I have put off having my sensor cleaned for ages due to the cheapest price I found was £49.99. So in the end, seeing as my camera can be bought on ebay for £150 I decided to try cleaning it my self - and bought this:
If I had realised how easy it was I would have done it ages ago - for £15 I can clean my sensor 5 times, and it really was easy. Just took some test shots and one wipe each way got rid of every spot. That's after 3 years with no cleaning.
If anyone is worried about doing it don't - I would highly recommend this.
My Nikon D800E developed a sensor spot recently. That camera cost me £2,400 so you can probably imagine I was a bit hesitant to clean the sensor myself (well, you're not actually cleaning the sensor but the filter that lies on top of it). However, like you, I wasn't too keen either on paying £50 for the thing to be professionally cleaned which also involved a 100 mile round trip to Stoke and a wait of two hours for them to do it (yes, I have had a sensor cleaned on a previous camera). I decided to have a go with a dry swab as I really didn't want to risk any smearing. Thankfully, it worked. A bit like stone chips on the car unfortunately. Sensor spots will be a fact of life but the cleaning kits are quite good at removing them if you use them carefully but I've also heard of a few horror stories too about smears and even scratches with DIY cleaning attempts.
@dgcarter I would have been more hesitant too on that camera - I think if you do a gentle wipe it is fine. I think more stubborn spots are more likely to end up in a horror story. Like I said though, this hadn't been cleaned in 3 years and is now spot free. Of course £50 to clean a £2400 camera makes a bit more sense than £50 to clean a £150 camera. Interestingly I live in Stoke - where were you going to get it cleaned.
@iwatts Lehmanns http://www.hlehmann.co.uk/ Yes, I was pretty gentle with my sensor wipe. As you say, you can get more stubborn spots in which case it would have meant a trip up to Stoke.
@alisonp@dtigani@dgcarter@iwatts
I have a butterfly that I use to clean mine. http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=3
I really like it but of course it does not get the really stuck on spots. I use the built in sensor clean on my D7000 on a regular basis. I'm always scared of getting smears on the sensor filter thingie using the solution cleaners. I cleaned my D200 and smeared the sensor and then had to pay to have it cleaned. Works well now but I hardly ever use it. Must dig it out again :)
Hey, you have a cyclone blower too right? A two valve? I use that to blow out the dust, and honestly, usually it works without me needing to use a sensor cleaner at all. Sometimes they are stubborn.
I guess you are also supposed to turn your camera off and hold it with the open space down after removing the lens. This helps to reduce the magnetic pull and gravity helps keep dust from dropping into the camera.
I have a butterfly that I use to clean mine. http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=3
I really like it but of course it does not get the really stuck on spots. I use the built in sensor clean on my D7000 on a regular basis. I'm always scared of getting smears on the sensor filter thingie using the solution cleaners. I cleaned my D200 and smeared the sensor and then had to pay to have it cleaned. Works well now but I hardly ever use it. Must dig it out again :)
I guess you are also supposed to turn your camera off and hold it with the open space down after removing the lens. This helps to reduce the magnetic pull and gravity helps keep dust from dropping into the camera.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005BDNM2E/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The sensor cleaner worked great with no smear,