Cleaning Z sensor

[Roy]

Okay I'll admit it. I reverted to my old "dSLR" habit. I wanted to check and clean my sensor so I went into the menus and looked for the function to allow me to clean my sensor (as in dSLR). There is no mirror to lock up and on the Z7 II there is no shutter to open. After 15 seconds I realized the error in my ways and did another stupid thing. I put the sensor loupe on the camera (after removing the lens cap) and it was out of focus. Then I realized I needed to put the FTZ on the camera to get the sensor in focus.

Besides from sharing my faux pas, what do you use to clean your sensor. With the Z6/Z7 I need to clean them every 6-12 months. Besides from a bulb to blow off dust, if you use swab, which ones? Which cleaning solution? I have the visible dust Sensor loupe. Any better loupes out there? VD has a Quasar 5x loupe. Is that much better than the regular loupe?

Any other methods?

The cameras own vibrate to clean the sensor isn't very effective.
Prevention by changing lenses while facing the camera down and using two bodies so you dont need to change lenses as often is my preference.
If my sensors are that dirty then i'll use a swab stick.
Be gentle but remember - you are cleaning a piece of glass in front of the sensor not the sensor itself...

 

[dabhand16]

I don't do it regularly and only plan to do it when the sensor is extremely dirty. I want to touch the sensor as little as possible.

I found that cleaning my sensors regularly - around 3 times a year - means that the cleaning process is quick and easy. If you leave some contaminants on the sensor too long they can weld themselves on and need more pressure or multiple cleaning cycles to shift them.

 

[Roy]

I check my sensors weekly and clean when necessary.
Dust is often the problem and changing lens pointing down and carrying extra bodies so that I dont need to change lens helps...

 

[dabhand16]

I put the sensor loupe on the camera (after removing the lens cap) and it was out of focus. Then I realized I needed to put the FTZ on the camera to get the sensor in focus.

On my mirrorless cameras I just hold the loupe at the focus point. Then I can angle it in multiple directions so the light changes on the sensor. For me any dirt shows better than when I used to just plonk it onto the lens mount.

 

[Roy]

I like to check for dust by shooting a white subject like a light panel.
Then I check the sensor with a torch and finally with a loupe.
But prevention is better than the cure..

 

[Nerja Rob]

This is how Moose does it apparently - https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/z-9-sensor-cleaning-et-al/

 

[Roy]

Swabs/swipes are the way to go - but hand blower first (not compressed air)...

 

[O]

You can run the sensor cleaning routine via the menus (it goes longer when done manually like that) or use a blower. Nikon does not recommend wet cleaning yourself and has no instructions to do so. I don't look forward to sending it in just for that, but I too am not sure what to do when the time comes for a wet cleaning. I know how to do it, I just don't know if I want to. I'd hate to void the warranty.

I am lucky, i take 3 or 4 cameras at once, drop them into Nikon, they do a same day service check over, clean, update and call me when ready, meanwhile i pop into the cinema in the mall watch Top Gun or such have a little lunch pick up the cameras and happy days.

The Nikon service is free for NPS and usually takes only about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
I am blessed that Nikon Sydney is close and offers excellent NPS service.

Just waiting for ever for a new motor for my 300 2.8 vr II, it woks but that squeaks when focusing.

I used to always clean my own sensors with wet stick and fluid, just cant remember the name of the product.

 

[Roy]

I am lucky, i take 3 or 4 cameras at once, drop them into Nikon, they do a same day service check over, clean, update and call me when ready, meanwhile i pop into the cinema in the mall watch Top Gun or such have a little lunch pick up teh cameras and happy days.

The Nikon service is free for NPS and usually takes only about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
I am blessed that Nikon Sydney is close and offers excellent NPS service.

Just waiting for ever for a new motor for my 300 2.8 vr II, it woks but that squeaks when focusing.

I used to allways clean my own sensors with wet stick and fluid, just cant remember the name of the product.

My 200-400mm squeaked as well - lack of use - an Expensive AFS motor AU$1000 repair...

 

[Ken Miracle]

I am lucky, i take 3 or 4 cameras at once, drop them into Nikon, they do a same day service check over, clean, update and call me when ready, meanwhile i pop into the cinema in the mall watch Top Gun or such have a little lunch pick up teh cameras and happy days.

The Nikon service is free for NPS and usually takes only about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
I am blessed that Nikon Sydney is close and offers excellent NPS service.

Just waiting for ever for a new motor for my 300 2.8 vr II, it woks but that squeaks when focusing.

I used to allways clean my own sensors with wet stick and fluid, just cant remember the name of the product.

Boy are you lucky !!! I would have a very long drive or flight

 

[Ken Miracle]

A side note about bulbs. During the course of reading about sensor cleaning before I made the move to clean mine the first time I read from several sources about people whose sensor seemed to be constantly fouled with dust and debri. The cause was old and/or cheap blowers that were deteriorating internally and as the rubber rotted out it blew into the body and onto the sensor everytime it was used. Just something to think about.

