I've read about everything I can on the 5D being a dust magnet.

I don't have any reason to believe that something electronically in the 5D "causes" it to attract dust more than another model.

However, I CANNOT keep my sensor clean, even while NOT changing lenses.

I read that Micheal said he thought the 5D was a magnet, but now he doesn't.

This leads me to believe that the 5d's mirror box internal anti glare coating flakes off and lands on the sensor, until all of the "extra" coating that will flake off has flaked off.

I have no evidence except that I can clean my sensor, put the lens back on, turn the f stop up to f22 and take a picture of a neutral background. I see a very clean image. After more pictures, and maybe several days in between examinations, I start to get "dust" marks YET AGAIN--without changing the lens. Sometimes it's only a matter of one shooting session.

Anyway, for what it's worth.

The 5D isn't airtight. You don't have to change the lens to get dust in the camera. (Just makes it easier.)

Oddly, I have developed the notion that, over time, my 5D is less of a dust magnet. I perceive that to be a fading physical phenomenon, not lowered expectations, better environment, or more care on the part of the operator.

I honestly haven't found it to be dustier than my D60, D30, 10D or 20D. Initially I had a bit of dust in the viewfinder (but I also have similar dust in my 10D VF and I rarely use it) but after cleaning it, it hasn't gotten dustier than I would have expected. The sensor also gets a bit of dust--I change lenses fairly frequently and not in ideal conditions---but after a lot of shooting this past year, I'm not findng it worse than my other non airtight bodies--and not a real annoyance.

Diane

Could be a one-time lubricant contamination in the factory that has cleaned up over time.

I agree -- that and the flocking they use.

My experience seems to be similar. During the first month of use I had serious dust problems, I had to clean the sensor frequently and, I must admit, I hated it. But after a certain point it got much better, which I attributed to quicker and more careful lens changes. But this really could be due to some material inside the camera changing electrostatic properties with time. Strange.

My 20D went bad, and I bought an XTi to cover until I buy the "40D" or get the 20D fixed, one of the reasons being I was tired of dust and dirt in the 20D. The XTi seemed better at first, but that was proabably because it didn't have much of a chance to accumulate debris, but after a while started holding image-ruining fibers and chunks, despite power-cycling (which engages the cleaning mechanism). Once I spent some time repeatedly cleaning the sensor with Eclipse with doubled Pec Pad strips over the flattened end of an ice-cream stick, it seems to work as advertised. While reviewing images in sequence after a day of shooting, I might see a single speck here and there, but they go away on their own, or through the power-cycling. Sticky films on the sensor are the biggest obstacle to keeping the dirt off the sensor (and the sticky stuff itself can be visible).

While cleaning with the solvent, one clue that the sensor is clean is the evaporation pattern; if the oil is all gone, the solvent dries in a simple shrinking pattern; if the pattern is complex, then there is still oil on the sensor.

My experience: harder to keep clean than keeping a toddler! I have had it since the first day it was available in US. It has not improved. I clean it very regularly

The first copy of a 5D I received from a dealer was so dusty that I immediately returned it. I also wasn't sure about the amount of shutter actuations, the body seemed to have been used before.

I kept the replacement and did not have any trouble with excessive dust so far. Within appr. 10.000 shots or so I had cleaned the sensor maybe three times. Not more or less than a 1DS and another 20D I used before.

YMMV though...

Andrew

my new/second 20D body does (subjectively) seem to get dirty quicker than my well-used original in side-by-side use

I'm starting to thik it is the flocking too.

Remeber too for those who say they have no problems, try taking some shots of nuetral light colored backgrounds at F14-22 and then see waht you get. You won't see (or they will be greatly diminished) those smaller less objectionable spots with anything less than F11. They really start to come out around F14+ and at F22, I'll bet you all find them.

It's good to hear it isn't just me.

It often helps to clean the mirror chamber early on. Any loose factory installed dust, flocking overspray, etc., will end up on your pec pad rather than VF or CMOS. My 9 month old 5D hasn't had any dust problems thus far, and I've shot on beaches, desert and jungle (urban & tropical).

Did you try shooting a light colored background at F22?