Do you have any plain pastel-coloured walls in your house? If so, try taking a shot of a plain section of the wall that is evenly-lit and coloured. Either that, or turn on your a/v channel on your tv. Most of the newer screens will display a plain blue background. Whilst not ideal, it may be adequate enough for you to use to check the sensor.

Howard - I'm with John941 on this, as I detest the "dayglo-orange" datestamp on photos. Using PSE offers you the choice of positioning the datestamp wherever you want it plus, by choosing one of the calligraphic fonts, you can stylise the datestamp to look more like a signature on the image.

I think an ex-girlfriend of mine had one of those - but she never once used it for dust removal!!

If using fluid, dampen (not soak/saturate) a lint-free cloth Probably best to wrap it over the top of a cotton bud - the cotton should soak up any excess fluid), then gently wipe across the sensor, left-to-right, then up and down from the back of the sensor towards the front. If you can do this with the lens mount facing downwards, so much the better.. That way, any loose debris will fall out of the camera body.

Also, have a look at this YouTube video for further tips and advice...

link

...any use to you? link

Yes - I think there was an increase on the cost of silicone recently!!

Are they printed directly onto the glass, or printed onto a sheet of laminated plastic, then glued onto the glass??...

I like the Caribbean one!!

Oooops!! Did I mention that I'm a myopic old git, Gwyn?? If I plead hard enough, will you forgive me??

Noted with thanks, Glyn!.. I was getting the impression that Ben was finding that the obstacles he has to apparently over come are, to my mind, not worth the hassle in the long run.

Maybe it's me, but I come up against officialdom in the shape of HMRC on a daily basis, and I get different resolutions to the same problems from them, and as a consequence I don't suffer fools gladly.

I've always worked with the belief of "why make things difficult for yourself, when a process could be streamlined without cutting corners, or lowering my own standards"..

Possibly explains why a lot of people in the courier business that knows me has a tendency to question my parentage!!

Nevertheless, the offer still stands - it costs nothing to try to be helpful.

Sounds like it would be much easier to contact the Fashion Houses at source, Benjamin! If ever you consider my suggestion, I can provide you with the names and addresses of several companies here in London, as I work for a courier company that specialises in imports and exports on behalf of the garment trade. I also see shipments coming through us, destined for the likes of Kenzo, Rougegeorge Lingerie, etc in France. If you can think of fashion designers, it's quite likely that I have access to their head office addresses!