I just attempted this myself (on a Leica Typ 109 actually which has the same exact internal construction.) It was successful, but I have notes on things to look out for. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TIP: I'm jumping ahead to this one because if you attempt this YOU MUST KNOW: THE THREE SCREWS THAT HOLD THE SENSOR IN PLACE ARE TURNED TO A SPECIFIC DEPTH BY THE FACTORY TO LEVEL THE FOCAL PLANE FOR PEAK SHARPNESS TO THE LENS. They ARE NOT tightened all the way. I used a gel pen to place a small dot at the North point of each screw, with an accompanying dot on the metal plate to line up to. - BEFORE REMOVING THE SCREWS, TIGHTEN them and keep track of how far they turn until stopping. For me, the top-left screw was 0.8 turns, while the bottom-left and right screws were 1.25 turns to full tightening. Jot that down, and keep each of these three screws separated to go back to their respective spots. - When you get the sensor removed (remember it's taped to the copper plate in back of it for thermal conductivity) make sure the 3 springs (where the screws you just removed are) either stay in place, or pick them out and KEEP THEM WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE SCREWS. Once you've cleaned the sensor and place it back, DO NOT FORGET THE SPRINGS FIRST. It's OK to push down on the sensor to make sure it's aligning with the guide posts, but DO NOT push on the copper tape in the center (it's not solid behind it.) - When you put the sensor's screws back, don't tighten them down one by one. Only tighten about half-way to ensure the sensor's position doesn't shift too much from over-tightening one side. Once all 3 screws are in, tighten each all the way, then back up the amount of turns needed to align the dots back together. Do this and your LX100's image quality should be just as good as it was from the factory. Other considerations: 1. Absolutely have bright adequate light and TAKE YOUR TIME. No part or piece requires hard pry force to remove. If you're pulling hard, you ARE going to break something. Everything comes apart with light shimmying force. My best recommendation is invest in an ifixit kit that comes with the precision screwdriver, bits, and spudger/tweezer/pick tools, they come in HANDY. 2. When you get the back case off for the love of god REMEMBER THE RIBBON CABLE FOR THE CONTROLS, it's easy to forget it's there, last thing you want to do is remove dust only to create a new problem (broken controls.) 3. The LCD screen is not held down by any screws or adhesives. It has a kind of slot retainer on the right side. Push the LCD screen to the left to release the screen from the slot, and it will hinge-up on the ribbon cable's left side. Get an appropriately sized object to rest the screen on to the left of the camera as you work to get the metal spine plate out. These cables are delicate, don't let the screen just hang. 4. The (gray) metal spine plate under the screen has a small tab that inserts into a the plastic base of the camera. This plastic is bendable. Pull it back to release the metal plate as you shimmy it up. Remember to remove ALL screws from the bottom of the camera, as this metal plate is screwed into all of them. PAY ATTENTION to how the far bottom right side of this plate is inserted BETWEEN two other metal pieces. 5. Each of the connectors on the PCB have tabs on the backside (the side opposite of where the ribbon is inserting into) that lift UP to release the ribbon cables. Use a fingernail or a wide spudger to pop them up. Don't use a pin or tweezer -- you risk cracking the tab if you apply force to only a pin-point area. There are only 2 (or 3? i think 2) very narrow ribbons closer to the EVF that don't have pop tabs -- those pull out linearly and you'll see the ribbons have little tabs on the sides to help coax them from the connector. Use a toothpick or something non-metal to gently nudge the little tabs on the ribbon to get it out. Easy does it. 5-2. The PCB won't come out if there's a memory card inserted. Make sure the battery and memory card are out. 6. The copper plate underneath the PCB has a tab on the far left center side that will prevent it from fully coming up. Remember to pivot the copper plate slightly to get it free, but be mindful of all the ribbon cables and the copper tape connecting it to the sensor. you might want to take care of all 6 screws here at once (the 3 for the copper plate, and the 3 for the sensor.) Keep track of where these screws go -- they're different sizes. Only the 3 surrounding the sensor need to be tracked for proper tensioning. The 3 for the copper plate must be screwed all the way down. 7. When reinserting the sensor, copper plate, and PCB, be VERY mindful of all the ribbon cables. It's easy to accidentally lose one underneath. Save time ahead and carefully check each before committing to screwing things down. The PCB insert top-side tilted in first in order to fit in. Be mindful of the USB/HDMI port on the side. 8. The actual cleaning of the sensor is pretty easy. You can use a cleaning kit like in the video here, or just use a brand new, clean microfiber cloth gently. What you're cleaning is the low pass filter in front of the sensor, and not the sensor itself, so while it's definitely still delicate, it's not so fragile it can't be touched. 8. Reconnecting the ribbon cables is easy -- don't force any of them. If the pop tabs are up, the ribbon cables will pretty easily slide right into their spots with a little positional coaxing with a plastic spudger, tweezer, or finger. It's those two narrow ribbons with the tabs that will need some extra help with a toothpick again to get in, but they still will not require much force to slip in. If you're having trouble, MAKE SURE the pop tabs are open, or use an air blower to make sure a piece of something isn't blocking the connector. Be methodical, slow, and steady, and you'll honestly get through this part just fine. 9. REMEMBER TO RECONNECT THE SCREEN FIRST before the gray metal plate. Leave it hinged off to the left. The gray plate will take some coaxing to get in, but again don't force anything. It might take a second to get the lower right tab to slot inbetween the casing, once that's in, the rest should go in fine. The screen will reinsert back into the tab on the plate. 10. When replacing the back casing, remember the control ribbon lol -- easy to forget. Use a pair of STRAIGHT tweezers to help get it in, this is honestly the most annoying ribbon to reattach. But once you get it, the back casing should fit back easily, just remember to slide the back screen around a little to find the right spot to fit into the case. Squeeze the case together while tightening screws down, and you're all good. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG: If you turn the camera on and a control doesn't work, or the screen is messed up, or the EVF isn't working, don't freak -- just take it back apart again (do be mindful of the back controls ribbon cable again lol) down to the PCB level and check every ribbon cable, remove and reinsert them all if you must. These cables are finnicky, and if they aren't reinserted JUST right, they may not work right. But the camera isn't broken! Don't leave any ribbon connectors left unpopulated -- they all get used and if you don't see a ribbon for a particular connector that means you lost it underneath the PCB or copper plate. Disassemble to go get it (don't try to pull it up from underneath, you'll tear it.) THE MOST SENSITIVE of these cables is (unsurprisingly) the one for the sensor (wide top center cable.) This one has MANY micro contacts that must all hit or the sensor will glitch out. If you turn the camera on and the screen is displaying the UI / menus just fine, but the image is a bunch of multicolor random lines, you just didn't reinsert the cable correctly that's all. Go back, fix it, try it again, you'll get it right eventually -- stay calm, stay methodical, and you'll have a working camera again. Total time it took me was about 1.5 hours with the aforementioned sensor glitch I had to figure out. But I got it, and now my Typ109 is 100% dust-free and didn't cost me a dime.

