Sensor Cleaning

Today has been spent wrapping things up before going on vacation. One of the things that absolutely needed to be done before we leave is to clean the sensor on my camera. I had tried to take a photo of a hot air balloon floating near our house, and that’s when I noticed the big black globs of dust.

I purchased the basic cleaning kit from Copper Hill Images on Trush’s recommendation (ordered on for him too). Then it sat, while I was too afraid to attempt the cleaning. The warning messages on the package and website are enough to scare anyone. A recent discussion with (Thomas Hawk)[http://thomashawk.com] helped over coming some of those fears.

Like everything in life, left for the very last minute, so today was the day. I read the instructions a couple of times through before I started. Sat at the kitchen table in the best possible light we have in the house and proceeded as instructed. First attempt, left some dust in 2 corners and little in the middle. A second attempt left less dust, but clumped together into one side of the sensor. After 6 more attempts there is still dust in the bottom right hand corner. The problem seems to be that I’m not making it right to the edge when removing the sensor swipe.

It’s not perfect, but it is a lot better than it was, and I feel more confident the next time I clean it will be better.