Keeping the camera sensor clean; and first sensor cleaning
01 Jun 2021[photography]. The first time I cleaned the sensor on my camera, I freaked a little bit. I got it done! but then got quite intense about keeping the sensor clean. And then – I realized I was playing a large part in getting the sensor dirty to start with.
What I had been doing: I put the camera on its back side, so that the lens side was up, unscrew the lens, all the while leaning over the thing, and then line the new lens up and attach.
This is all unnecessary, and every time I was leaning over the open camera body, dust was getting into the camera sensor. So – flip everything.
Now, to prep, I flip the lens to be mounted (lens B), and the camera with lens attached (lens A), such that they are resting on their front lens caps. When I am ready, I take off the cap on the back of lens B (where the lens mount is). Then, with arms outstretched, I press the camera’s lens release button and remove lens A from the camera, and transfer the camera to the lens B. Sometimes I have to pick up the lens B - camera pair and look to get everything aligned, but by then there isn’t much air in between them. The camera is still facing down. Then swirl the camera around, click, done. Cover lens A – now, camera-less with a cap to keep it clean, store.
I used to not change lenses while out hiking. But I have started doing that. Generally, I try to minimize the time that the camera body is open, and the junk that can get in there.
For the cleaning itself, I use this dry cleaning product called the “Eyelead Camera Sensor Cleaning Kit”, for which I watched a YouTube tutorial. I also have a wet cleaning kit and a loupe – which I really feel I needed to figure out where the dust is still on the sensor.