Z6III Dirty Sensor

[ckqualls]

Took some photos and saw 3 "dots" on photo. Cleaned lens, still there.

I pulled lens and can see two of them. I tried camera's sensor cleaner, no better. I heard nothing during cleaning. Is this normal?

I'm hesitant to use cleaning "swab" because Im afraid of scratching the sensor.is that a valid fear? Since it's visible I'm concerned it might be gritty.

I don’t have a cleaning kit. I believe some have a small "blower". Is that safe with a spec I can see visually? If it's safe for me to clean, can anyone recommend a kit brand?

I'm in Dallas and Competitive Camera is here. If I decide to have a pro clean it are they a safe choice or would you send camera to Nikon?

Thank You.

 

[BF Hammer]

Buy a blower and a swab kit with cleaning fluid. It's no big deal, you will be doing this cleaning kind of regularly. You are not going to damage the sensor because the part you are touching is a glass UV/infrared filter in front of the sensor.

As you already see, it is really easy to access, and I expect the camera shop is going to charge $80 or more per cleaning. Multiply that out 3 to 8 cleanings per year.

 

[BF Hammer]

Ps: The sensor cleaning function is silent, it just is vibrating the in-body image stabilizer motors to try to shake the dust off. Static electric forces are hard to overcome that way.

Just a drop of fluid on a full-frame sensor swab is the best way. Swipe across going one direction then immediately swipe back the opposite direction. All done, then throw away the swab.

 

[Clovishound]

Try one of the hand squeeze blowers first. Sometimes you can dislodge the dust with just that. Don't use one of the canned "air" products. The swabs are a little scary to use the first time or two. I cleaned my Z5 sensor with them many, many times. One trick that can help identify dust and where it lies on the sensor is to take a small flashlight and shine it from a low angle across the sensor. It will highlight the dust very nicely.

Unfortunately, dust on the sensor is a fact of life with mirrorless cameras. The only way around it is to be very careful when changing lenses. Keep the camera pointed down, and arrange everything to keep the time without a lens coupled to a minimum. Even then, you will get dust from time to time. Apparently, the operation of the sensor creates a static charge that attracts dust. The Z8 and Z9 have a sensor cover that you can program to come down over the sensor whenever you turn the camera off. Just be sure and turn off the camera prior to changing lenses and Robert is your mother's brother. I've had my Z8 for nearly a year and have yet to need to clean the sensor.

 

[Woodyg3]

Try the bulb air blower first. (It looks like a small turkey baster, if you haven't seen one before). I find that 90% of my dust specks go away just by blowing with the opening facing down. Eventually you'll need to clean with a swab or pay someone to do it. I'm not familiar with Competitive Camera, so I would ask some local camera buffs what their experiences have been. If you do it yourself, just take your time and be careful. It's not a hard thing to do, but you do need to be patient.