Dealing with sensor dust

Touch up is easy, but why not get rid of dust spots?

You will know if you have dust on the sensor as you’ll see a dark defocused dot in the same place in every shot. It will be particularly obvious when the image has a light background or a small aperture has been used.

Most EOS cameras have automatic sensor cleaning that shakes off loose particles. You’ll find the sensor cleaning options in the yellow Set-up menu. If it’s available on your camera, you can deactivate the automatic sensor cleaning that’s triggered when you switch the camera on and off, or run through an automatic cleaning cycle when necessary. If these aren’t effective, you can manually clean the sensor.

During manual cleaning, the mirror and shutter curtain blades are moved to allow access to the sensor. There are plenty of third-party devices designed for DIY sensor cleaning; some use ‘dry cleaning’ with a charged sensor brush, pen, or mini vacuum for picking up loose dust, while others rely on ‘wet cleaning’ using moistened swabs.

Obviously, there is some risk associated with cleaning the sensor yourself. Will you scratch the sensor or inadvertently smear lubricant from the surrounding mechanical parts across its surface? It’s up to you if you want to run the risk of facing up to a large bill if things go wrong. Holding the camera facing downwards and using a couple of puffs from a hand blower (not a can of compressed air) can be effective.