A problem with dust on the camera sensor.

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Oleg Volk

My A7R developed a persistent piece of dust on the sensor that’s resisting dry (with Dust grabber) or wet cleaning (with Eclipse liquid and Pec pads). Short of sending it to Sony for service (slow, expensive, uncertain of the results), any suggestions on what I can do more locally to Nashville?

This entry was posted in advice requested, camera and lens and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to A problem with dust on the camera sensor.

  1. william zukley says:
    December 29, 2014 at 9:10 am

    Hi Oleg,

    when cleaning projector optics and dmd’s I found this helpful.

    http://www.edmundoptics.com/lab-production/cleaning/compressed-air/anti-static-canned-air-ionizer/57-606

    A plug in ionizing blower is better, but a lot less portable 🙂

    zuk

    • Grey says:
      December 30, 2014 at 9:37 am

      I was going to suggest an ionizing blower. We use this king of tech in medical devices to remove persistent dust without wiping the surface. The dust and the surface it’s on are both given the same charge, and the dust is repelled from the surface and blown away in the air stream.

  2. Will says:
    January 1, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    Are you sure it is a dust spec? Consider using some magnification to look at it. It\’s always possible it is a chip in the surface. Also, try to look at it on enough of an angle to verify it has some height above the surface. Looking directly down can fool you into thinking a pit is actually an object, even with magnification.

    The most persistent debris to get off of optics is dried saliva spots.

    When I worked in high-res optics, we had a hierarchy of solvents to clean with:
    1) IPA (isopropol alcohol)
    2) Acetone
    3) Methylene Chloride
    4) saliva
    5) nose grease (q-tip along the side/edge/crease of your nose were it meets your face)
    caution: after using any biological agent, quickly follow up with IPA
    Note: East Indians have the most corrosive skin oils, and Amerindians the least. (This may be a mix of genetics and diet) East Indians should NEVER handle high grade optics bare handed. Their fingerprints can even damage optical coatings.

    Acetone was the primary cleaner. IPA was used if we suspected the dirt/stain was of biological origin (acetone didn\’t remove it). #3,4, and 5 were used for really stubborn stains, as these tended to be of non chemical basis.
    Major Caution: #3 is what is used to remove glues of various types. Because it can dissolve various glue agents, it can move things the others can\’t. It is also listed as a carcinogen. It melts various types of protective gloves, so you end up leaving traces of them on the optic. It is generally used bare-handed. (I may be out of date on this, it\’s been 15 years since I worked with optics)

    For spots, we used quality q-tips (J&J). Wet the ball, wrist flick excess off, and back spin it over the spot. Never wipe twice with the same q-tip or paper.

Comments are closed.