Cleaning CCD/CMOS Sensor

My thoughts on how to clean a CMOS/CCD sensor:

1. Introduction:

Users of Digital SLR cameras suffer from the same experience. After a while the sensor becomes "dusty" and these dust-spots are visible on every picture, especially when the aperture is stepped down (higher F-value or closed aperture).
There are three ways to get rid of these problems:

1.1 Remove "spots" during post processing (image editing software)
1.2 Let your sensor be cleaned at at Porfessional Service Point
1.3 Clean your sensor at your own risk

I decided to choose option 1.3 and clean my sensor when spots were getting too much for post processing.
Not everybody feels safe cleaning their sensor on their own. This points me directly to the next topic:

2. Golden rules:

2.1 Do you feel comfortable cleaning your sensor at your own risk?

If your answer is “no”, stop reading and find a professional service point to clean your sensor or remove spots in your image editing software. Otherwise, go to point 2.2

2.2 Are you able to use a blower and feel safe doing it, but you do not want to touch the surface of the sensor?

If “yes”, go and buy a blower (enema) at your pharmacy and blow out the dust from the sensor. Do not feel shy about buying an enema even if the person behind the counter looks at you in a bizarre way :-). If you think this is not sufficient but you are still willing to touch your sensor or the surface, then buy a blower and go to point 2.3

2.3 Welcome to the “Copper Hill” method. I tried to clean my sensors in several ways, but nothing was as efficient as the combination of pre-cleaning with a blower and the method described on following link:

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/image/11442097

I recommend using a blower first before touching the surface of the sensor because of the splinters from the shutter (especially when the camera is new) and the “hard” dust particles that can result in the scratching of the sensor or the protection glass on the sensor.

Enjoy, relax and clean :-)