Nikon Z6ii: Sensor cleaning

[@mistergiovanni7183]

Hi Frederick knowing how to clean the sensor is something very important and necessary, also avoid dirtying it. I'm a maniac for sensor cleaning because I hate having to do touch-ups in Lightroon because a dirty sensor. The things and the order you use are fine but -sorry for this "but"-: that brush is useless, it's too big and thick, you did well to put it aside. The brushes that serve are for example those of the brand VisibleDust. And what was missing to do a good job and not blindly is the magnifying glass! There are models that come with a light and focus adjustment, so you can see where is the dirt on the sensor surface. You have to try it because with that you will be able to tell if the sensor was clean. You can also see what kind of dirt it is. Sometimes it can be dust and sometimes it can be something more sticky, pollen or even the shutter oil itself (as it happened with some D600 models). The sensor attracts dust because as it is charged with energy it always has some static and when cleaning it, dust or lint from the environment can settle. And if you're in a very drafty environment it can sometimes be very difficult to get it right if you can't see the surface of the sensor. Some advise doing it in the bathroom and with the bathtub with a little water so that the fluff from the environment stays there.If, after cleaning it well, a piece of trash lands on the sensor, then static charges the brush with the rocket and you pass the brush right where that dirt is so that it sticks to the brush. Back to cleaning, then you pass air to the brush to clean it and you do this away from the sensor, already covered. And leave the brush clean and well stored for future use. The swab is used only once because otherwise you would be carrying the garbage from one place to another to the sensor.You should never touch the brush with your fingers, or anything that will touch the glass that protects the sensor. Before going to the sensor you have to clean the area of ​​the mount and the metal mount itself. It can be done with lens cleaning paper and the same cleaning liquid, wet is better because it prevents dust from flying. You also need to clean the mount on the lens and lenses and clean the backs of the plastic lens caps. Try to avoid changing lenses outside and if necessary do it inside a bag or a more appropriate environment, for example inside a car. When changing lenses, never do it with the sensor looking at the sky, as you said before, always use Newton's law in our favor. Sorry for the length and my english, several of these things were taught to me by a technician and I hope others will find it useful. Thank you very much, greetings bro.

[@frederikboving]

Thank you MG for a comprehensive comment! Love it! I have made this a pinned comment so it should stay on top, so others will hopefully see it and learn a lot from reading it.Sorry for not replying sooner, but sometimes comments are held for review, and it takes a little time for me to find it.

[@georgedavall9449]

Not too shabby of a comment! I can concur with just about everything said here. My advice, BE diligent in your lens swaps. I tend to be OCD when it coms to ‘rocket blowing ‘ the inside of lens caps, around the lens mount before removing a lens, etc etc. Peace

[@MLJ7424]

6 swabs later i got my wife's z6ii clean Thank you !!!!

[@frederikboving]

👍💪

[@mamo4104]

Fantastic, another great, thank you.

[@frederikboving]

Thank you 🙏🏻 for the kind words 👌

[@lewisfilms]

On Sony camera you have to tell the camera to enter clean mode which locks the ibis sensor mechanism in place so you can swab the sensor safely. Do you not have to do that for Nikon? You just turn the camera off and the sensor is locked in place?

[@frederikboving]

Thank you for your good question. Locking the sensor for cleaning is - as far as I know - not an option on the Nikon Z6ii. You can have the camera clean the sensor automatically (menu option) in which it will vibrate the sensor to throw dust and particles off. But I have not found any documentation that it is possible to lock the sensor unfortunately.

[@lewisfilms]

@ after doing a bit more research it sounds like Nikon z camera always lock the sensor in place when powered down. So as long as the camera is shutdown it should be safe to clean the sensor with a swab. Does this seem accurate?

[@frederikboving]

@@lewisfilms The manual unfortunately does not mention that the sensor is locked when the camera is turned off, so I cannot confirm this, unfortunately. Also Nikon does not (actively) recommend wet cleaning yourself and has no instructions how to do so.

[@georgedavall9449]

Very well presented video here, with clear and concise information. You have covered it well, Frederik. WOW wow at all those spots! 🤩 Your procedure is probably the best, and is what a lot of online tutorials advise, regarding shooting a wall, etc. I prefer a nice blue sky, shot at infinity, and F14, 16, 22 usually does the job. I think the best course of action is to avoid touching/cleaning the sensor at all! Of course, there will come a time when the dust spots, or oil spots will become too numerous or noticeable. I tend to only worry if they will be in the sky portion of my shots. And since I usually try and stay away from the DL apertures, it is less of a problem. But you said well my friend; those pesky spots will never be 100% banished! 😆 👍👍👍✌📷😉

[@frederikboving]

Thank you George! Always positive feedback from you! And today I think I learned a new abbreviation: DL = Diffraction limited? I once saw some extremely beautiful images by a macro photographer who often shot at F/32 or something along those lines and he was of the opinion that diffraction was overrated (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYq6fnuGjMyfeKs). Take care!

[@georgedavall9449]

@@frederikboving You're Welcome Frederik! I am at a loss; I dont know which is better, your videos, or your replies to your viewers! 😊 Hard to be anything but positive with regards to You and your channel, my friend! 😉 👍 Yeah, Diffraction Limiting… I believe it is not as severe at times, as some make out? But I always tried to stay below F8.0 with my D7100. Images do get softer as the aperture gets closed down. As with anything, it all depends on the scene, lighting, etc etc, as you know. YMMV as I like to say! 😃 And when shooting Macro, a Photographer has to stop way down, but of course with Focus Stacking, that is negated? I would make a suggestion: Did you ever consider making a Calendar? I would encourage you to do so. I know you have way more than 12 excellent images to put into a Calendar. Just a thought… 💭 Best always

[@frederikboving]

@@georgedavall9449 Thank you George! I once had an exhibition of some of my images, and there was some other photographers next door with a different exhibition. In a lunch break we discussed the production of calendars, and they were cautious about it, as it is a very season specific product. Come 1st of January and the value of your stock declines rapidly. So you need to have some idea about how many you can sell, if that was your thinking. Otherwise I prefer to print my images and hang them on my walls in the living room. As they say: if you can't stand looking at your own images, why do you think others can? I often think of that as a quality benchmark.

