[Klaus]

Just got a new test lens and wanted to take it to Christmas vacation.

The lens is fine but the Sony sensor refuses to get clean. Some sticky spots remain even when using a sensor brush. To be fair they aren't really visible at f/11. Still .. drive me nuts.

I wonder what it is - no matter what I do some spots just don't "move". Makes me wonder whether the dust got behind the cover glass (but then I'd expect that they would show up at larger apertures).

 

Ever dared to take an image of the sky at f/22 ... ? ;-)

[JJ_SO]

You already tried wet cleaning or the sticky "pad-on-a-stick" from eyelead?

[stoppingdown]

Curiously, in the past two months I've been forced to clean my sensors more than in the past fifteen years... I got visible spots in many photos (fortunately, never on difficult areas and I could clean them in post-processing). The last time I cleaned the sensor a similar phenomenon happened, but not completely the same as yours: looking at the sensor after the liquid dried up, I could see some tiny spots. But they weren't sticky: it seemed they changed position after another cleaning round. So in my case, it seems that the liquid didn't dried up properly. Fortunately, the thing doesn't have consequences (f/22 at the sky is ok).

[davidmanze]

    Wet cleaning is needed!

[Klaus]

You already tried wet cleaning or the sticky "pad-on-a-stick" from eyelead?

 

Nope, never did that (scared of making things even worse)

[davidmanze]

Nope, never did that (scared of making things even worse)

  

   I got myself in a pickle with the Pentax K20, I tried using pharmaceutical alcohol, that left smears.....fearing the worst I bought a standard Reidl wet clean sensor kit, two wipes and your done.....I've never had faith in any sort of dry cleaning, mainly because of the risk of scratching and smearing.....

 

             .......wet cleaning has lubricating qualities that significantly reduce that problem and of course alcohol has degreasing properties too. 

 

   FWIW!

 

[JJ_SO]

Nope, never did that (scared of making things even worse)

 

It's nothing magical, but one needs the right tools. Unless you don't pour in the liquid and work without haste, there's a very good success rate.

 

I have a statical brush, wet clean set (which I use as last possibility), the eyelead system (Pentax has something similar), a rocket blower and a loupe which fits the mount and is illuminating the sensor - otherwise I cannot detecct the particles.

 

Usually I first blow the sensor.

check with loupe - if good, stop here.

Use the static brush for particles which are happy to get kind of a load

check with loupe

use the eyelead stick to get the stickier particles

check with loupe

After that it's time for wet service.

 

The static (motorized, to charge the brush electrostatically) brush and the swabs are from visible dust. The liquid lasts very long, as I only need a drop or two on it. Swabs should be in sensor size.

 

I know a photog who does this kind of sensor cleaning in his bathroom after a shower. He thinks this reduces the dust. I'm not so sure about that (because of humidity), but I try to clean the sensor in place with less dust in the air.

[josa]

Try alcohol breathing after New Year's party and then dry the sensor....

[JJ_SO]

Do you really want to wait until after New Year with new lens tests, josa?

 

[Klaus]

@ Joju - I have the visible dust brush.

 

Anyway, since my flight is today I have no time for further action anyway.  I have to remember not to stop down beyond f/11 then.