DSLR sensor cleaning is scary. The first time I did it, I was mentally chanting all the prayers I knew, and was hoping I don’t end up visiting the service center with a scratched sensor. Technically, it is not the sensor itself that is being cleaned. There is a high pass filter over the sensor which you are touching during the cleaning process. Nevertheless, any damage to the high pass filter/sensor would mean a lot of money spent on repairs. Luckily everything went fine and by now I am quite confident of cleaning my camera’s sensor. I use a product called a Lenspen (which I refer to as sensor pen) and at $9 I think it is one of the cheapest and most effective dry cleaning methods. Other products like the Arctic Butterfly and Copperhill system are all above $10 (even running into hundreds of dollars).

Apart from numerous online resources, there is a website dedicated to different cleaning methods which you can read to compare the various products available in the market. Some even suggest buying a paint brush made of high quality bristles to make a cleaning brush at home. I am not daring enough to try that, but if you are go head and see if it works

In the video below I show how to clean the camera’s sensor using the Lenspen. For anyone changing lenses in the field, this kind of product is indispensable. I have cleaned my camera’s sensor more than a dozen times now and never had a problem with the Lenspen. Newer cameras come with built-in sensor cleaning methods but the word on the street is that they are not very effective. If you change lenses, dusty environment or not, you will some day have to clean your sensor. I am not sure if camera service centers in India clean sensors, but if they do then you could get it done professionally because none of these products are available in India last time I checked.

One important point to note is that dust bunnies usually show up only at higher apertures so sensor dust may not be a cause of concern if you are the types who shoots wide open. Also, dust bunnies can be cleaned in post processing so all is not lost if you have a dirty sensor and no cleaning product in hand. So go ahead and watch this video and see for yourself what it takes to face your fears and touch the heart of your camera!

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