Cleaning Sensor Dust

I have attempted to clean the sensor on my 20D (blowing it with bulb) and it has just blown the dust into other areas. I even tried tilting the camera so it would help, but nada. I read this article that says you can dab it or wipe it off but I'm a bit skeptical:

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/where-is-that-dust.html

I called the local photo store and they want 60 bucks to clean the sensor. Ouch!!!

Here is an example of the spots I am talking about:



The shot is before I cleaned it, now the spots are in different places.

Any help or direction would be appreciated.

Blabel ~ Canon has a shop in Irvine that you can take it to and they will clean it in 5 minutes free of charge.

If you want to fix the pics you have, it can be done in PS. Let me know if you need help with it.

Thanks man. Walt showed me how to get rid of the spots so I got that covered. Do you have the address of the place in Irvine? I might be able to swing by there. What about the other methods besides blowing air. Have you tried those?

is it bad to use compressed (canned) air?

thats what we do for film when we clear the gate

The article I listed says that you shouldn't use compressed air.

Don't use canned air I've seen a few guys report that they ruined their sensor.

this is how I do it:

http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=tutorials

You can buy the Eclipse, pec pads and tool pretty cheap and do it yourself. I use a Giotto rocket blower first and then swab.

To test for spots stop down to f16 and take a picture of the sky. Don't freak out when you see what you actually have. I clean my sensor every 4-500 shots or more if I'm changing lenses a lot.

Thanks for the tip. The guides say to take it all the way down to 22 but I can see the three big spots in question on normal settings. Looks like I'm going to have to get the kit. Unfortunately I can't always change lenses in a clean environment.

It took me about 5 or 6 pads the first time I did it, now I'm down to 2 usually. It's tough to get every spot but you need to get the ones that show up in your normal shots like the one you posted above. The 5D I've got now is a real dust collector, even worse then the 1D was. the 20D wasn't actually too bad.

What sucks is those spots showed up right away without making any lens changes. That article said it's pretty normal for them to come out of the factory with dust. Bleh!!!

Yep, funny story about my experience with canon. I used to be anal about keeping the sensor clean in my 1D. The diopter came loose so I had to send it to Canon to be fixed under warranty. When I got it back the service order said tested & sensor cleaned as well. I check it to see how well they did and it was dirtier then I ever has seen it up to that point. Maybe I just got a bad tech but it's not the firsst time I have heard the same. Just learn to do it I actually kind of enjoy doing it now.

I heard the policy on sensor cleaning has changed and that sensor cleaning is no longer covered under warranty.

They'll usually perform the sensor cleaning free of charge if you're bringing it in for another warranty repair. But if you bring it in for just the cleaning then it's $150+.

BTW-It's actually safer to change lenses outside. Inside enviroments often have a lot more dust particles in the air.

(Message edited by CAskimmer on June 17, 2006)