A clean photo is a happy photo

There is nothing worse than going in to edit some photos and seeing dust all over your images. Dust is a nasty little devil that can really give you a headache in post production. Dust on your images can come from a few different places: your lens, the subject itself or your image sensor (assuming you are using a DSLR – if not move along, this post is not for you). Dust on any or all of these areas can lead to a really dirty photo, like this:

If you click on the image to enlarge, you can see the image is extremely dirty, and would take quite a bit of time to take out all those little specks. A good way to tell if you have dust on your equipment is to take a picture of the sky, as this is where these little monsters show up best. Keep in mind I am talking about dust on the final image, not when you look through your camera. Dust can often collect on your viewfinder or mirrors, but those dust particles will not end up on your final image.

Getting rid of dust is relatively intuitive: clean it! This is pretty self-explanatory for your subject matter and your lenses. Investing in a good anti-static lens cloth is definitely worth it, and not too terribly expensive. In my experience, the lens paper works okay but can also leave its own little particles behind. Cleaning your sensor, however, is a different story and can be scary. You can opt to take it somewhere to do it. The plus side to this is they accept the liability should your sensor get damaged in the process. However, another photographer once complained to me, “I paid 50 @#$% dollars to watch him swab a @#$% stick and stick it in there.” So. If something like that would anger you, I would suggest buying a swab and doing it yourself. I got two different types of cleaning devices:

$13.99 for pack of four

$6.95 with two “cleaning pads” (aka alcohol swabs)

First, remove your lens or body cover. Then go into your camera menu and find the “Sensor Clean” function. This flips up the mirror and exposes the sensor for cleaning until you turn off the camera.

I will start with the “Speck Grabber Pro.”

Overall Rating: meh

Pros: Reusable, alcohol swabs can be replaced cheaply, cheaper price.

Cons: The tool needs to be cleaned quite often or else you risk dragging a fleck of dust across your sensor, thus scratching it. Use of this tool also requires an extremely light touch.

Overall, it wasn’t an easy process. It also comes with teeny tiny directions that mostly cover any liability on the company should you accidentally damage your sensor. That many warnings can make one nervous about how often the tool has damaged a sensor. (I practiced first on my old 10D just in case.)

Hi there, pointy little rubber thing. You’re not gonna hurt my camera, are you?

Now, the Sensor Swab:

Overall Rating: Yay!

Pros: The swab is shaped just the right size for your sensor. The process is much easier, just wipe across and back. No cleaning. Instructions were clear and simple despite the fact that I ripped them apart while opening the package.

Cons: They are a more expensive option, and you have to make sure you are buying the right one for your type of sensor.

This swab was really easy to use, and the instructions even tell you how much pressure to apply (push until the stick bends a little), so you know you aren’t doing it too hard. I could also see the dust flecks on the swab after i finished. I don’t know why this makes it better, but it provided resolution to the process. I could look at those little dusties and say, “Aha! Gotcha!”

So the winner is: Sensor Swab, due to its ease of use and lack of maintenance. Now I am ready to shoot clean. Are you?