Last year I finally had to get the sensor on my digital SLR camera cleaned. At the time I thought it could only be done by a professional. I don’t change lenses in an environment that isn’t clean very often, but again recently spots started showing up on my pictures - and I’ve learned through research that they show up more “fully stopped down” when you have the lens with as small of an aperture as you can.

Well, this time I decided to do some Internet research and found a fabulous site [1] CleaningDigitalCameras.com. This site had just the information I had been searching for. The progressive steps are visual examination, blowing it clean, dry cleaning, and wet cleaning. The last step is the most likely to damage your sensor if you don’t do it right, but usually you don’t have to go that far down the chain to get the results you need. Curt Fargo explains different products to use and why you might choose one product over another.

This site is sponsored by Curt Fargo of [2] Micro-Tools.com which, naturally, sells sensor cleaning supplies. He is a very nice guy - I talked to him on the phone - and if you’d like he will show you in person how to clean your camera’s sensor if you are near enough to his shop to come by (Vacaville, CA - actually 25 miles for me but I’d read thoroughly enough that I went ahead without tutoring). If you choose your products right, you can clean your sensor for pennies in supplies instead of 75 bucks or more. In fact, I bought one of his “kits” (the one with Pec-Pads) for less than the price of my last sensor cleaning and it will last for many, many more cleanings. There are places trying to hawk sensor cleaning supplies so expensive that it costs as much as having it professionally cleaned.

I am glad to report that, while my sensor was quited dirty and took extra time and effort to clean, it is now clean as a whistle and I’m a happy camper and my Canon 20D is back in business. However, I think I’m going to order the magnifying glass with internal lights and a cutout to reach in and clean with the magnifier in place. It would definitely make the job easier.

Now, all that said, you’ve got to consider yourself pretty handy to take this on as the consequences are expensive if you damage the sensor or the sensor cover. But if you have a steady hand and are used to being a careful do-it-yourselfer, you will save a lot of money and not have to give your camera laid up for weeks to get it cleaned.