Dust Removal on Lumix TZ7 & ZS3
I love my Lumix, I take it everywhere but that does mean it’s getting some knocks and scratches but so far it’s held up well. The other day disaster stuck, I picked up some dust on the sensor, take a look at the image below:
Notice the dark smudge centre bottom of the image. I’ve never been afraid to take things apart so I decided I’d have a go at cleaning the sensor. It’s not that difficult to get to if you have a steady hand, here’s what you’ll need:
- Small Screw driver
- Air Blower (the rocket kind, compressed air is never recommended)
- Strong finger nails or a plastic opening tool.
Start by removing all the screws on the case on the back side of the camera (3 on the sides, and 3 on the bottom). Once removed you need use a bit of gentle force to pop the back off. Take care as the back contains the screen and it’s connected to the camera body with a ribbon cable.
The case feels like it’s still fastened near the top of the camera this is just friction holding it in place, just work it taking care not to twist the case too much. Once its free carefully rotate it 90 degrees and find something to prop it against as shown below:
See the silver plate in the centre of the body with 3 screws holding it place. This is the image sensor. We don’t need to disconnect the ribbon cable to get to it. Next unscrew the 3 screws. Once you have done this very carefully lift up the plate. The sensor is on the underside so only hold it by the edge. You should see this:
At this point I could see the dust spec on my sensor, use the dust blower to knock the dust of the sensor, try not to let any dust fall into the back of the lens which is directly below the sensor. That’s it, reverse the steps to but the camera back together.
A final tip before you replace all the screws on the case, power the camera on and check the sensor, I had more than one spec and had to dismantle again to remove the 2nd one.
A good way to check is to point the camera against a blank wall and move it slightly watching the screen for marks which don’t move even though the image is changing.
Take care, take your time and don’t blame me if you make things worse. Good Luck.
