cleaning

JR is right, as long as the debris isn't affecting image quality or moving around (ie at risk of winding up in image sensor, leave it be).

Reminds me of a joke.
Guy goes to his doctor. He terrified.
"Doc I'm in really bad shape...I think I'm dying...It hurts when I poke myself here, and here and there, and also there...It hurts everywhere!..."

Doctor replies "Quit poking yourself all over....you've got a broken finger. That's all."

What about a vacuum cleaner? Obviously set to its lowest power setting and using the smallest attachment piece.

Remove lens. switch on hoover and place somewhere near the lens opening for a few seconds.

Wouldn't that get rid of all the rubbish, without damaging the camera - obviously you don't poke the attachment inside the camera.

Did not work!

It'd probably work but I don't recall reading this as a recommended method.

Also, there is probably more 'blowing' power at close range out of a purpose made blower like a Giottos Rocket than a vacuum cleaner can 'suck' from a distance. A combination of the two might be ideal. Get the dust airborne with a Rocket blower, then suck it up with a vacuum cleaner.

Unfortunately, no amount of blowing can shift particles from behind the screen, so it has to be removed. The penta-prism (or in my case mirror) housing is sealed by the screen itself - but obviously not completely.
I was quite pleased with my efforts, no visible particles and the hair had gone but lo and behold, the next time I used the camera, a couple of black specks were once again visible.
It's not too bad and for fear of scratching the screen again, I'll leave it for now but I think this might be either a small design flaw or perhaps there's a larger gap between the screen and the foam dampers than there should be.
The movement of the mirror must have dislodged the new particles so that they've come to rest on the screen.
This is something that I've never experienced before with SLRs, so that's why I'm supposing that it might be a design flaw, perhaps only affecting the DL and maybe only a few examples of that model.

http://www.green-cleanusa.com/home.html

Kimbo,

In the morning a camera shop will clean my focussing screen and mirror using this. If it as easy and good as they say I will buy the travel kit.

Ok, I’m going to use this thread to share my experience with sensor cleaning products. I’m using 2 products which, as far as I know, are the most widely accepted nowadays:
- SensorBrush (or the homemade version: http://www.prime-junta.net/pont/How_to/a_Brush_Your_Sensor/a_Brush_Your_Sensor.h...)
- SensorSwipe (or the homemade version: http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning)

In my own personal opinion you need both these methods to keep a clean sensor, and the reasons why I believe this are:
a) Although it feels totally safe, using the SensorSwipe type of method (wet method) actually involves touching the sensor with a “tool” (rubber spatula wrapped in PecPad and two drops of Eclipse) so, using the brush sounds safer to me. If possible I try to solve my cleaning issues with the brush first, and if, and only if, I have to get rid of some stubborn dust/substance I use the wet method. BTW, the brush doesn’t cover 100% of the cleaning situations, but I haven’t had to use the wet method ever since I first cleaned my *istDS sensor.
b) If you don’t clean the mirror box and chamber you will get dust sooner than later, here’s where the brush is more useful. This is why I stated that you need both methods: the brush doesn’t cover all situations, but helps you clean better, and therefore avoid frequent cleanings. BTW, don’t use the same brush for the sensor as it may have some oil after cleaning the mirror box / chamber.
c) To success in this "endeavor" I found that using a recently cleaned bathroom, or at least removing towels and other sources of lint, etc, and then letting the shower run cold (COLD not HOT) for five minutes really makes a difference.
d) I only clean the sensor if I know I’m going to be shooting stopped down, and have some dust, and is not just a spot that can be easily removed in PS with the “spot healing tool”
e) I stopped using the air blower since it consistently kept adding dust to the focusing screen.

As summary, it’s something that can be done, is not really difficult but it is costly if you mess it up so, do as I did and read a lot about the topic before attempting so.
I would recommend, apart from the two links I already referenced, to read this one as well:
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

Hope this helps somebody. Just my two cents.

Fernando

Yes this is why I am attracted to the Green-clean I mentioned above, even though it comes with wipes in the full package, I would be very wary of doing that myself.