Camera Cleaning Talk by Peter Brogden

Hi Folks,

Camera cleaning talk by Peter Brogden, Tuesday 18th April

Last night Peter Brogden from ‘Just Ltd’ serving photographers, www.cameraclean.co.uk came to give us a talk on safe cleaning of the camera sensor.

(This blog is only a summary of the evening and should not be used as the literal instructions of cleaning a camera).

As I only have a compact camera I asked if it was possible to clean it, to which the answer was ‘no’.

Peter said, “It might be a boring night for me”, which I replied, “I hope not, as I am doing the blog on it lol”.

Also as I have thoughts on buying a bridge camera I did ask the same question about cleaning them and the answer was again ‘no’. However, as the compact & bridge cameras have fixed lenses it was agreed there is a lesser chance of them getting dirty so quick.

Anyway, with my personal questions out of the way.

Peter began asking, “How many people had cleaned their camera sensor recently” and very few members put up their hands. Peter asked, “Why” and the answer from most people was that they were scared of cleaning their expensive equipment.

Peter explained that the service industries prefer to have clients keep out of the cameras and the makers avoid explaining anything about the inside of their cameras.

A camera sensor could cost around £500 but each sensor has a filter over it and when one is cleaning it, one is just cleaning the filter and not the sensor itself. The filters are around £150, so the bottom line is, if something were to go wrong the situation can be recovered by having the lesser expensive filter changed.

a removed sensor and filter was passed around for us to see.

Peter explained sensors and filters vary in size and thickness.

The surface can be seen inside the camera with the removal of the lens and then by using a switch for the mirror lock.

Before attempting any cleaning it is best to see how dirty the camera really is and this can be achieved by taking a picture of the sky. It was suggested to me by an experienced club member to take two images of the sky, as a high flying bird not visible to the eye just might be flying over. The image’s taken should then be looked at in Photoshop (or equivalent software) using the levels option. In the levels option the arrows on the left and right should be moved inwards to magnify the effect of dust and spots.

There are three sorts of dirt, dust, condensation spots and grease spots.

Also before attempting a clean make sure the camera battery is fully charged.

The dust must be treated first before removal of any spots, as any dust smears left on can make things worse.

One way this can be done is by turn the camera upside down and using a special blower. We were shown an old fashion blower which was said to be useless and one needed to get a more modern one which does the job much better.

Dust is all around us and we can’t avoid it, it’s on our curtains, carpets etc and because of this many people prefer cleaning their cameras in the bathroom as the damper atmosphere reduces the dust in the air. (But don’t get the soap in your camera lol).

Some photographers use an electrical device to blow clean air across a table whilst working and the device costs around £80 and may be something a club might buy for its members to use.

another option, a brush for taking off dust

One has to be as hygienic as possible and Peter had all his equipment sealed up, even the blower. I felt the perfect environment described  might be a murder scene with the photographer wearing a white forensic suit lol.

Apart from the blower and brush, Peter recommended a device called a ‘dust aid’ a stick which holds tacky surface pads to add on and when dabbed on, picks up any dust particles. There are various companies that make them but he has a preference for one that is square. This allows him to get into the four corners of the sensor area which is rectangular in just four dabs. The silicone squares on the end of the dabber are used once and then thrown away and they cost around a £1 each.

Once all dust has been removed, the spots have to be removed by a special swab, which is called a ‘wet clean’, the swabs comes in all sizes to fit each sensor. The swab has a material on the end which doesn’t leave any bits behind. Now there is a cleaning solution which is placed on the end of the swab. The swab is angled and one starts at one end of the sensor filter and then drawn across to the other end of it. Without removing the swab it it angled the other way and drawn back across and then removed and thrown away. That is the procedure.

Now Sony have refused to accept the use of a standard camera sensor cleaning solution on their sensors, so a new solution has been made which Sony are said to be happy with and comes in a smaller bottle and more expensive. So one sensor solution for Sony but both solutions can be used by all other cameras except Sony. The explanation of why was revealed to us.

After cleaning and the mirror lock returned and lens on, a further shot of the sky should be taken and put into the levels for a re-test.

One will never get rid of dust and cleaning should only be done when really necessary. If it’s just one spot and one can live with it, one can always take it out in post processing later.

After a couple of videos on cleaning there was a summary of the order of cleaning

It was coffee time

After coffee Peter had examples to look at of cameras, sensors and cleaning equipment. Also he brought along a damage sensor filter which he replaced for free to the client in his early days as their products are guaranteed. The client did further damaged and it was then realised it wasn’t the produce but the user pushing the blower on to the sensor.

Thank you to Peter it was all clearly explained

Next week is the last round of the Challenge cup and i’m still hunting for my first 19 points, so looking forward to that

Club Challenge Round 5