Effectiveness of self-cleaning sensors

Pixinfo.com has a very good review on the effectiveness of different sensor cleaning system in digital SLR cameras. They devised a test method that compares each of the different dust removal systems to remove dust from the sensor under standard conditions . The four manufacturers were Canon (400D / Rebel Xti), Pentax (K10D), Olympus (E-300) and Sony (A100).

The results are startling and conclude with:

Olympus: good

Canon: poor (we are disappointed)

Pentax and Sony: useless (we are very disappointed)

If you are looking for a camera, have the dust removal as an expectation only at the end of your list. If sensor cleaning / dust removal is a must, the choices are limited to Olympus and Panasonic cameras.

We guess that theoretically it is possible to get better results with Canon cameras when the CMOS sensor is not charged, but Canon must find a way to discharge the sensor first (if this is really the problem). If the system is so unreliable, the EOS-ICS is not much more than a good marketing name.

In case of Sony, Pentax and Samsung cameras, the dust removal function should be considered as almost non-existent.

The final conclusion: keep your air blower handy, it is still your best tool against dust.

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