Cleaning Imaging Sensors
Capturing clean images starts before you push a D-SLR's shutter--just changing lenses invites dust to jump onto the sensor. Using a few common-sense practices such as keeping the power off and pointing the camera body down when changing lenses can help. Don't do as my friend (who shall remain nameless to protect my health) and remove a lens during a wedding and leave it sit for an hour collecting the dirt of centuries. That stunt required a professional camera cleaning and hours upon hours of pre-SensorKleen spotting of the dusty files.

Even when taking precautions, dirt happens. That's when you should clean the senor.

DUST-AID (www.dust-aid.com) is an adhesive-based (think "sticky notes") D-SLR sensor cleaning system that was developed by a photographer. A kit contains 12 low tack sterile adhesive foam tapes and a reusable wand. The tapes have been FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) tested and passed contamination analysis. DUST-AID sells for $39.95 or $3.33 per cleaning. For more tips, see "Cleaning The D-SLR Sensor" by Jack Neubart in the December 2006 issue of Shutterbug or on our website at www.shutterbug.com.

DUST-AID works with many different cameras, but not all. Because of its internal cleaning system, it will not work with the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. For a list of compatible cameras, visit the company's website (www.dust-aid.com/cameras.html).

A Clean Scanner Is A Happy Scanner
Many people these days, myself included, use a flat-bed scanner to digitize film, but whether you're scanning film or prints you need to start the process with clean glass. Here's what I do to make sure my scans are clean:
I use an artwork brush to brush off the big hunks of stuff on the glass and follow that with a small amount of Purosol's (www.purosol.com) Plasma cleaner sprayed onto a Dust-Off (www.dust-off.com) Screen Shammy and gently wipe clean. A single application is usually sufficient but if the kids have been scanning their stuffed SpongeBob, a second application may be necessary.

Next to my scanner is an extra large 10 oz Dust-Off duster. It contains an environmentally 100 percent ozone safe formula and for $9.99 delivers lots of dust-cleaning action at less cost per ounce.	Purosol's Plasma is a sterile aqueous solution for cleaning monitors and scanner glass and is bacteria-free and exceeds federal EPA and OSHA health and safety standards.

When we all worked in a traditional wet darkroom it was important to clean the film after inserting it into the negative carrier, and now you need to make sure that your film is clean before scanning. I've always used Dust-Off to blow off the bits of fuzz and dust that cling to film before they can create spots that have to be dealt with later in the digital darkroom.

For more information, contact Image Trends, Incorporated, Building One, Ste. 450, 6300 Bridgepoint Parkway, Austin, TX 78730; (512) 637-7300; www.imagetrendsinc.com.