Very helpful, thanks.

Thank you for this video - I had to replace the battery/SIM card door, and this video showed me exactly how to get into the camera in order to do that!

what is the torx that are you using?

In my experience its best to suck and not blow, blowing just redistributes the dust

Brilliant video, I couldn't do it to save my life and regret buying this camera. My advice to anyone is save your money and choose something else.

What is up with Panasonic & dust? I know superzooms and all but I buy/resell cameras and 1/2 of the DMC-ZS25, ZS30, etc. I receive I have to sell for parts due to dust specs in the lens. Worst cameras ever in regards to dust and I am in no way talented enough to tackle these methods.

This was the first video I found but it was a great help. For us amateurs it helps if you make a cheat page for all the screws. Draw a sketch of each phase and then using sellotape stick them to the paper, in the right place. When you reacht the lcd screen turn it through 90 deg. and remove the metal plate on its own. When working on the ribbons first and don’t be afraid to use a toothpick where necessary. Before putting the MB back in, use sellotape to hold the ribbons onto the body of the camera, turning the ends of the ribbons through 90 deg. or more (not too much sellotape on the ribbon its self!) Once the sensor is clean store it face down on a pre-cut cardboard “holder”, just like one I made, using a box, for supporting the camera with the lens hanging free, when putting the sensor back in position. Once more thank you, and I did manage to pinch the sensor ribbon twice, on the first and the 5th (final) attempt. Should have watched the video right to the end before doing the job.

great effort to put this together but it has convinced me to pay a pro to do it for me! Just too many small parts and the risk of damage!

This is simply amazing. You have no fear. I just had my LX100 II in the Panasonic shop in LA. They actually replaced the CMOS sensor and did a full cleaning for $270. It came back new. Not a spec of dust. It worked perfectly for 2 weeks and then about 6 nasty looking dust specks showed up all at once. Two are enormous! I was looking at the images and it all happened from one image to another! I wasn't even in a harsh environment - all indoor!! I can even see them on the back viewing screen plain as day! It took 1 image to get as much dust as 4 years. I find it hard to believe that Panasonic designed a camera where the lens could not be removed to clean the sensor without taking it completely apart. I love the images and video, but I don't have the time in Lightroom to patch every image!!! HELP!

GG i fucked up

the "black flap secure thinghy" is called a "latch" haha thank you for that video though, I had a piece of hair on top of my sensor for some reason, and couldn't get it out

Big thanks for this big Work !

Is it possible to fix 3.5mm microphone jack in this camera after market?

If the zoom is stuck in out position, is there any solution to get it moving while inside the camera or while vacuum cleaning? I haven’t even seen if I got specs on the sensor yet. ( I bought it broken). Thanks for great video efforts!

Thanks for this video. The video was very helpful.

can you use a remote switch with this camera

Is this also a problem on the LX100 II?

I managed to clean the sensor on my LX100, using a vacuum cleaner and a sawn off plastic bottle

Very impressive, way beyond my techincal abiliies. Do you have any tip for mending a scratch backscreen on that camera ?

