Upload
others
View
8
Download
1
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Cleaning Digital SLR Camera Sensors
Mike McCollister
September 23, 2009
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister1
Disclaimer
• Cleaning your sensor may void the warranty of your camera.
• If you are hesitant at all, do not attempt!
• If you damage your camera sensor while attempting to clean it, Charlottesville Camera Club, the author of this presentation or any other entities are not responsible. You are responsible.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister2
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister3
Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?
• Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras have removable lenses which allow for foreign material to enter the body of the camera.
• If your lens cannot be removed then you can’t clean the sensor.
• Even though the shutter is not open when switching lenses, particles can enter the body and migrate on to the sensor when the shutter opens.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister4
Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?
• Oil from the shutter can splatter onto the sensor.– Difficult to clean off.
• Dust in the air and on the back of a lens can migrate into the body.
• Particles, such as sand, in the wind be very harmful.
• If you are extremely dirty, cleanup before changing lenses.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister5
Darn Sand Gets Everywhere!
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister6
Cocoa Beach, Florida After Hurricane Frances (September 18, 2004)
Darn Sand Gets Everywhere!
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister7
Cocoa Beach, Florida After Hurricane Jeanne (September 28, 2004)
How Bad Can Sensor Damage Get?
• Not only can particles build up…
• They can do serious damage.
• It is best to avoid hazardous situations.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister8
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister9
Sensor Dust
• Dust on sensors shows up mostly in skies and in non-detailed portions of images.
• The smaller the aperture the more impact sensor dust has on an image.
• Very much like floaters in the eyes.– Floaters and spots typically appear when tiny
pieces of the eye’s gel-like vitreous break loose within the eye’s interior.
– Shadows from these floaters are cast on the retina as light passes through the eye.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister10
Dirty Sensor Examples
Scene Shot at F/4 Scene Shot at F/22
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister11
Dirty Sensor Examples
Scene Shot at F/4 Scene Shot at F/22
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister12
Dirty Sensor Examples
Scene Shot at F/4 Scene Shot at F/22
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister13
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister14
Overview of Cleaning Options• Sensor Swipe or HomeMade Swab and
with Pec*Pad™ and Eclipse™• Wet Swab & Dry Swab Sensor Cleaners
• Sensor Cleaning Brush
• Arctic Butterfly®
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister15
Overview of Cleaning Options
• Blowing
• Sucking
• Scotch Tape (Ugh!)
• SpeckGRABBER™
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister16
Overview of Cleaning Options• Built-in camera sensor cleaning.
– Ultrasonic, vibrating dust cleaning system that keeps the sensor clean.
– Some say that this works great, others say not.
• Professional cleaning.– Not only for the leery but sometimes you need to do it if the
sensor is really dirty.– Pro Camera on Forrest St. and Preston Ave. will clean a sensor for
$45.
• Do not clean your sensor with canned air! This could damage your sensor or shutter.
• See http://CleaningDigitalCameras.com and click on “methods” for a more exhaustive list.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister17
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister18
Showing Dust on the Sensor
• Use computer screen with full screen notepad application
• Make sure cursor is out of view, otherwise it will appear as dust on the sensor
• If you have dead pixels on your screen you might want to find another test target, such as a clear sky.
• Make sure that your lens is clean.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister19
Showing Dust on the Sensor
• Camera settings– Auto white balance
– Manual mode
– Smallest aperture (i.e. F/22)
– Shutter speed set to good exposure
– Lowest ISO (i.e. 100)
– Autofocus off
– No tripod is necessary.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister20
Showing Dust on the Sensor
• Point camera to white portion of the screen and take picture.
• Transfer image to computer.
• Adjust image in your favorite photo editor to exaggerate sensor dust.– Contrast
– Equalize
– Curves
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister21
Blank Notepad
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister22
Dirty Sensor (Some Contrast Adjustment)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister23
Dirty Sensor (High Contrast)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister24
Dirty Sensor (Curves Adjusted)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister25
Dirty Sensor (Equalized)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister26
Using High Contrast on Image
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister27
Using Curves on Image
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister28
Get Ready to Clean
• Be inside.
• Have a clean environment.
• Turn off any fans in the room.
• Have a fully charged battery.
