution nor apply too much force, it will leave trace. And before the wet clean, do blow away large particle that might scratch your sensor during swapping.

Once you have done one time, you will find how easy and effective a wet clean will be.

The last checking step is to shoot a blue sky at f/22 to see.