Cleaning help

[Maddog55]

I've seen a few of you pro's point out major flaws in some pics that to me (amature) look good. (ie: dirty sensor etc)

I've never cleaned my sensor...should I attempt it myself? or bring it in somewhere. My vewfinder seems to be covered in crap...but I don't see it in my pics....

And what cleaning accesories should I have in my camera bag?

Thanks.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Crap in viewfinder = dust on your mirror, as sensor dust will never show up in your viewfinder.

I clean my sensor on a fairly regular basis, I use the Eclipse fluid/Sensor Swab method for the really glued-on crud. For light dust, a large blower bulb usually does the trick.

Derrick swears by the Arctic Butterfly, I've never used it but I've heard lots of good things.

If you send it off to Canon for cleaning, be prepared to wait multiple weeks to get your camera back, as opposed to the 15 minutes it takes to do it yourself.

[Gibson]

Where do you get this aforementioned sensor swab?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I got mine at The Camera Store, you anyone looking to use that system should determine which fluid they need, Eclipse or Eclipse E2:

http://www.photosol.com/cameras_bymfg.html