How to Clean the Sensor on a Sony Digital SLR Camera
No matter how well you take care of your digital SLR camera, sooner or later, dust will get on the sensor. This will reveal itself as black dots in any image you shoot. Luckily, cleaning a Sony DSLR sensor is not that complicated, and doing it yourself can save you $50-$60.
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Things You'll Need
- Blower bulb
- Magnifying scope or loupe
- Brush
- APS-C sized sensor swabs (full frame swabs for the Sony A900)
- Sensor cleaning solution (Eclipse or equivalent)
Instructions
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Lock Up the Mirror
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1
Turn on your Sony DSLR and lock up the mirror so that you can access the sensor for cleaning. Go to the Setup menu on the camera, access Clean Sensor and pressing enter. Power down your SLR.
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2
Remove the body cap or lens from the front of your DSLR body. Use the blower bulb to blow air around the sensor and the body.
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3
Use the scope or loupe and look at the sensor to see if the blower bulb removed the dust.
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4
Take the brush and give two to three passes over the sensor. Check the sensor again with the scope to see if dust is still on the sensor.
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5
Take the sensor swabs and put two drops of Eclipse solution on the swab---one on the back and one on the front. Do two passes over the sensor with the swab, one from left to right, one from right to left.
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6
Check the sensor with the scope again. If there is any dust left, repeat step 5. After removing the dust, use the blower bulb once more to remove and leftover dust, then put the lens or body cap back on the camera.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Several companies make a specialized scope that fits right over the lens mounting hole that makes this process easier.
Only use sensor swabs or products made for sensor cleaning on the sensor. If you use something that is not approved, your risk damaging the filter in front of the sensor, and replacing that can cost several hundred dollars.