Great job! Thanks to you I've solved this problem on my camera 👏

Good to see a video of this process, however since you are filming your first effort I think it should come with a few extra warnings in addition to the tips you gave. Having just cleaned my sensor for at least the 6th or 7th time now (I actually went further and had to clean under the rear lens element and debris from the gearbox/motor assembly), this video gives me a bit of anxiety. I do love the honesty of your presentation though. A couple tips: undo all the ribbon connections first and remove the mobo and viewfinder completely so you don't have to do the crazy balancing act with the board flipped up. Those torx screws are optical tilt adjustment screws and once you have touched them, your focal plane will not be aligned properly again unless you have it adjusted. I learned that the hard way. The camera works but not as well. You must first note how many turns it takes to tighten them all the way so that when you reinstall them, you can go all the way and then back them out the same distance. Marking them can help. Also, yes the vacuum cleaner trick worked exactly once for me, out of dozens of attempts. It was only after a recent full disassembly that one piece got on the sensor and I was able to vacuum it off. Every other time it actually made it tremendously worse, including pulling dust into the actual lens assembly. So I think that route is out for good in my book.

Dont use cotten. It contains dust. Use a brush. A synthetic brush. And brush as you vacuum clean

You mention that you attempted the vacuum cleaner approach without success. For that to work, the procedure is to use hack saw to cut off the bottom of a firm plastic bottle (not a flimsy one) that has almost the same diameter as the base of the LX100 lens. Then tape the mouth of the bottle to the vacuum nozzle. The next step is to turn on the camera, remove the battery, and leave the battery door OPEN. That allows some air to pass through the camera, since otherwise the vacuum action would be blocked and futile. Finally, turn the vacuum cleaner on and stick the camera lens into the opened end of the bottle so that the base is flush with the edge of the bottom of the lens. One may need to do this several minutes, turning the camera off and on, extending and retracting the lens. This should remove or displace most of the dust, at least for a while. A KZfaqr named oFoodTalk輕鬆生活頻道 illustrates this in a subtitled video. The only matter he omits is removal of the battery and to have the battery door open, which I think boosts the odds of success. My earlier efforts with a flimsy water bottle or with the battery in its place failed. Compressed air or a blower help if one can disassemble the camera and apply them directly to the dirty sensor. But they do not work if one simply blows air into the outside edges or seams of the lens. That only causes more dust to go inside and stirs it around without removing anything. My attempt at this only made the dust look worse. Three years ago, I attempted the Ifixit procedure to disassemble an earlier LX100. I also had trouble freeing the back cover, the LCD panel, the motherboard, the copper plate, and the three screws with springs. Some screws were stripped or impossible to loosen without possible damage. Some elements were bound to the camera shell by glue, and they could not be pried out easily. Reassembly was challenged by putting the ribbon cables back into their clamps or receptor pockets. When finished, I turned on the camera, the back screen read "zoom error," and nothing functioned. I was not eager to consume another afternoon trouble shooting. You apparently persevered and won. But can anyone want to face the same arduous chore every several months when new dust appears?

👍👍👍👍

Hey buddy. There is fungus inside the viewfinder. Can we somehow get to the glass of the viewfinder in this process? not the plastic part. Insides.

Hi. I’m planning to do this soon. Is it hard to attach the ribbons back? That’s what I’m kind of most concern about. Thank you for making a video on this.

Thank you so much for this. I've had a dust problem for a while and i feel now i may have damaged the cable/relay from prolonged neglect. I probably will try to get it fixed by a professional but its great to know i have a reference to go to in future as the dust is bound to come back.

Hi all, Before you do this, try this : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNF3mpqYm6_dXY0.html

I can't thank you enough for this video. I have been struggling with the dust problem on my LX100, It is a lovely camera but this issue can turn it into an unuseful machine and that is a shame. I even took it to panasonic to clean during its warrantine period, but the dust came back in less than two months. I have been searching for something like this since last year and even try to do it myself, but to be sincere I would have never arrived so far without your video. So thank you very very much. Everything went well for me, no missing connections, no errors. The only thing is that I removed a lot of dirt but I ended up with a little spot (a new one) wich I think managed its way into the sensor when I was trying to put it back in its place. But even so I am really satisfied, I was really worried for letting in more dirt than removing it! I think this camera has this design problem or something, and you'll end up with a dirty sensor every now and then so it is wonderful to know that we can do something to improve and continue enjoying it :) Thanks thanks thanks :D

Great video, but please everyone DO NOT vaccum the sensor, or any other electronic component. The vaccum causes static to build up which attracts more dust, it can also short some components. Use a lens air blower or compressed air instead.

Hey bud, since you went through the whole disassembling process.. do you know if i need to take the camera apart in order to replace the battery lid(door) since mine broke? From what i see there is no way of doing so without taking the front cover off :/ Thank you

Since the Panasonic LX100 and Leica DLUX 7 are clones, I was able to follow your steps verbatim to clean my Leica. Thank you so much. You made your video just in time.