Originally posted by ThonasDay use a sensor wand, wrap it in pec pad and instead of using eclipse on it I will use the destilled water is this correct?
Hi
Before you start as a safeguard brush down the sensor first with the soft Nylon brush. This ensures there is no grit on it.
Prepare several sensor wands with a piece of pec pad wrapped around it.
Take an evryday cotton bud (there are good quality buds around that don't shed too many fibres) soak it in distilled water so it is well wet but NOT dripping. Once you have located the spot with the crap gently lower the bud over it and hold it there for a while. You can assert a bit of pressure but not enough to squeeze water out of the bud.
You don't want water running into the gap past the sensor edge. This should not be possible if the bud is wet but not laden with water. If you are worried about this you can practice this on a CD first. It will indicate very quickly if you have too much water in the bud.
Hold the bud for some thirty seconds. This will be time enough to soften the crap. Don't swipe ore wipe the bud, just hold it there. By doing this there is very little chance for fibres to come loose or smudging the crap. Immediately after removing the bud from the spot gently but with just a bit of downward pressure wipe the dry pec pad from the centre of the sensor past the point of the crap in one steady "draft".
It is important that you only wipe ONCE because if the pec pad has picked up the soft crap it will be now on the pad and repeating the wipe with it will only smear it into a new location.
Repeat this procedure with a NEW set of bud/pads several times. If you are worried that you may leave fluff behind, this is not a problem. Just as the final step, if at all necessary, use the Nylon brush to wipe them off.
If you find you had no success with the water, then repeat this procedure with Ethanol. (buy some from a chemist). One or the other will work I m sure.
Finally, don't get uptight about the whole thing. These sensors (and the whole assembly) certainly are delicate creations, BUT also please understand that they are user serviceable parts. Manufacturers know this and build the sensors full well knowing that they will have to be cleaned. They also know that someone will have to clean them and in the case of having them serviced by a repair or camera shop, manufacturers are fully aware that so called professional people many times are no better then the owner of the cam who will want to do it him/herself. So sensors and sensor assemblies are build with this in mind otherwise no service centre would even contemplate taking on such a job in the first place.
Finally, what I write here is not theoretical knowledge. I have cleaned many many sensors, my own and others. When I say many, I mean many. I have never walked away without total success, and I have never yet ruined a sensor. I have performed many wet cleans on other peoples sensors, but not my own. Because I brush down my sensor after many lens changes routinely so dirt has no chance to get a hold. Some people say brushing down a sensor will scratch it. What nonsense. I brush off dust from the front glass of a lens with a soft lens brush often enough without damaging it. And the lens glass is infinitely softer than the sensor surface.
Greetings