22 October 2009

Battling dust on the sensor of my digital SLR

I want to share with you how I keep my digital sensor free of dust.
First, let me explain why this is important. My first encounter with 'dust bunnies' was in 2006:

350D DIGITAL_060323_IMG_4570

Above the horizon at the left you can see some dark spots. At first I thought the specks were from the windshield screen. Inspections of other photos made that day revealed the specks were inside the SLR.

The dust is more clearly visible at higher aperture values like f11 and higher. So how to remove the dust from the sensor.

Enter the following gadget: Visibledust Arctic Butterfly 724.


With this gadget you can pick up the dust from the sensor. Before you use the brush, you spin it with the built in electrical motor. The brush gets a static charge due to the movement. Then you put your camera in the sensor cleaning mode. Make sure you use a fully charged battery. Between swipes you spin the brush again to remove the dust and recharge it.

I use this brush to clean my sensor before every important event.
I have noticed though, that the Canon 50D picks up less dust than the Canon 350D.


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