Yup I have met and helped a couple of people with that problem. I buy new blowers about every 2 years or whenever they loose blowing power. I have them in my camera bags, my wife has one and one in my misc camera stuff drawer. I use filtered Giottos Rocket Blowers.

 

[Mr. Goodkat]

I found that cleaning my sensors regularly - around 3 times a year - means that the cleaning process is quick and easy. If you leave some contaminants on the sensor too long they can weld themselves on and need more pressure or multiple cleaning cycles to shift them.

I'm sure I could do it at least twice a year just to keep up on it. That was the problem I had through, some of the dust seemed to be stuck on the sensor and the first cleaning solution would not remove it. Eclipse removed it no problem and the sensor was steak free.

 

[Bob Hullinger]

Okay I'll admit it. I reverted to my old "dSLR" habit. I wanted to check and clean my sensor so I went into the menus and looked for the function to allow me to clean my sensor (as in dSLR). There is no mirror to lock up and on the Z7 II there is no shutter to open. After 15 seconds I realized the error in my ways and did another stupid thing. I put the sensor loupe on the camera (after removing the lens cap) and it was out of focus. Then I realized I needed to put the FTZ on the camera to get the sensor in focus.

Besides from sharing my faux pas, what do you use to clean your sensor. With the Z6/Z7 I need to clean them every 6-12 months. Besides from a bulb to blow off dust, if you use swab, which ones? Which cleaning solution? I have the visible dust Sensor loupe. Any better loupes out there? VD has a Quasar 5x loupe. Is that much better than the regular loupe?

Any other methods?

I post this for whatever it's worth to anyone who feels that cleaning something simply for the sake of cleaning it is a good idea. Good luck.

Guide to Cleaning Your Camera Sensor

A fair amount of unease comes with interacting with one of the most fragile parts of a digital camera. Automatic sensor cleaners help but haven’t replaced the need for sensor cleaning entirely. However, cleaning camera sensors is not as delicate of an operation as it seems. You still might...

www.lensrentals.com

 

[Bob Hullinger]

Okay I'll admit it. I reverted to my old "dSLR" habit. I wanted to check and clean my sensor so I went into the menus and looked for the function to allow me to clean my sensor (as in dSLR). There is no mirror to lock up and on the Z7 II there is no shutter to open. After 15 seconds I realized the error in my ways and did another stupid thing. I put the sensor loupe on the camera (after removing the lens cap) and it was out of focus. Then I realized I needed to put the FTZ on the camera to get the sensor in focus.

Besides from sharing my faux pas, what do you use to clean your sensor. With the Z6/Z7 I need to clean them every 6-12 months. Besides from a bulb to blow off dust, if you use swab, which ones? Which cleaning solution? I have the visible dust Sensor loupe. Any better loupes out there? VD has a Quasar 5x loupe. Is that much better than the regular loupe?

Any other methods?

This is a great general discussion. They talk about sensors at the 1:00 mark and after the break at 20:00.

The Lensrentals Podcast – BEST OF: How to Break a Camera

Impact damage, sensor scratches, and shutter failure, oh my! Roger, Aaron, and Joey are back and this time they’re talking about all the ways you can break a camera, what can be fixed and what is always a kiss of death. From discussing the most common damage they see on returned gear, to repairs...

www.lensrentals.com

 

[gKhan]

Powerful air currents I think means compressed air. Thinks like hand squeezed rocket blowers I bet is the second reference.

I agree.

 

[Krümelkraft]

I managed to scratch my D850 sensor with a swab.
I don't know how that happened, there were only two or three spots, almost invisible for the naked eye, and I used a new swab of course.

The good news is that that little scratch has absolutely no influence on the image quality. I was not able to detect it in any picture, neither as a visible line, nor as a region of softness.

However, I am very pissed off.

 

[Roy]

I managed to scratch my D850 sensor with a swab.
I don't know how that happened, there were only two or three spots, almost invisible for the naked eye, and I used a new swab of course.

The good news is that that little scratch has absolutely no influence on the image quality. I was not able to detect it in any picture, neither as a visible line, nor as a region of softness.

However, I am very pissed off.

Did you use a blower to dust the sensor first ?
Grit is better removed first with a dust blower ...

 

[Krümelkraft]

Did you use a blower to dust the sensor first ?
Grit is better removed first with a dust blower ...

I did.
I can't explain where the bad piece of dust came from. There wasn't even a spot in the line where the scratch is. There wasn't anything visible bigger than a micrometer.
I also took great care that I don't touch anything else than the sensor with the swab.

However, I did some more than two wipes and maybe applied a bit to much pressure. Also possible that I collected some dust from the edges of the frame.

 

[Roy]

I did.
I can't explain where the bad piece of dust came from. There wasn't even a spot in the line where the scratch is. There wasn't anything visible bigger than a micrometer.
I also took great care that I don't touch anything else than the sensor with the swab.

However, I did some more than two wipes and maybe applied a bit to much pressure. Also possible that I collected some dust from the edges of the frame.

Dust grit and grime can also come from the back of the lens...

 

[O]

My 200-400mm squeaked as well - lack of use - an Expensive AFS motor AU$1000 repair...

