Pentax K-3 Sensor cleaning advice needed

I took this on wednesday, and there is a mark just above the birds beak. I had changed lens from the 18-135 to the 55-300, and its on every image since, no matter what lens, so must be on the sensor.
Ive never cleaned a sensor before, so any advice would be really appreciated.
Do i need a special "kit" to clean it.

While you are getting your head around sensor cleaning, that mark would be very easy to erase with editing software, if you have any.
Regards,
Mike

It's really no different then cleaning anything else. There is a bit of a paranoia surrounding it in my opinion. Don't rub/scrub/apply too much pressure and use random liquids and you and the sensor will be just fine.

That said, first thing to try is to clean the mirror/, not the sensor. I find most dirt accumulates there and it's just a mirror. So just take the lens of and inspect the mirror with a good light. If you have a blower, turn your camera to point down and try to blow away bits. After that I simply use a lint free cloth to wipe it clean. Rarely do I need to use any sort of solution to aid that. If I do, I use link; pricey but it last ages. I've had it 3 years and not even through half of it using it on all my equipment lenses when needed.

If the problem does not go away, then turn to sensor cleaning. I always start with trying to gently use the blower and see if that helps. If not, then I use these - link with tiny drop of the Eclipse solution and gentle strokes. I'll use two of these every time, one with the solution, second one to get rid of potential excess. Then make sure it dries and voila. There are quite a few videos out there as well if you prefer visual instruction.

I am no expert but I own several cameras, (my oldest digital is the K100D Super) with sensors with no sign of issues so guess the above works just fine. You would really need to get rough to damage it.

Having recently seen how a professional cleans sensors (at the NEC show), I have to say, they are much more careless then I am haha.

Errr...the mirror is not going to affect his image.

Get yourself a Giotto rocket blower. Blow out the mirror box first. Then expose the sensor and use the blower on that. i picked up a big dust bunny yesterday. Gone with a few puffs of the blower.

Bah yeah, so much for paying attention to the OP. Problems on the image, not in the viewfinder... been a long day and it's not even over

I would be careful with a rocket blower or you may get dust behind the focusing screen.

Do what I do and open another bottle of wine !!

I will, once I get home! Thank for pointing this out The mistake and the wine!

The wine might be what the OP needs to clean the sensor and not worry while at it, too

Yes that is good advice. Be gentle with the blower and test your efforts by taking a picture of a blue sky at smallest aperture possible eg f22 focussed at infinity. You should be able to see the dust spec (or not) on the camera lcd screen.

Don't be put off changing lenses though. My k10 which I had for 10 years ended up with a few stubborn specs in the viewfinder, presumably stuck behind the focus screen (which i advise you not to try and clean...blow only). But they will never affect the image, which is the important part.

Also, don't get too bothered about a few dust bunnies mostly easily dealt with in software afterwards

Best to use the Pentax sensor cleaning kit. Like you I was quite apprehensive but follow the instructions and it will be fine. Who wants to do spot removal on every exposure when this will sort it?

Agree, I have never cleaned mine and it is proper bad! I'm going to order this cleaning kit. I'm trusting the Pentax version over others.

As a prime only user I'm always changing lenses outside up the mountains.

I'd ignore some of the advice here about using any solution. If you make a horlicks of sensor cleaning then the camera is wrecked, same goes for the mirror, this is easily damaged so my advice is do not touch it! A gentle blow will usually do and if it doesn't shift then just live with it.

The mirror does not attract the same amount of dust as unlike the sensor, it is not electrically charged.

Whatever you do, do not rub the mirror, it is a super sensitive mechanism and easily permanently scored as well. Most people try this ruin the camera.

If in doubt send the camera away to get it cleaned, I use Harrow Technical for servicing and they are good.

Having learned the hard way about lens changing hygene (dust spots everywhere) I am now paranoid about blowing everything with a rocket blower. Unscrew lens cap, blow it and the lens, place lens cap loosely over it. Blow inside the current lens' rear cap, blow all round the camera mount, remove lens and put the clean cap on at once. Invert the camera, blow from side to side and up and down in the mirror box (but don't shove the nozzle in there !!). remove cap from new lens and put it straight on.
Touch wood. It has worked so far. I got rid of the original dust infestation simply by blowing with the rocket blower, having set the camera to 'mirror up for cleaning' beforehand. I didn't have to touch it at all.
As for the focussing screen, remember that it is designed to come out (look it up on the internet or U tube). You only handle it with tweezers and you can give it a good blow too if you have dust or bits on it.

Yes, the focussing screen is removable which I found out when some microscopic paint flakes from a (new) lens adaptor managed to get everywhere including behind the screen. The plastic is very soft though and easily scratched but at least that doesn't affect the photos, and replacements are available.

check first if the mark is indeed on the sensor, not on the lens, if it is use a blower and clean the sensor using a sensor cleaning kit. I recommend Sensor Swabs by Photographic Solutions and the Orbit Hepa Blower. Make sure to turn off the camera while cleaning and check if the mark is gone after you clean it. if it still there you might need to seek professional help