Checking the Gate

[Florian Stadler]

Having dust on the sensor can go unnoticed pretty easily when shooting close to wide open. I would recommend tilting up to the sky when shooting outdoors and stopping down to a 22 or setting up a brightly lit white card when shooting indoors and stopping down as far as you can. Check on a large monitor for sensor dust.

What are people using to clean the sensor? Is Red recommending anything in particular?

Is this a pretty good solution?

http://www.adorama.com/CPVDF700K10.html?sid=12062296681382265

What other procedures are people developing for checking the gate after a shot is circled as far as insuring everything is recorded properly and "in the can"?

 

[Shawn Booth]

Can we still use canned air?

 

[Graeme Nattress]

I'd avoid canned air. Canned air can have lubricants or propellants fly out, along with the air, and land on the OLPF, which will make it hard to clean. I'd personally recommend using a powerful hand blower instead. That's what I use on my DSLRs.

Graeme

 

[Shawn Booth]

Thanks Graeme! Still have one of those in my kit -

 

[Deanan]

My personal recommendation in order of what to do (stopping at
any of the steps if all is good and checking with a sensor scope or looking a flat field stopped down):
1. use a blower to clear all loose dust from the olpf and lens port walls etc..
2. if there's still dust remaining, use a sensor brush
3. wipe down port but not olpf to clear any loose dust on the port walls, etc.
4. use a blower again if there still some lose dust on the olpf.
5. use a sensor swab w/ fluid like photosol.
6. use a blower if necessary.

 

[Graeme Nattress]

Thanks Deanan! I've always just used a sensor brush and blower on my DSLRs and have had very good results with that.

Graeme

 

[Florian Stadler]

Sounds like a solid strategy.

Thanks Deanan

 

[Arnaud Paris]

Deanan,
Some dumbass client of ours put his finger on the sensor and left a nasty mark on it. Which of the photosol product do you recommend as they have many types on their website:
http://www.photosol.com/products.htm

Thanks,

 

[vincelucero]

Deanan,
Some dumbass client of ours put his finger on the sensor and left a nasty mark on it. Which of the photosol product do you recommend as they have many types on their website:
http://www.photosol.com/products.htm

Thanks,

OMFG! We have a major ID10T on set. :angry03:

 

[Deanan]

Just regular Eclipse is good. I'd skip the the sensor brush step as you
don't want to get the grease back onto your brush.

 

[Joel Kaye]

I'd skip the the sensor brush step as you
don't want to get the grease back onto your brush.

I'm really confused by what this sentence is supposed to mean.

Are you saying not to buy their "sensor swab" product?

Their website seems to say the swabs and eclipse go together.

"ECLIPSE lens cleaner is the highest purity lens cleaner available, containing less than 5 parts per million (ppm) of contamination (the whitish residue left after evaporation) It dries as quickly as it can be applied leaving absolutely no residue, making it the only recommended cleaner for CCD and CMOS sensor cleaning when used with Sensor Swabs."

 

[Deanan]

Sorry about the lack of clarity...

By sensor brush I meant the type of brush that's like a painters brush
and not the sensor swabs that Photosol sells. Yes, you should use the
photosol sensor swabs with eclipse solution.

 

[Arnaud Paris]

Thanks Deanan.

 

[Gregor Hagey]

Michael Reichmann has some great reviews on his site for products to clean sensors with (not to mention a ton of other great info):

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/visible-dust.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/arctic-butterfly.shtml

I use a sensor loupe to view the OLPF with, but as previously mentioned you could stop down to T22 and point the lens at a white surface to see where the dust is.