Dust on the CCD

Hello, all...
so what is everyone doing to remove dust from the CCD that inevitably gets there during lens changes? Am I flirting with disaster (i.e. "bad stars") using canned compressed air? I've been doing that, so far without any bad effects. Reading another forum I see stuff about thermal shock caused by droplets of liquid air. Is the squeeze bulb the only safe way?

Thanks for any info here.

Hi Steve, if you are talking about cleaning the DSLR with compressed air, yes, that is very bad for a number of reasons.

I have been using this and have found it to be extremely efficient in removing dust on my Canon DSLR:

http://www.2filter.com/prices/products/rocket.html

Ivan

Yikes, there is some good and some very bad advice in this thread. The best thing to do is use a regular bulb-blower. I would also recommend using the Copper Hill process, which includes a special brush that can take a static charge to lift the dust from the sensor, and then a special cleaning pad and fluid (identical to what Canon service uses). Using a vacuum cleaner is a terrible idea. I have hear of several cameras ruined that way. Using canned air is terrible, as most canned air has oils in the can that can mar the cover over the sensor on your camera.

Please go here: http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning and educate yourself, and then give it whirl. I have used it for several years, and use it on my most expensive cameras--that's how much I trust it.

Jeff