Cleaning up The thought of cleaning my camera worries me. What’s the best approach?

The issue of cleaning the camera’s sensor always strikes fear and dread into people, so you’re not alone in this respect, Gillian. You need only do it when you start to see reoccurring and persistent dust spots on your images. When I get this, the first thing I do is a quick dry-clean. I use the mirror lock-up function to allow access to the sensor and then, with the lens off and the camera facing downwards, I blow air onto the sensor with a rocket blower.

If there are still problems, you do need to try a wet-clean on the sensor. This is the scary bit, and at this point you can feel free to find a commercial company to do the job for you. However, if you are feeling brave, you’ll be able to sort it out. Get with some swabs, such as those from Visible Dust, which you simply wipe once across the sensor. Make sure you have the right size of swab for your sensor size.

When you are cleaning your camera’s sensor, it’s important that you are working somewhere that’s relatively clean and dust-free. With the mirror lock-up enabled (and making sure your batteries are well charged), press the shutter button and clean as quickly as possible without rushing before closing the mirror again by pressing the shutter button again. Don’t forget to disable mirror lock-up when you are done.

As long as you are careful about changing lenses, especially outside, you shouldn’t have to wet- or dry-clean your lens too often. Don’t for example, take a lens off with the camera switched on and just leave the camera sitting there open to the elements: it’s inevitable that pollen and other bits of grime will disappear into it.

On the other hand, don’t choose to never change lenses for fear of dust. I have met a few photographers who do this. To me it seems rather counterproductive when you own a SLR camera that allows you to change lenses for various creative options.