• Learn how to expose your camera’s sensor for cleaning.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister29
Exposing the Sensor for Cleaning
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister30
Before We Continue…
• Cleaning your sensor may void the warranty of your camera.
• If you are hesitant at all, do not attempt.
• If you damage your camera sensor while attempting to clean it, Charlottesville Camera Club, the author of this presentation or any other entities are not responsible. You are responsible.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister31
However…
• The sensor is not fully exposed when the shutter is open.– There is an infrared filter over the sensor.
– That can get scratched but is not an exposed CMOS or CCD substrate.
• This is similar to cleaning glasses.– You don’t want to clean glasses with steel wool
or an ice pick.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister32
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister33
Cleaning: VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly®
• Internal motor used to spinthe brush to build up staticelectricity.– Much like rubbing a balloon on
your hair.
• Spin the brush 3 times for 5 seconds each.• Gently sweep the brush across the sensor from one side
to the other. Brush is not spinning.• You may want to use a flashlight or bright light to
inspect the sensor for dust.• Most people should be comfortable with this method.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister34
Spinning the Arctic Butterfly®
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister35
Cleaning: VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly®
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister36
Arctic Butterfly® Results
• Removes most of the dust.
• Repeat process if dust is missed.
• If dust does not come off then another technique should be used.
– This can potentially be oil-based.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister37
Arctic Butterfly® Results
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister38
Arctic Butterfly® Results (High Contrast)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister39
Review Dirty Sensor (High Contrast)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister40
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister41
Cleaning: Pec*Pad™ Wipes & Eclipse™
• There are kits at camera stores that have disposable sensor swipes and cleaning solution.– The swipes can only be used one time.
– The swipes can be flimsy.
• A home made swab with Pec*Pad™ and Eclipse™ solution is a good alternative.
• Swab made of small trimmed down rubber spatula.
• Pec*Pad™ wipe is wrapped around the trimmed down rubber spatula.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister42
Small Trimmed Down Rubber Spatula
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister43
New Spatula
Trimmed DownSpatula
Pec*Pad™ Wipes & Eclipse™ Solution
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister44
Wipe Wrapped Around Spatula
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister45
Cleaning: Pec*Pad™ Wipes & Eclipse™
• Edge of wipe doused with Eclipse™ solution.• Do you use alcohol. Use only solution intended for
cleaning sensors.• Gently sweep the doused wipe across the sensor once
from one side to the other.• You may want to use a flashlight or bright light to
inspect the sensor for dust.• Remnant liquid will need to dry.• This requires much patience.• Many people will not be comfortable with this method.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister46
Douse Solution at Edge of Wipe
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister47
On This Edge
Cleaning: Pec*Pad™ Wipes & Eclipse™
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister48
Wipes & Eclipse™ Result #1
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister49
Wipes & Eclipse™ Result #1 (High Contrast)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister50
Wipes & Eclipse™ Result #2 (High Contrast)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister51
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister52
Removing Dust from a Photo
• Clone Tool• Healing Brush Tool• Spot Healing Brush Tool• Dust removal software is available.
– Nikon and Canon include software with current DSLR cameras that provide this function.
– ImageDuster Pro PhotoTeKNiK(http://www.PhotoTeKNiK.com/imageduster) for $50.
– Search the Internet for more options.
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister53
Agenda
• Why do SLR Sensors Get Dirty?• Dirty Sensor Examples• Overview of Cleaning Options• Getting Ready to Clean the Sensor• Cleaning with the VisibleDust Arctic Butterfly® • Cleaning with Pec*Pad™ Non-Abrasive Wipes and
Eclipse™• Removing Dust from a Photo Taken with a Dirty
Sensor• Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister54
Questions
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister55
References
• http://CleaningDigitalCameras.com/methods.html
• http://VisibleDust.com
• http://PhotoSol.com/padproduct.htm
• http://ProCameraUS.com
• http://www.PhotoTeKNiK.com/imageduster
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister56
In Just Over a Month (October 30, 2009)
September 23, 2009Mike McCollister57
• Be sure to watch the Monk episode “Mr. Monk and the Dog” on October 30 at 9:00 on USA Network.
• The episode was written by my sister, Beth Armogida!