LensPen SensorKlear - Low Budget Sensor Cleaning

Background Information:
I recently took a 16 day trip semi-backpacking through Egypt. The air and environment caused some havoc on the 20D I brought and a lot of dirt and dust made its way inside the camera. The shots later in the trip show this off extremely. I needed to clean the sensor but not having done it before (don't judge) I didn't quite know the steps to take. I reviewed some products online and also checked out some local stores for what they had in stock. Locally I was only able to find a LensPen SensorKlear. I was unsure of this method so went back online to research the cleaning a bit more. The most commonly suggested method seemed to be the use of a solution (Eclipse, etc) and swabs or pec*pads all of which I would have to order in. I went the way of the LensPen SensorKlear as I needed a quicker option for some quick shoots I had to do and to see if it actually worked.

The Review:
As mentioned above I have never cleaned a sensor before. I have only ever used a Rocket Blower on one. When trying to find proof of a SensorKlear working by searching Google I wasn't getting many hits so I was still semi-reluctant in trying it out.

First shot of the dust and dirt when returning from Egypt:


As you can see there was quite a bit there. I used a Rocket Blower and was able to use the camera for one shoot as a backup but was really reluctant in using it and shot only about 5 photos with it.

Last night I finally decided to attempt the LensPen SensorKlear method.

Here is how the shot looks before cleaning (sorry about quality of the shot I was working quick):


Circled are a couple of the main spots on the frame. The spec in the centre is actually dirt on my wall and will be noticeable in the final shot as well. As you can see just the Rocket Blower cleared out a lot of the general debris that was inside the camera - the spots were still noticeable on shots however.

I was not working in a dust free/clean area - I attempted everything in my dining room. For cleaning with the SensorKlear I first used the Rocket Blower another time to get any loose debris currently inside out, rubbed the SensorKlear across the glass from left to right, top to bottom. Rubbed a bit more in the corners. Used the Rocket Blower one more time and that was it. The whole process probably took me about 1 or 2 minutes and that included opening the package for the SensorKlear.

Here are the results with the circles in almost the exact same place as the previous shot. As you can see it removed the dust spots that were most visible. There are still a couple on there (as well as the spec on my wall) so I will try it one more time to get the rest of the spots off.


As someone who has not done this before and was not sure exactly how to go about doing it the LensPen SensorKlear seemed to work perfectly. It cost me $20 CDN from my local shop but can be found cheaper online.

The LensPen SensorKlear has a limited life of approximately 100 uses so after you get up there in use it might be time to go out and purchase a new one. Also after each use you are told to twist the cap a couple of times - this I believe brushes the dirt off that was smeared onto the tip of the pen as well as applies the carbon that is inside the lid which aids in its cleaning.

LensPen SensorKlear is available for $9.95 USD from Amazon.com

Rocket Blower is available for $8.60 USD from Amazon.com.

*note all links are affiliate links to Amazon

What a mess (both sensor and your post)

I have to back Cujo up on this one--I got myself one the first day they were in the shop and I would have to say, for anyone that has a dirty sensor and is on a budget, look no further. I'll post some before and after shots of mine later.

Worked well for me on my Rebel XT but my 1D sensor seems like it's never going to come clean. Not sure if it's a hair or a scratch or what but I've pretty much given up. Time to throw a $8000 camera body in the garbage.

AJ - great talking with you last night and wow did the lighting suck, it was great for crotch shots if that was what I was looking for (it wasn't). And of course my post is a mess - I never claimed to be an English major and I also never claimed to proof-read

Ken - anyway to possibly replace the sensor - or the glass in front of the sensor that may be scratched - surely it is a possible cheaper solution. That would suck though. Yikes.

I added a small paragraph at the bottom as well talking about limited use and the fact you need to do a twist with the lid after use (or before).

Yeah, nice to have more than just a "What's up?" in our conversation for once, haha.

Sorry to come off as a dork in my post above, maybe I'm just seeing the post wrong. All the links are laid out so you can see the whole URL and /URL tag and the http://www...... etc. etc. between the tags, viewing from my computer anyway.

I was only joking, I got the jist of your post.

Hey you're right. HAHA. I didn't even notice that (it was a copy/paste job from another post). Weird. Stupid links I'll fix that up.

And for sure, so now we've had 5 "what's up's" and 1 actual conversation HAHA

The camera isn't worth getting fixed, they sell used for about $500-750 now. I sent it in for a new hotshoe and was quoted $500, I'm sure a sensor would be more than it was worth.

2001: $8000
2005: $1400
2008: $0

Maybe it can be a Christmas present for Emmi? I'm sure she'd love it, sensor issue or not.

Baby's first 1D!

Hrm.

Took a look inside my 220 back today and was left scratching my head. No idea what to do with it (and, no Ken, I didn't end up crying in a pile of 220 back gears and springs haha).


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