Yes it needed cleaning. (A rude wakening)

[Soocom1]

I am not going to recommend this to anyone, but I have used canned air a number of times.
For me alone, it works wonders!

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I would never argue that a professional cleaning is not worth it, especially since you get a overall inspection.

However, given the experiential paces I put my camera though, it would always be in the shop.

It also helps that my hobbies include, making and repairing, musical instruments, electronic radio projects, gun smithing, telescopes etc. so I tend to be of a DIY nature.

Still sensor cleaning is a delicate operation and should be treated with due caution.

 

[smoke665]

I would never argue that a professional cleaning is not worth it, especially since you get a overall inspection

My experience has been you don't get much past swabbing the sensor when you take it in for cleaning. However after doing it the first time and listening to the guys at the shop, my concerns over doing it have been put aside. The sensor isn't as fragile as I feared. Yes you can screw up, but by and large it's hard to do, if you use common sense. What seems to be the biggest problem is the overzealous application of cleaning fluid resulting in streaking.

 

[DarkShadow]

Yep easy on the fluid cleaning one drop or two less is more in this case. When I cleaned my D610 from a lubricant stain i had that swab bending going across one direction only not a single scratch.The sensor is a lot tougher than one might think, it's the mirror to be extra careful about if you have one and though it locks up out of the way, you still want to be careful going in with the swab.Act like a good Surgeon and your camera will survive the operation.