This is tip #26 of 101 digital imaging tips I plan to post here over the next few months. Stay tuned.
Today's tip: Manually activate your camera's self-cleaning feature
Many of today's digital SLRs automatically clean the sensor when you turn on and off the camera.That feature works quite well in removing small particles from the low-pass filter that's placed over the image sensor.
A more effective method is to manually activate the self-cleaning feature.
Also, before an important shoot, shoot a test shot of the sky. Open the image in your image-editing program and search for dust spots. If they are still visible even after you have manually activated the self-cleaning feature, use a blower to try to remove them. Still there? I recommend having a professional clean your sensor. Why? If you use a swab and cleaning fluid, it's not impossible that you could turn the spots into streaks. I have seen that happen more than a few times.
Explore the light,
Rick
A more effective method is to manually activate the self-cleaning feature.
Also, before an important shoot, shoot a test shot of the sky. Open the image in your image-editing program and search for dust spots. If they are still visible even after you have manually activated the self-cleaning feature, use a blower to try to remove them. Still there? I recommend having a professional clean your sensor. Why? If you use a swab and cleaning fluid, it's not impossible that you could turn the spots into streaks. I have seen that happen more than a few times.
Explore the light,
Rick