What to do with dust on DSLR.

[R_Lefebvre]

It's not IN the camera yet, but it got a little dusty sitting on the passenger seat with the windows down, following behind other trucks. I blew it off by lung, and brushed off what I could by hand. Is there anything else I should do to clean it? I thought about blowing it off with compressed air, but that might force it inside?

Normally it's in a Pelican case, but I hate taking it in and out of the case all day long while I'm using it.

 

[Colorado David]

I use a bulb blower on my cameras every time before changing lenses. The sensor is covered by the mirror and the shutter, so the most common means of getting dust on a sensor is that static electricity attracts dust particles once they find their way inside the body. I would avoid anything that would have a tendency to build up static such as compressed air. If it were my camera, I would probably clean the exterior of the camera and lens barrel with the e-tronic wipes that are available at office stores. I would clean it with several of the wipes until I could no longer find any visible sign of dust on the used wipe. Use several wipes so as not to just move the dust around. Good luck.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

I went to the hardware store and bought the softest paint brush they had. I keep it in the center console and use it to dust off the outside of the camera when it gets covered like that.

I especially use it first before changing lenses. Use the brush, then use the Rocket Blower, then if there is soemthing really stubborn, I get out a cloth and wipe it down.

Usually the soft bristled brush works really well

 

[DasZuk]

Soft rubber bulb blower is probably the safest for the interior,
most exteriors are sealed pretty good,
the gremlins seem to get in when changing lenses... :littlefriend:

My last bad attack of Dust Gremlins was on the ferry ride from Bella Coola to Port Hardy -
I was changing lenses and fibres jumped off my sweater -
We had to wait until Port Hardy when we found a can of dust off in a computer store.
Dust off stays at home now -
Don't have to worry about the risk of liquid propellant squirting out
if the can hasn't stabilized after bouncing around in the back of a Suzuki.

 

[Redline]

x2, I carry a little brush.

I went to the hardware store and bought the softest paint brush they had. I keep it in the center console and use it to dust off the outside of the camera when it gets covered like that.

I especially use it first before changing lenses. Use the brush, then use the Rocket Blower, then if there is soemthing really stubborn, I get out a cloth and wipe it down.

Usually the soft bristled brush works really well

 

[almac]

Brushing it off the best you can is a good thing.
next best thing to do is turn off your camera, before removing the lens. apparently the sensor is like a dust magnet when it has power to it.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

One thing you want to remember if you're gonna use any kind of wet cloth on the outside of the lens when it's got dust or dirt on it, is if the cloth is wet, it turns the dirt/dust to mud!!

This is another reason I always brush the lens off very good before wiping it down.

Same with the actual glass on the front of the lens. I always use the rocket blower first, then the brush, then wipe it down. If you go to wipe dirt or dust off the glass, you're basically just rubbing sand and dirt into the glass

I know that sounds very basic, but I see people do it all the time and it makes me cringe

 

[Wander]

I work for a catalog company and our photog uses compressed air and cleaning brushes (he likes the kit from B&H in NYC) He shoots the air onto the brush to create static and then uses the static on the brush to attract the dust from the camera.