Had a chat with an old photog that made me rethink how I clean sensors

Met a retired wedding photographer at a camera swap in Portland last weekend. He told me he's never used a wet cleaning kit in 30 years, just a blower and steady hands. Said he'd seen more sensors ruined by swabs than dust spots. It hit different because I just spent $40 on a new cleaning kit and now I'm wondering if I'm overcomplicating things. Has anyone else gone back to basics with sensor cleaning and regretted it or loved it?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliviadixon7d ago

Yeah, the "more sensors ruined by swabs than dust spots" part really stuck with me too. That guy has been around long enough to know what's up. I used to be all about wet cleaning kits until I watched a buddy mess up his mirrorless sensor with a swab that was slightly too dry, left a streak he couldn't get out. Switched to just a blower and a good brush a couple years ago, and honestly, I've never had a dust spot that bothered me enough to risk it again. So no, you're not crazy for questioning that $40 kit. Most of us are just doing too much.

cameron7247d ago

Dude, your buddy's story hits close to home. I had a friend who bought a fancy wet cleaning kit, followed every YouTube tutorial to the letter, and still managed to leave a residue that looked like someone smeared grease on his sensor. He spent like an hour trying to fix it with more swabs and ended up making it worse. He finally just sent the camera to a shop and let a pro handle it. So yeah, that blower and brush method might be boring but it's way less risky.