Ok y'all, I need some help! I have a persistent something or another on my sensor. I've tried SensorPen, Eclipse, and blown more air at than you can imagine. Any suggestions? I'm currently living in the Balkans and don't have a lot of faith in local camera service. I'm really wishing my E-PL2 had had a mirror right now...

I have found Visible Dust swabs and sticks with their cleaner works well.

Thanks! What size do you use?

So far I have not used them for an m4/3 sensor, only APS-C. The swab is the height of the APS-C sensor and you clean in a single swipe. I would look for a swab the closest to the width of the m4/3 sensor--sorry I don't have the numbers off the top of my head, but they have 1.5 and 1.3 crop swabs and maybe one more.

No worries, I found their sizing chart on the internets. They recommend the 1.3 for m4/3's. One more stop on Amazon and it should be here in 8-16 days! Thanks!

I wouldn't be wishing for a mirror right now. Cleaning the sensor of an APS-C DSLR is extremely awkward due to how far the sensor is located behind the mirror box, and to be honest I've had more sensor dust issues on cameras with a mirror than without.

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Nic
E-M5, GH1
Flickr Photostream
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I would agree to use the visible dust swabs, I had to clean my d700 last year and it worked fine, just follow the instructions, and have a steady hand

I personally tried an artic butterfly brush prior to this but one bristle caught some grease off the side of the sensor and smeared it all over, hence needing the swabs...

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E-p3, oly 17mm, 45mm

Aniseedvan,

I think your experience with the Arctic Butterfly brush is unusual. I've been using one for years and have never had any issues. In fact, I've only had to use the wet swabs once as the brush does such a good job.

Also, I would be careful about blasting air inside the camera body as you never know where dislodged dust will end up.

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E-M5, E-P3, Oly 14-42 II, Oly 12mm, PL 25mm, Oly 45mm, Oly 12-50, Oly 40-150, Lumix 12-35mm, VF3

Well, the visible dust swipes arrived and failed to clean the sensor. D'oh! At this point, maybe it would be cheaper to get it cleaned professionally. I'll be back in the glorious USA for Thanksgiving, who would you recommend (and is it realistic to get it done in a week?). Thanks again for all the help y'all!