Cleaning the sensor on an Olympus XZ-1

Ever since I bought my second hand Olympus XZ-1 there has been two large bits of dust on the sensor, visible whenever I have a small aperture or use some of the art filters. I have searched the internet far and wide for several months trying to find some instructions on how to clean it yourself. A couple of weeks ago I found a forum where someone described how to take the back off the camera, which I promptly did but the screws holding the sensor were glued in place, so I could only get to the back of it. I vacuumed vigorously but after reassembling there was no change.

Annoyed by more spoiled photos yesterday I starting looking for a new camera, but the price of something decent is scary and I have no money. The cost of Olympus UK cleaning the sensor on the XZ-1 is £90 + postage - this amounts to almost what the camera is worth, so I decided to have another try.

Once the camera was open, I removed the flat shiny plate that wraps around two sides of the sensor (held in place by two screws. It is then possible to lift some of the orange plastic circuit tapes and get a better look at the image stabilizer mounts that carry the sensor (these are the series of sliding frames held on stainless steel rods with tiny springs). This whole assembly and the sensor is held in place by three screws. These need to be carefully undone with the camera lens down (there are tiny loose washers on each screw between the assembly and the rest of the camera), then the whole assembly with the sensor still attached can be carefully lifted away giving access to the sensor and inside of the lens. I gave both a careful wipe with a new lens cloth and after reassembly the camera is as new again!

Whole job took no more than 20 minutes...definitely not a job for the faint hearted, fat handed or clumsy though.