How to Clean your Camera Sensor using Swabs

How to Clean your Camera Sensor using Swabs

A wet clean (using swabs) is the most effective way of cleaning your sensor and will remove pretty much all sensor dust. 

What you will need to do this Is a sensor swab and also sensor cleaning fluid, which you can buy in a kit on our website. Ensure you buy the right sized kit for your camera.

  • Turn the camera onto sensor cleaning mode (lock all aspects of camera - mirror, stabilisation etc...)
  • Add a few drops of solution to the end of the swab. Do not over wet the swab as this will cause streaking on the sensor, making it less clean than to begin with.

  • Keep the swab in the air for 10 seconds before putting on sensor.
  • Place the wet swab onto the sensor at one side and gently move the swab across the length of the sensor. 

  • When you reach the far end of the sensor, lift the swab and using the other side of the swab repeat the process back to where you began.
  • You will then have a clean sensor.

(We are not reliable and are not telling you to clean your sensor in this way) However it is a perfectly normal way to clean your sensor and many photographers use this process.

The main thing to be careful about is if you have stabilisation in your camera that you don’t want to put too much pressure on it because it’s quite delicate. In some cameras you can also lock the stabilisation. Also If you have a mirror camera rather than a mirrorless camera you will want to lock it up before starting this process.

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