I want to clean the sensor unit on my canon XTi but I am not sure where to begin. Does anybody have any tips or know any websites that may help me out? Thanks a lot.
is it really bad? If it isn't leave it alone... If it is... Make sure you read the manual...it mentions cleaning.
http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=Tutorials Here's a step by step. Basically you will need some Sensor Swabs and Eclipse 2 solution. It's not nearly as mysterious and dangerous as the manufacturers would have you believe.
Try a search of the forums...plenty of good info already posted. First of all, your camera has an anti-dust feature, which should mean that you have to do less cleaning than with an older DSLR. You can do a quick & easy cleaning with a rocket style blower bulb...but if the dust is persistent, then you may need to do a wet cleaning with swabs and cleaning solution.
I did a search on YOUTUBE... found at least 80 videos related to that. As for needing a drastic cleaning... if it is that bad, send it in or get a professional to do it. The last thing you want to do is damage your sensor. The cost to fix that could exceed the value of the camera. This is why people always change lenses in a place that has as little dust as possible, and use proper technique. Also a Giotto rocket blaster goes a long way in terms of preventive maintenance.
The sensor is behind a protective layer of (glass or something similar)...and it would probably take quite a bit of force to actually damage it. If anything, I would be more worried about damaging the shutter or the mirror...but that wouldn't be easy because they are kept out of the way while in cleaning mode. Unless someone is an absolute klutz...I wouldn't bother to send it in just for a cleaning.
I hate it when people answer questions, like I'm going to. But in this case... Did you consider trying a search here? This question comes up about once every two weeks and gets the same set of answers. (oh by the way, mine is the Copperhill site and system, I use it, it works, it's not expensive.) Then maybe you can try this really k00l site http://www.google.com and search for "sensor cleaning tutorial", gee look, first one is Copperhill, followed by Luminous Landscape! http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sensor cleaning tutorial&btnG=Google Search
http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=M***wI_afY0 This is a link from youtube which shows how to clean a sensor. If you write "cleaning sensor" and make a search you'll find lots of video tutorials about it like the one above. Watch the videos and select the one which you can dare to do. Actually I agree with Johnboy about it is not so dangerous if you care enough, but I would first try with an air pump blow on it. If not enough than choose one way to clean. Hope you to be succesful on that
