How to Safely Clean a DSLR Sensor

If you’ve been too afraid of cleaning the sensor on your DSLR by yourself, fear no longer. The handy little gel stick featured in the video below will have you cleaning your gear like the pros do in just a matter of minutes. Watch the clip for a full review and instructions on how to have dust-free equipment:

Using a handy gel stick, like this one, takes out a lot of the fear involved in using a wet technique. By simply touching the end of the gel stick to your cameras sensor, the gel carefully lifts off any dust without damaging the sensor itself.

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Depending on which aperture you typically shoot at, you may not realize how much dust is even on your sensor. You can take a test shot by setting your camera to it’s smallest aperture, such as f/36, and taking a photo of a bright white sky. Expose a bright image without blowing out the highlights.

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Even if you rarely shoot with small apertures, it’s always a good idea to remove any dust that has accumulated on your sensor. In the video, the gel stick was also tested on a lens filter, the camera’s viewfinder, and the mirror with great success by using the side of the gel stick.

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8 responses to “How to Safely Clean a DSLR Sensor”

  1. LMLEYH says:

    I found various gel sticks on Amazon also. I live in Canada and Amazon.ca had gel sticks for much less than Photography Life which in Canada with Post and dollar difference comes to $88 ($55 for Amazon version delivered) in Canadian Dollars. I still ordered through Photography Life as these other Amazon gel sticks came from China. I have concerns of quality of the Chinese version and don’t feel I want to trust my sensor to a China version. They say they are Eyelead but Gucci bags from China aren’t the actual item either. I trust Nassim and Photography Life. It is a high price in Canadian funds but a wrecked sensor unit would even cost more. I have yet to receive this item and have wet cleaned my sensor in the past but I am looking for something easier and less time consuming. This sounds like it may be it.

  2. Diane Smith says:

    I bought this kit from Nasim Mansurov for $40.00 and extra sensor cleaning papers for 12.99 works amazingly well. Saves so much time in post. You will be amazed at the dirt thats on your sensor.

  3. Thanks for the warning. I ordered it thru PhotographyLife.com

  4. Joyce says:

    Why did this article add a link to the cheap version of the gel stick? A photographer could truly ruin their expensive camera using the wrong gel stick on their sensor. I expected more of Picture Correct..

  5. Anthony Lunn says:

    So I am left stranded not knowing who to believe!

  6. Rich Miller says:

    Buy from Nasem!!!!! The cost is $40 from him but only $11.72 for the Chinese knockoff from Amazon. How much is your camera worth?

  7. It shows on this page that they have this product on Amazon and I did find it there. I’m going to order this and try it out. I’ve never cleaned inside my camera either but there is one huge spot on the sensor that I always have to clone out when there is blue sky or something else solid colored. Thanks for posting – this will be a huge help.

  8. Thank you for posting this article!

    Just a word of warning to those who are looking into buying the sensor gel stick – the linked product in the above article is a Chinese fake. It is NOT the product that we are selling, which is manufactured in Germany. One of our readers bought something similar from eBay and he ended up with a lot of nasty residue on his sensor after the gel fell off on first use.

    Sincerely,
    Nasim

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