[@georgedavall9449]

@@frederikboving What a great point! You had me laughing at the end! 😆 I needed that, as my Septic Man came and together, we figured out where the tank was, and ‘freed up’ the system! Bad news is, in the process, he inadvertently severed my Internet cable, so I am ‘Hot Spotting’ this out, so lucky for all, it B Short!!! 😂 BEST !!!

[@therampanthamster]

very useful, thank you. Just one question - do you literally just swipe once to the right and then once back to the left and that's it?

[@frederikboving]

Yes. The swipe to the right picks up the dirt on one side of the swiper and the reverse swipe picks up the smaller dirt / leftovers with the other side of the swipe. So you only use clean sides of the swipe. If you repeat, you'll run the risk that the dirt picked up in the first two swipes will be re-applied to the sensor. So if you want to swipe more = pick up a new swipe. It is the safe way to go about it. I know that budget consciousness will make it tempting to use the swiper more times, but my advice is to stay on the safe side and only use it once.

[@peggyhiggins5410]

Thanks for your meticulous instructions. My question is pretty basic. How did you get the screen in Lightroom to show the 6000 x 4000 sensor in the top right corner? And how did you correct for it?

[@frederikboving]

In developing mode, hit the 'I' button to toggle through different display options. It may be that the standard setup gives the resolution- I don't remember anymore. I think the difference in value is due to cropping but it is a guess.

[@georgedavall9449]

Well, I lost my comment!?! Just the way things are going for me lately. 😞 Nice video Frederik, and well presented. Gosh, what a ton of spots and stuff you had there! 🤩 But your cleaning was a success. Best advice on cleaning a sensor, don't. Yes, it will become necessary at one point in time. I guess I am just OCD about changing lenses, and ‘rocket blowing’ the caps, the lens mount area, and around the base of the lens, etc etc before removing it. A lot of ‘stuff’ can get into the camera body, by a dirty rear lens cap, and /or rear element area. Something a lot of folk don’t think about. Cant remember my other point(s). Lost with my lost comment. Oh well. Take care 👍✌📷😊

[@frederikboving]

Hi George, I got both your posts, so no worries! Yes, my cameras get very dirty - probably because I buy all of them used! My Nikon D700 was so dirty when I got it that it was almost funny! It was as if someone had rolled it down a mountain of dirt before sending it to me! But I also "collect" a lot of sensor dust because I shoot at the beach and even if you don't change lenses on the site and the camera is claimed to be waterproof, the little salt particles somehow find their way into the camera anyway! So even though I am not super comfortable with the cleaning process, I have come to learn that at some point in time when you spend 30 minutes removing spots in LR on a single image, you'll appreciate that the process is simply a part of being a photographer.

[@georgedavall9449]

@@frederikboving Hi Frederik, I see that now? It was strange, it was as if my message went away before I could hit the reply button? Oh well, the more the better, eh! 😉 Oh, I know what you mean, and not intending to sound critical. I think certain cameras are like ‘dust magnets?’ I don't recall if I told you, but I purchased a D750, many moons ago, refurbished, from Adorama. It probably had more spots than yours did! I was like, are you kidding me?! One would think/expect a ‘Refurbished’ camera to be better than that? It had a couple of other issues, and so I had to regrettably send it back. But I really liked that camera. Bought my used D700, from Adorama, and whilst the sensor and all were not an issue, it either came from a heavy smoker, or someone that ‘doused’ themselves in cologne?! It had a really raucous smell to the hand grip area, and every time I put the camera up to my eye, I was reminded of it. 🤢 But with time, the smell abated, and it has served me well, over the years. Do you think your Z6ii is more susceptible to getting debris on the sensor, Frederik? I ask as there are those who contend it is more of a problem with Mirrorless cameras? Sony seems to be really bad in this area, or so I have heard? Well, Ive gone on long enough! Best to you!

[@frederikboving]

@@georgedavall9449 I think ML cameras in general are more vulnerable, simply because the sensor sits more exposed and not hiding behind a mirror. I think there are some ML cameras that hide the sensor behind some sort of curtain so it is less vulnerable, but I have forgotten which brand it is. All the best!

[@georgedavall9449]

Ooops! Word complete strikes again! I DO KNOW what ‘raucous’ means, and I had intended for it to be ‘rank,’ but it chose the other, and I failed to catch it. Apologies. 🙄😃

[@georgedavall9449]

@@frederikboving Ooops, if I get anymore lame brained, well, that’s a topic for another day! 🙄 Canon drops it down in front of the Sensr, Frederik. Best! GO Algorithm’s!!! 😂 👍✌

[@shivsudarshan]

Do we need to keep camera power on while cleaning in order to keep ibis functional and keep sensor stable

[@frederikboving]

I turn the camera off, but must admit I have not reflected upon this - happy to hear other perspectives on this 🙏🏻

[@movementsh]

I don't know for sure about the Z6ii but I imagine it is the same as for the Z6. The Z6 locks the IBIS when the camera is turned off so I turn it off when cleaning.