An Almost-Emergency

Today, Brian decided to try and clean his sensor on his camera. He went to the local camera store and bought a $30 kit that is supposed to help clean dust off of his sensor. Keep in mind that his Canon 5D is a $1500 minimum camera, and that the sensor is 90% of the cost. He went in to clean it and somehow, it was dirtier after he cleaned it than before. So, he tried to clean it again, and still, there was that same spot on the camera.

Most places recommend that you get the sensor professionally cleaned considering how expensive the sensor is. However, to have both of his cameras cleaned, it would cost about $130 not including the gas to drive an hour in traffic to the only camera store around that does it. He spent the next 30 minutes yelling and screaming and throwing things because he had just ruined his camera, and said that he was going to just sell all of his equipment and just quit the business and be done with it all.

This, of course, was all for naught, as I asked if I could take a look at it. He showed me where the dust or "scratch" was. I opened the camera up and could see the place that he was talking about on his sensor. Carefully I took the swab out, put the cleaning solution on it, and swabbed the sensor, pressing hard enough to clean it but not so hard as to scratch it. Diligently I worked, swishing, swabbing, over and over again, turning it around in the light to see if I had missed a spot. When I was content with it, I handed it over to Brian to have him test it. He went outside, took a picture of the sky (that's how you can see the dust), and then gave me a hug. He just hadn't tried hard enough and was freaking out for nothing.

The moral of the story? Don't ever write something off until you've had someone else take a look at it. You might just be surprised at what they could find!