IMPORTANT: Most of the newer D-SLR's have the feature where you will not be able to raise the mirror for cleaning unless the batteries have a sufficient charge. If your camera does not have this feature, we strongly advise purchasing an AC-adapter. Quite a few people have had to repair the shutter curtain because they relied on batteries to raise the mirror and hold the shutter open in the "Bulb" mode. When batteries give out as you're cleaning the sensor, the shutter can close on the swab. And, again, this is extremely important if you are cleaning an older D-SLR -

USE FULLY CHARGED BATTERIES OR AN AC-ADAPTER IF RAISING THE MIRROR IN THE BULB MODE.

 NOTE: The major camera companies' disclaimers regarding self-swabbing say in essence: "Don't even think about doing it yourself or the universe as we now know it will come to a screeching halt!" They are naturally covering their butts because they would have no control of the implements and techniques the general public might use. And they would much rather have you send your D-SLR into them every month or two for cleaning. We've heard they charge anywhere from $25 to $125 (they're not stupid, you know).

IMPORTANT:
Your first step here will be to apply the Eclipse to your PecPad-wrapped SensorSwipe. The Eclipse will come out of it's bottle lightning fast. So fast, in fact, that the last thing you will need to do is to squeeze the bottle. Just tip it over very gradually, and the two drops will come out on their own.

A guy robs a bank and takes hostages. He grabs one of them and says: "Did you see me rob that bank?" The man answers yes, and the robber shoots him in the head. He grabs another guy and says: "Did you see me rob that bank?" The man answers: "No, but my wife did."

#1 - After applying one or two drops of Eclipse on the tip of your swab, lock up the mirror, then remove the lens. Proceeding very carefully, guide your swab into the corner where you've chosen to start as shown in this photo. There is a rim or sidewall around most sensors which you should be able to see clearly. The idea is to "tuck" the SensorSwipe or Sensor*Swab right into that corner.

#2 - Using pressure maybe equal to writing with a pencil or pen, gently drag the moistened swab across the top half of the sensor, hugging the upper sidewall as you go.

#3 - Complete the stroke by going as far as the sidewall will permit (those of you with sensors without sidewalls, just barely overlap the sensor's edge). This may require a little practice - bringing the tip of the swab (with the dust) all the way to where the low pass filter meets the wall. If you are getting the center clean but are leaving dust at the edges, try moving the pivot point of the swab to get a better angle at the end of the floor (you'll see what I'm talking about once you've swabbed a couple of times). In other words, as you are completing your left to right stroke, tilt your hand slightly to the left; as you complete your right to left stroke, tilt your hand slightly to the right.

#4 - You should now have some dust adhering to the first side of the pad, so after completing the first pass, as shown in frame #3, lift the swab up just far enough to move it into the next position, as shown here in frame #4. In this left/right, right/left configuration, there is no ROTATION of the swab as it is positioned for the second swipe; it is simply lowered to the bottom right corner of the sensor.

#5 - Starting in the lower right corner, use the same steady light pressure to drag the swab all the way to the opposite side of the sensor. This time you'll be hugging the lower sidewall as you make the trip. When we say "hugging" we actually mean getting as close to the wall without pushing on it, or, more acurately, "guiding" on it. Too much pressure against the wall may cause loose strands to come out of the PecPad.

#6 - The key to successful sensor swabbing is keeping the swab flush on the sensor surface and completing each stroke, going as far as the sidewalls permit. Look at the angles of the swab in each of these 6 frames to get some idea of what the goal is. And, again, don't give up on it - some people will pick it right up while others may have more of a learning curve.

IMPORTANT TIP: If you start out with so-so results using the swabbing orientation shown here, try swabbing in a vertical motion. You'll still make two individual swipes - upper left to lower left, lower right to upper right. Going up and down brings all of the SensorSwipe’s action to the center, eliminating the sometimes awkward “reaching” for the left and right horizontal edges. But more significantly, it eliminates the bumping into the top roof and bottom floor of the chamber with the swab. This was not a factor with the earlier D-SLR's, our D1X, for example, had tons of room to work the swab horizontally without bumping into the walls. But all of the newer cams have drastically reduced this working area in order to cut down on stray light reflections. They've also lined these same surfaces with a "felt" type of material and when a PecPad touches them, fibres may sometimes be pulled out of the pad. These new surfaces also have a tendency to collect dust so when the mirror flaps and the shutter opens and closes, more of the gathered dust is released from the material which eventually finds its way to the sensor.

So our latest recommendation for swabbing is to do the horizontal double-swipe as pictured, check your results and if you need to go in again, this time do the vertical double-swipe. And again, the original left-to-right method works very well on older D-SLR's, but if you are shooting a new model like the D300 or 50D, you may want to swab vertically all of the time.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT apply more pressure with the SensorSwipe than you would writing with a ballpoint pen or pencil. Some dust-bunnies will move around on the sensor while others will act like they're cemented to the sensor's surface. We want you to have a clean sensor but using an inordinate amount of force can lead to problems. In the beginning, if you can get down to 2 or 3 specks and they're mainly on the edges, stop your cleaning session and go out and use your camera. Come back a day or two later and you'll probably have great results.

NOTE: Please try other configurations which may suit your own style better than the one illustrated here such as: #1) upper right to upper left, ROTATE the swab 180°, then lower right to lower left, or #2) lower left to lower right, ROTATE the swab 180°, then upper left to upper right. I've found that the right to left swabbing direction is a little easier for me, maybe because I'm right-handed.

The SensorSwipe and Sensor*Swab function exactly like the action of a WINDSHIELD WIPER in that they use one side of the blade to wipe on the first pass, then the opposite side on the return pass.

We suggest starting very gently, and then increase the force as you get more experienced. It doesn't matter if you go up/down, down/up, left/right or right/left, as long as you DO NOT use the PecPad or Sensor*Swab more than once a side. If you do, you will be depositing the dust right back onto the CCD.

Test your results by shooting the sky at 22 or using the SensorView. If you've started with, perhaps, 10 to 20 individual specks of dust, and now you have 2 to 5 and they're mainly on the edges, you might very well be content with that. Our personal goal is ZERO DUST and world peace (in that order).

As a rule, we will clean the CCD once a week. We also try to shoot the sky on the last shot of the day to keep a daily check for dust. The swabbing procedure takes about 1 minute to set everything up, then 15 to 20 seconds to apply the Eclipse, swab and return the lens. We try to keep to a bare minimum the time that the chamber is open. As you keep swabbing you will undoubtedly get faster and more efficient.

The main key to cleaning your CCD or CMOS is to relax, work quickly, but proceed methodically.

There are literally millions of D-SLR users who are searching for the safest and easiest ways to maintain their cameras. We are offering the benefit of our learning curve and if we can save you some time, money and a lot of "DUST ANGST", we'll be very, very happy.