Where can I send/take my camera for sensor/internal cleaning?

February 17, 2009 9:52 AM

Where can I get my Canon d40 cleaned?

Due to a smudge of dust and then a very, very stupid insistance on my part of, "Surely I can just wipe/blow that off," borne out of frustration, I've got dust on my d40 sensor and one or two "swipes" (ie, I wiped something off on the clear plastic sensor cover that shouldn't have been wiped off.) -- or at least, on the plastic cover "drop-down" that covers the sensor. Excuse my lack of knowledge here.

That lack of knowledge is exactly why I don't want to attempt another do-it-yourself and want to send the camera off to be cleaned (with the knowledge I might need that plastic part replaced? I don't know.). The camera still works well -- most of the dust doesn't show up on final pictures, but there are one or two spots that do, and I know it's affecting my camera's performance (and just a continual source of disappointment at mucking up my pricey pride and joy.)

Any recommendations/ideas/experiences on dSLR cleaning would be appreciated. Again, I'd rather not DIY. The camera's primary use is recreational (mostly nature & portrait photography) and I'm willing to pay for my mistake at touching the plastic part in the first place.

Thanks in advance.

posted by atayah to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

You can send it to Canon for cleaning. Also it's 40D, not D40
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:14 AM on February 17

I don't know if there's any non-ritz type camera store around there, but most of them offer sensor cleaning services locally, and can tell you if you need any repairs. If you do need repairs, most places will just send it back to Canon.
posted by aubilenon at 10:14 AM on February 17

It sure is, 0xFCAF. People get my name wrong, too, though.

I'll definitely pursue Canon as they fixed a lens of mine last year without much issue, but any other recommendations would be appreciated, too.
posted by atayah at 10:19 AM on February 17

You should probably learn to do it yourself. It's not fun but it's doable. The thing is, you could send it to Canon, it comes back, more dirt gets dislodged and then you are screwed again.


http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

Might help. Sounds like you haven't done anything too bad yet. But yeah, you can't "sort of" do this. You need to learn what you are doing.
posted by sully75 at 11:25 AM on February 17

I use a camera repair shop here in Salt Lake called Foresters. It costs me, I know the dude so I think I'm getting a bit of a deal, about $40. Other than that I just try to be super careful changing lenses in clean environments. If you keep your lens on and change them fast a sensor clean should be a fairly rare event.
posted by trbrts at 12:32 PM on February 17

$50 is the going rate for it do be done professionally in Portaland Oregon. I just learned how to do it myself. Its the cleanroom sensor swabs that cost the bucks. The solution is cheap. It was very tedius and caused a bit of nervous sweat, but once I had my sensor cleaned, the act was dymistified.

Remember to check your sensor periodically, by taking a picture of clear blue sky and giving the image a good go over.

A good rocket blower, that you can keep in your bag is the best defense from unwanted specs. This should prevent you from having to tediously clean the sensor- as long as your vigilant.
posted by captainsohler at 4:07 PM on February 17

Oh, and your manual will guide through the process.
posted by captainsohler at 4:08 PM on February 17

Take it to a reputable camera repair shop (here in Seattle I use CameraTechs); they will clean it for you for $40.
posted by matildaben at 4:33 PM on February 17