Spot On - Keep your sensor clean!
The brain has a bit of fog at the moment. The thinking and being creative side is not firing on all cylinders. Hence the blogs are not flowing.
I innocently fired a text to one of my good friends. We often discuss photography and he is usually full of useful suggestions. The conversation went something like this
Eugene: What should I write a blog on?
Friend: Composition?
Eugene: Yeah maybe
Eugene: eep the ideas coming, I think I have brain fog
Friend: About how important it is to keep your sensor clean?
Friend: And save time on your processing?
Eugene: Very
F*****g
Funny
Friend: hahahahahaha
Eugene: The last time I took an image there was only one dust spot on it!!
The cheek of it. Teasing me about my dirty sensor. I sat there an stewed for about 30 minutes trying to come up with a better (and less insulting) idea. I couldn’t. So here is a blog on why you should keep your sensor clean.
The last time I took an image there was only one dust spot on it!! This is actually true but also not always the case. I don’t clean the sensor that often. A – because it is a terrifying experience, B – it’s quite time consuming and C – it gets dirty quite quickly.
My confession: “My name is Eugene Theron. I’m a landscape photographer and I have a dirty sensor”
I have invested in a pretty good array of equipment to keep the sensor clean and in good condition. However, I’m not going to go into depth about how to clean your sensor as I think I would bore myself to death writing it. I will post a link to the sensor cleaning equipment at the end of the blog.
Landscape photography by nature is an outdoor pursuit and being outdoors there is a lot of dirt. Shoot in the outdoors, or anywhere in west Wales, and that dirt moves around a lot. Wind blows dust around and whether you can see it or not it can get on your camera sensor. Especially when changing lenses. Change a lens on a windy mountain side and this problem is exacerbated . Mirrorless cameras, such as my Sony A7ii, are especially prone to getting dirty sensors. The distance between the sensor and the outside of the lens mount is reduced when compared to a DSLR or film camera.
One of the main reasons to keep your sensor in a clean state is that it will cut your time in post processing down significantly. Especially if you have ignored cleaning duties for a while. You could end up spending a good deal of time cloning out dust spots. If these spots are in a area of your image with lots of detail, the task is that much more onerous. Larger dust spots or even larger specks of dirt on the screen can be your enemy in post processing.
Dust spots and dirt grains are clearly evident
Turn the ‘visialise spots’ funtion on and you see even more dust
Not only do dust spots make post processing more complicated than it needs to be (says the man who can spend hours on one image) but they can prevent light reaching the sensor and can also potentially cause damage. Especially larger specks of dirt and water. This is by far the most expensive component in your camera and damage will render it useless. Scratched and damaged sensors are not possible to repair. An expensive trip to your local dealer for a new camera will result.
Honestly I do try to take good care of my gear in the field. Sometimes no matter how hard you try dust will get on your sensor. It’s inevitable. Taking care when chaning lenses is key. Try and cover things up when changing and be quick about it. If it’s pouring with rain or a dust storm; don’t change your lens. You will damage it. There must be a shot you can take with the lens that is currently on the camera.
For those of you who are interested, here are the link to the equipment I use to keep my sensor clean:
Visible Dust Sensor Cleaning Swabs and Solution - https://visibledust.com/
Giottos GTAA1900 Rocket Air Blower - http://www.giottos.com/pro_view.aspx?nId=8&TypeId=77
If you are not comfortable cleaning your own sensor many camera stores do offer a cleaning service. My local store offers this service so click on the link to find out more about it - https://www.cambrianphoto.co.uk/products/sensor-cleaning-service?variant=34679958110363
Happy shooting and stay clean!