Cleaning your camera's sensor

Probably one of the scariest things for a person who spent their life-savings on a camera, is cleaning the sensor.  I know that I was terrified at first.  I had to turn off my music in my apartment, and barely even touched the sensor with the swab.  In reality, it's no where near as bad or risky as you think it is.  But you can never be too careful, and it would be a TRAGEDY if you damaged your sensor!

The sensor lies hidden behind the mirror in your camera, and can only be accessed with mirror lock-up mode, or when the shutter button has been clicked.  You will need to remove your lens before performing a sensor cleaning.

This is the sensor outside of the camera.

Here are a couple tools you will need before you begin.

-Sensor Swab that matches your sensor size. I use Vswabs by Visible Dust
-Sensor cleaning solution (I use Visible Dusts Sensor Clean Product)
-Sensor Loupe with sensor pen (not necessary, though very helpful!) I use this kit by SensorKlear
-Sensor Blower (Not necessary, but a great option for a real quick fix in the field)

Here's how you should do this: