Sensor grease?

[Hackentosher]

Hey guys, I finally got around to taking out my new (to me) canon 6D and I noticed a weird smudge on my images. I'm 99.97% sure it's not the lens because I cleaned both the front and back elements twice to no avail, and I tried the lens on my Canon T5 and did not notice the smudge. So, after a quick bit of reading about sensor contaminations, I think it's a bit of grease on the bottom of the sensor. Not sure though. I've contacted the seller I bought the body from, and I guess my only option is to take it to my local camera shop for cleaning. But before I do, I would like a couple of second opinions. Here's a nice example of what I'm talking about. Is there an easy way of cleaning this with normal, every day items/tools?

Spoiler

 In case you can't tell, it's that white smudge between the two towers.

 

[Thanatopsis]

if you are shooting with a camera that you can change lenses with pick up a lense and imager cleaning kit.  That may be a small fleck of dirt or grease but some high purity rubbing alcohol and a clean brush should work well to clean it off.

[Hackentosher]

Just now, Thanatopsis said:

if you are shooting with a camera that you can change lenses with pick up a lense and imager cleaning kit.  That may be a small fleck of dirt or grease but some high purity rubbing alcohol and a clean brush should work well to clean it off.

I don't trust myself to work on my new shiny full frame body. Does it look like grease to you? I'm hoping it isn't, as I'm sure dust is much easier to get off a sensor. Luckily, there's a camera shop a mile down the road from my dorm.

[Teradore]

have you physically taken a look at the sensor? leaving a sensor open to the elements is not the best but if its already dirty another spec won't hurt much. you can usually see a spec if that's what it is, but if its greeses its hard to tell. you can get a small air blaster and shoot the sensor once or twice and see if that helps. (by air blaster i mean those rubber things you squeeze for a small puff of air. NOT canned air!) if any of that makes you nervous, just go get it cleaned. it definitely look like something on the sensor.

[Hackentosher]

19 minutes ago, Teradore said:

have you physically taken a look at the sensor? leaving a sensor open to the elements is not the best but if its already dirty another spec won't hurt much. you can usually see a spec if that's what it is, but if its greeses its hard to tell. you can get a small air blaster and shoot the sensor once or twice and see if that helps. (by air blaster i mean those rubber things you squeeze for a small puff of air. NOT canned air!) if any of that makes you nervous, just go get it cleaned. it definitely look like something on the sensor.

I did take a peek yesterday after I noticed it. I didn't see anything on the sensor, but some pixel peeping through my shots revealed some other bits of dirt elsewhere on the sensor. 

 

Will one of those rocket blowers get a grease smudge? The local camera shop is a mile down the road from my dorm, so I think I'll just bring it down this week after I hear back about a quote. 

[Teradore]

honestly with grease its probably best to just get it cleaned. but the specs can probably be dealt with through a rocket. 

[Hackentosher]

Just now, Teradore said:

honestly with grease its probably best to just get it cleaned. but the specs can probably be dealt with through a rocket. 

Any idea how much I should expect to pay for a sensor cleaning? I'm guessing $30 at most, but I honestly don't have a clue.

[Thanatopsis]

Every camera shop is different for what the will charge.  Depending on the shop and where you live it could be 150 just to get them to look at it.

 

They make solutions specificly to clean sensors.  

 

While your imager is not a rugged item its not as fragile as you may think.  Most camera manufacturers ship the camera with lenses that are not environmentally sealed and will let moisture and dirt get to the cmos/ccd.  

 

Learning to clean your imager is a good skill too have.

[Hackentosher]

7 minutes ago, Thanatopsis said:

Every camera shop is different for what the will charge.  Depending on the shop and where you live it could be 150 just to get them to look at it.

 

They make solutions specificly to clean sensors.  

 

While your imager is not a rugged item its not as fragile as you may think.  Most camera manufacturers ship the camera with lenses that are not environmentally sealed and will let moisture and dirt get to the cmos/ccd.  

 

Learning to clean your imager is a good skill too have.

Maybe next time I get dust on the sensor I'll get a blower, but for this I definitely want a pro to look at it. I just got this camera, I don't want to run the risk of messing it up.

[Urke]

On 4/14/2019 at 4:08 AM, Hackentosher said:

Hey guys, I finally got around to taking out my new (to me) canon 6D and I noticed a weird smudge on my images. I'm 99.97% sure it's not the lens because I cleaned both the front and back elements twice to no avail, and I tried the lens on my Canon T5 and did not notice the smudge. So, after a quick bit of reading about sensor contaminations, I think it's a bit of grease on the bottom of the sensor. Not sure though. I've contacted the seller I bought the body from, and I guess my only option is to take it to my local camera shop for cleaning. But before I do, I would like a couple of second opinions. Here's a nice example of what I'm talking about. Is there an easy way of cleaning this with normal, every day items/tools?

  Reveal hidden contents

 In case you can't tell, it's that white smudge between the two towers.

 

Hi

I strongly doubt it's grease. It's some kind of dust. Service will take care of it.

[Hackentosher]

3 minutes ago, Urke said:

Hi

I strongly doubt it's grease. It's some kind of dust. Service will take care of it.

Got it back from the camera shop today. The sensor is toast. 

[Thanatopsis]

Im sorry to hear that.

[Hackentosher]

2 hours ago, Thanatopsis said:

Im sorry to hear that.

Yuuup, thanks. Luckily I was able to return it.