Dirty Sensor - Time to Clean?

[THXGEEK]

I'm on the fence for cleaning my A1II sensor. I rarely shoot at F/22 so I'm inclined to wait...

What do you think?

• ILCE-1M2
• FE 28-70mm F2 GM
• 64.0 mm
• ƒ/22
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 2500

 

[Unframed Dave]

Yes, I would.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Try a blower by itself - it may shift the speck.

 

[Chris 3754]

I agree with Tony and would try a blower with the camera held pointing down. I haven't tried cleaning my a1ii sensor yet, but I did clean my a7iii and a7iv with a quality sensor-cleaning kit after my local camera shop showed me how. I never had a problem; the key is not to overclean or press too hard. The problem with a speck is that you don't know what the speck is, and if it's something that could harm/scratch the sensor itself.

 

[iamdlewis]

The problem with a speck is that you don't know what the speck is, and if it's something that could harm/scratch the sensor itself.

The image is a flip of what the sensor is so you should be able to find each speck

 

[THXGEEK]

Thanks, gents.

Yes, I've cleaned the sensor on my Z8 several times so I did try the blower first. No luck.

So I proceeded with a very gentle swab cleaning. To my surprise the A1II sensor seems to be mounted on a floating platform - it is not firmly stationed like my Z8. Hmmm, that's interesting....

The end result is that I've only moved the debris around and have apparently made it worse :

• ILCE-1M2
• 67.0 mm
• ƒ/22
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 500

...If there is one advantage of middle age, it is that you acquire the wisdom to know when to stop before you really ckuf it up. So I'll look at it tomorrow when I'm a little less pissed off.

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Dammit.

 

[Unframed Dave]

Using a blower is a start point after trying the camera's on board cleaning cycle. Best practice is to use a blower with a filter on the intake, otherwise you can introduce more artefacts to the sensor. I have found neither to be very effective if the artefact doesn't want to budge.

Another tool, before introducing a swab is a quickly rotating synthetic brush. This relies on static attraction not brushing.

Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly 724 (Super Bright) | Wex Photo Video

www.wexphotovideo.com

These are very expensive for what they are and in all honesty, they do not remove stubborn dirt. I bought one second-hand and have pretty well given up using it. It must be stressed that no part of it ever touches the sensor. A steady hand is required.

A swab is the final step and it is best to check something like a YouTube video out, if you've never done it before. I always do it with the camera turned on so that the sensor is locked. Contrary to a lot of advice I've seen, I have always used very sparing amounts of sensor cleaning fluid, just sufficient to wet the whole cleaning edge.

If that fails, I take it to the shop. I get one free clean a year, which is a nice touch from Wex.

Definitely not a task to undertake if you're feeling at odds with yourself or others.

I would absolutely not volunteer to do somebody else's camera.

 

[THXGEEK]

Thanks Dave.

Yup, I pretty much followed that progression of steps. As I said, I've cleaned the sensor on my Nikon Z8 several times without any drama and with very good results, so this was surprising.

I did not know about leaving the camera on to lock the sensor in place, this would explain the sensor 'float' I experienced. I'll wait until my job calms down later today and think about giving it another go. If I chicken out, then I'll let Sony do it (I'm a SPS member and I'm due for a cleaning anyway).

Appreciate the technical (and moral) support!

 

[spudhead]

so sensor cleaning can be a real pain sometimes, I never use blowers near sensors. My go too for light specks is as mentioned before arctic butterfly, which I have used for about 10 years now. A couple of years ago I bought my Son a new a7r5 for his travel shots as he spends a lot of time in the far east. well when he came back from his first trip with the camera he handed it back stating there was a huge speck stuck to the sensor! and yes he was not wrong. It turned out to be a speck of resin from a lens change while in a forest had glued it self to the sensor, I cleaned that sensor 6 or 7 times and each time it just would not move, but worse than that it moved residue across the entire sensor. So finally it did move and 3-4 more cleans took care of the rest of the smears. I use full frame sensor swabs and a couple of drops of sensor fluid, followed by an almost dry swab if needed after to clean smears

 

[iamdlewis]

So I proceeded with a very gentle swab cleaning. To my surprise the A1II sensor seems to be mounted on a floating platform - it is not firmly stationed like my Z8. Hmmm, that's interesting....

You know there is a cleaning mode. It does the anti dust shake and then locks the sensor. Even gives you the nice message of

• Galaxy S23 Ultra
• 2.2 mm
• ƒ/2.2
• 384/10000 sec
• ISO 800

The sensors are not as fragile as many lead you to believe. The reason why they all say to get them cleaned professionally is that if you do screw up big time then they can take no blame.

 

[OscarPhilips]

Cleaning sensors scares the crap out of me, so I wait until there is a Photo Event at my local camera shop and let them do it for free. If you are in northern Ohio, the next event at The Pixel Connection, where sensor cleaning is being offered, is the Spring Sale & Expo, May 30, 2026, at their Avon, Ohio, location.

The Pixel Connection runs a lot of free and low cost photography activities in both the northern Ohio area and Nashville area.

 

[THXGEEK]

Success!

I can report the sensor is in much better shape than yesterday...

• ILCE-1M2
• FE 28-70mm F2 GM
• 70.0 mm
• ƒ/22
• 1/500 sec
• ISO 1000

Still a few iffy areas, but nothing to lose sleep over.

Thanks!

 

[THXGEEK]

...and I think I'll give that Arctic Butterfly a try.

 

[Unframed Dave]

...and I think I'll give that Arctic Butterfly a try.

Wait until the DTs have worn off.