Mine is fixed now, about time, usually i stand it out in the sun for while then turn the focus wheel fully back and forth hard and fast about a dozen times it usually shuts it up and spreads the lube making it quiet, well for a while.

Only an opinion

 

[O]

Okay I'll admit it. I reverted to my old "dSLR" habit. I wanted to check and clean my sensor so I went into the menus and looked for the function to allow me to clean my sensor (as in dSLR). There is no mirror to lock up and on the Z7 II there is no shutter to open. After 15 seconds I realized the error in my ways and did another stupid thing. I put the sensor loupe on the camera (after removing the lens cap) and it was out of focus. Then I realized I needed to put the FTZ on the camera to get the sensor in focus.

Besides from sharing my faux pas, what do you use to clean your sensor. With the Z6/Z7 I need to clean them every 6-12 months. Besides from a bulb to blow off dust, if you use swab, which ones? Which cleaning solution? I have the visible dust Sensor loupe. Any better loupes out there? VD has a Quasar 5x loupe. Is that much better than the regular loupe?

Any other methods?

I don't recall the brand of paddle and fluid i used to use, i very rarely get dust on the sensors unless i use a pump lens a lot, i usually always wipe the extended part of the lens as much as possible before zooming in and out, even just with my fingers as the plastic becomes static and attracts dust, or i use a lightweight Aquatec cover over the lens like my 200-500.
With the Z9 its not an issue, so far.
Only an opinion

 

[Wes Peterson]

I use air then a sensor cleaning brush. If the brush is treated correctly throughout its life (NEVER touch anything other than the tube it comes in and the sensor) its a very quick and easy way to clean a sensor. I only use a wet swab when something is stubborn but between the sensor shield and depth of the ftz2 Ive only had to clean the sensor once or twice in over 150,000 photos.... many of which are at f22 (product photography) so dust is usually spotted pretty easily.

 

[Marco74]

I try to avoid wet cleaning as much as possible, but sometimes I do it.
I did it 3 or 4 times on my Z6 and then in Z6II, and one month ago, I did the same with my Z9.
After checking with a loupe, after several attempts with the blower and automatic vibration, the damned dot of dust was always clearly visible in the photos, even at F.8.

Considering I've never had problems with the previous Zs, I armed myself with calm and courage and gave it a couple of light passages with the Visible Dust brushes and the Eclipse liquid.
Also, for the Z9, no problem; now I have a clean sensor.

On the other hand, other friends of mine have already done it without problems, so it was a fairly small risk.

 

[O]

I try to avoid wet cleaning as much as possible, but sometimes I do it.
I did it 3 or 4 times on my Z6 and then in Z6II, and one month ago, I did the same with my Z9.
After checking with a loupe, after several attempts with the blower and automatic vibration, the damned dot of dust was always clearly visible in the photos, even at F.8.

Considering I've never had problems with the previous Zs, I armed myself with calm and courage and gave it a couple of light passages with the Visible Dust brushes and the Eclipse liquid.
Also, for the Z9, no problem; now I have a clean sensor.

On the other hand, other friends of mine have already done it without problems, so it was a fairly small risk.

Sensor cleaning and never leaving the battery in the camera if its not being used.

I find the sensor is statically charged, i believe this is often the reason dust gets attached, also why dust or spots can be stubborn or just keep moving around.
The black soft felt lining in the sensor box is there to provide total darkness, but its also a means trapping dust away from the sensor.
If the box is not cleaned out you can with a hand blower used on the sensor actually add/redistribute dust to the sensor from the felt.
So filtered compressed dry air should be used first to blow out the whole box before cleaning the sensor (not airasol cans) as they often spray some propellant and stain the sensor.
First the box needs to be blown out thoroughly, then the using the correct procedure only going one way and one pass with each new wet paddle normally does the trick.
I used fine small Chop sticks with wet sensor cleaning tissue, with the appropriate solution, and go all around the outer edges of the sensor first then across the face several times, but that's after years of practice only and i don't recommend anyone trying it, i have never had an issue and always got my sensors clean first time each time.
With a hand blower it works very well and seems safe used properly, often it simply blows the dust of the sensor and the dust is trapped in the black felt like lining where it stays till eventually cleaned out as mentioned above.

That's all in the past, now i let Nikon do it all.

From memory Your not actually cleaning the actual sensor surface but a layer over the sensor, this layer is replaceable in the past with the DSLRS. Nikon wont do this they just replace the sensor.

Only an opinion

 

[Krümelkraft]

From memory Your not actually cleaning the actual sensor surface but a layer over the sensor

The top layer of the sensor is a piece of glass, so there is no risk other than scratching it.
With the Z9 it's different. It comes with a conductive coating, they say, to prevent static charge of the surface. I would be concerned to wipe off that coating, depending on what material the coating is and how it was applied.
It won't affect the image, but the antistatic effect would be gone.

Nikon certainly won't give us information about that.

Update: On the nikon website I found this:
A conductive coating creates a magnetic field that actively repels dust particles from the sensor. While a fluorine coating makes it simple to wipe dirt away.

So, no more concern about that.