Does Anyone Know How To Clean The Sensor On A Nikon D1H?

There are two ways to clean a CCD on a digital SlR. You can use the air from a puffer brush. hold it just above the chip and give it a couple of puffs. Alternatively you can send it away to Nikon to have it cleaned professionally. These spots only tend to appear when the camera is hot and you are working at fine f stops.
First, don't be put off by Nikon's disclaimers (both Fujifilm and Kodak endorse user cleaning if done properly). The Lithium Niobate filter over the D1 and D100 CCDs is somewhat difficult to scratch if you use the right tools (on the MHOS Scale of Hardness table that ranges from talc at 0 to diamond at 10, Lithium Niobate is a 5, the same as Apatite, and a bit lower than Orthoclase and Quartz; Fujifilm and Kodak don't identify the material they use [nor does Nikon on the later cameras], but it seems just as durable). While it's possible to scratch the filter surface, it's also not at all easy to do if you're using the right tools.

While I used to recommend what has become a much copied do-it-yourself approach to the tools for cleaning Methanol solution with PecPads wrapped around a flexible but stiff improvised holder (my original was a filed down Wendy's knife, but I've used Rubbermaid spatulas and art supply tools from Michael's, as well), some advances in available products have made the DIY approach no longer necessary. Today, I recommend two products (and you need both): Sensor Swabs (with methanol) and the Sensor Brush. Let's look at both:

Sensor Swabs: the original Sensor Swabs had a fatal flaw--the support mechanism behind the cleaning cloth was not reliable and allowed the edge of the cleaning surface to "break" (bend and reduce pressure, making it not clean well). Moreover, the support mechanism was relatively thick, and if damaged, could produce little plastic pieces that you had to clean up. No more. Photographic Solutions has produced a new version that has a full, thin, plastic "blade" behind the cleaning material. It's now possible to maintain even pressure across the edge without it collapsing, even when very wet. The blade itself is a very soft plastic and can't really be forced hard enough to damage a sensor or filter surface. While you can't quite put as much pressure on the edge as with homemade tools, that's a good thing in most ways. The one problem it may create is for some so-called "welded dust" particles (see right column). But this is easily solved by making the Sensor Swab wetter than usual--which might leave streaks that you have to clean up by using another swab). On the plus side versus the home-grown method is that the Sensor Swabs are still made in a clean-room environment and come in sealed packs. Thus, they're ready to go on demand but you won't be having to worry about keeping your cleaning materials clean as you try to wrap them around a home-grown support mechanism. Yes, they're on the pricey side (US$48 for 12), but you won't be using a lot of them because of the other new tool that's available. Basically, you only use a Sensor Swab when you have a persistent dust particle that isn't removed by brush, or you have welded dust. Nikon and Fujifilm users need Type 2 Sensor Swabs; Kodak Pro 14n, 14nx, and SLR/n users need Type 3 Sensor Swabs.

Sensor Brush: essentially a brush with extremely fine and soft bristles. You use compressed air (or CO2, or a very strong foot pump) to charge and clean the bristles. You must clean the edge of the brush with air after every pass across the sensor. Light dust (in dry climates) is held onto the sensor by surface tension and static buildup, and what you're trying to do is break that tension and transfer the dust to another surface (the brush). Used correctly, the Sensor Brush works very well on most dust. Indeed, in a dusty, dry environment, it's usually the only cleaning tool I usually need. The biggest issue you face with this product is keeping your brush clean (the Sensor Brushes come in a protective case). The second biggest issue is that it can't remove dust which is welded; but that's why you bought Sensor Swabs, too. Yes, the Sensor Brush is again pricey (US$90 for a two brush set), but you only need purchase this once.

What about the Arctic Butterfly? The Sensor Brush folk make two variants that have an electric motor in them to spin the brush to charge and clean the bristles (that way you don't have to travel with or have access to compressed air). The original version had two flaws, the newer version has one. The fatal flaw in both is that the brush blade tends to widen as you use the spin cycle to clean it. This makes it more likely that the brush touches the sides of the chamber around the sensor filter, and most cameras have a greasy compound in those areas that you absolutely don't want to transfer to the brush. If you choose to use a Butterfly, be very careful about what the brush comes into contact with, or else you'll have an even more difficult cleaning chore to deal with some day.

Steps to Follow:

1. Use a Sensor Brush whenever you need to remove casual dust. Follow their procedures exactly; don't take shortcuts. Most of the time, this is the only cleaning you'll need to do.

2. If a Sensor Brush session doesn't remove stubborn dust, use a Sensor Swab wet with methanol. Again, follow the manufacturer's procedures exactly.

3. If you still have a persistent dust spot, you'll probably have to over wet a Sensor Swab (being careful not to wet it so much that the cleaning material breaks) and go over that spot again. This may leave streaks. If it does, do another regular Sensor Swab of the sensor.

It the above still leaves a stubborn spot, I think I'd let Nikon handle it. Their method of "scrubbing" using a cleaning tissue wrapped several times around a small wooden stick (and wet with methanol) allows them to put more pressure on the area being cleaned. But an amateur cleaner isn't likely to be very effective using this technique without putting his or her sensor filter at risk. Given that replacing a sensor filter can be as costly, that's just not something I'd even begin to recommend. So if steps 1 to 3 don't do it for you, send your camera in to a professional for cleaning.
In Japan, Nikon actually sells a cleaning kit (for camera body, lenses, and sensor). The kit contains training videos (see still image from one, above) as well as cleaning material. This US$80+ kit (!) apparently is only sold in Japan, but it does provide guidance in cleaning a sensor using Nikon-approved methods (and the ones they use in their repair stations).

By the way, it'll probably take you a few tries with the Sensor Swabs to get it right. The usual mistakes I see from first-timers are:

* Too much liquid is used, and a streak is left behind.
* You don't start at one edge of the sensor's imaging area and swipe past the other edge, leaving dust at both edges.
* Swiping too gingerly, which tends to leave behind a few stubborn spots (and may even make them more stubborn as they've now been wet and start to act more like welded dust [see sidebar at right]).
* Not holding the support nearly perpendicular to the filter (I use a very slight tilt towards the side I'm moving towards), or lifting one side and leaving dust on the filter on that side.
* Trying to "rub" the filter clean (you tend to just move the dust around--once it is on the lint-free cloth, it can migrate back to the sensor filter if you use improper technique, such as not enough fluid, or rubbing motions; moreover, if you "rub" a really hard particle across the filter you can scratch it).
* Doing the cleaning in an environment where there is lots of dust in the air!

Here's a couple of added tips for cleaning:


Get a headlamp. The Petzl LED headlamps work great, though you look like a geek using one to clean your camera. Using a headlamp lets you put light right where you need it, and even makes it easier to see the largest dust bunnies.

Minimize the time. Because the Bayer filters in DSLRs use dye inks, I try to keep the amount of time they're exposed to light, especially bright light, to a minimum. That's not to scare you into thinking that if you leave your sensor exposed for five minutes that it'll produce poor color next time you use it; just that light accumulation to dye inks really should be minimized. If you clean in a darkish environment using an LED headlamp and don't take more than a few minutes, don't worry about it. But don't leave the camera's shutter open while you walk around the house or office looking for your cleaning supplies, decide to have lunch, watch a football game, and then come back and clean your camera!

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