In lieu of the post I had planned tonight, head on over to the photoblog and read about my brush with the law. Clearly I've got all the right friends. Friends that will probably get me arrested for the Lamest. Reason. Ever. one of these days. Lamezor... like trespassing abandoned factory ruins.
*yawn*
I mean, if I'm gonna get arrested it better be for something good. Good like, driving the getaway car @ 120mph down I94. Or getting caught skinny dipping at that one lake in Uptown. Ha ha ha, funny.
Anyway. I did come out of my excursion yesterday with a newfound revelation. The kind of revelation that makes itself known on THREE HUNDRED FREAGIN' PHOTOGRAPHS. The kind of revelation that makes one sad instead of happy. So sad because now I know there's a big ol' smudge inside the body of my camera.
So, like, this one goes out to all my geeky photograhper friends because I can't imagine anyone else is gonna have an answer or have any notable advice. There is now a big ol' mark living inside my camera body and making a guest appearance in the upper left corner of all my photographs (no matter which lens I use). This makes me depressed for several reasons, the most important being that I don't want to pay $200 bucks to have some "authorized Nikon dealer" blow in to it to clear the darn thing up. Never fear, I'm not gonna go blowing anything in to my camera any time soon... but I've never cleaned camera innards before and could definitely use a few pointers from someone who's already been down that road and fucked all their shit up (so I don't have to).
Help? Anyone? Pretty please with photographs of abandoned ammunitions facilities on top?
Comments
Two suggestions:
1. For the love of all that is holy, DO NOT USE COMPRESSED AIR. It could potentially freeze your sensor and seriously fux0r your camera. Not to mention the accelerants used can leave a residue behind that makes your sensor look like it's been used as an ashtray.
2. I've gotten good at cleaning my own sensor using the Copperhill method, here: http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning Once you get the hang of things, it's not so bad.
3. I've also heard good things about the Hurricane Blower although I've never used one personally.
Ok, that was really three suggestions. Math is hard.
Very good info up there from Steve.
There is a whole thread about cleaning your sensor on FLickr. It is mainly for Canon 20D cameras, but the same basics apply.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon20d/discuss/72057594081291566/
and even more here:
http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.html
I have cleaned mine in emerencies with a brand new makeup brush.
Hurricane Blower sounds like a Caribbean Porn movie.
Here's a product I've had recommended to me. I keep hoping someone I know will buy one so I can borrow it, rather than having to buy it myself. Hint?
My brother had success clearing dust from the sensor on his D70 by blowing air on it with a turkey baster he picked up. As previously said don't even consider canned air. This actually looks like a pretty good guide (in a surprising place).
Thanks for all your suggestions guys! I think I'm going to go ahead with the Copperhill method. After what I've read, this sounds pretty slick (and more importantly... cheaper than bringing it to a Nikon dealer).
I'll keep ya posted on how it turns out.