Checking for sensor damage on EOS 300D?

Iskalla · Mar 19, 2010

Hi all,

I'm sort of new to photography, I mean, I've been into it for about 2 years, but I'm still quite a newbie and there are LOTS of things I don't understand yet.

The thing is, I might be buying my first SLR tomorrow (!), I'm buying a used one, since new SLR cameras here cost no less than a thousand dollars and I'm just a student, so... That's not gonna happen.

I've been reading online about all the things one should check when buying a used SLR, and I read about checking the sensor to see if it's scratched or anything. The problem is, I have no idea how to do that

How do I do this on a Canon EOS 300D?

And then, to take a test image when checking for dust, it says you have to set Aperture to f/22, but what if I don't have a lens that can do that?

Am I like really screwed? I need help, thanks in advance!

Tiberius47 · Mar 20, 2010

Take the lens off and put the camera into Manual mode. Use the control wheel just behind the shutter button to adjust the shutter speed. Go as slow as it will go. After the 30 second setting is a setting called Bulb. In this, the shutter will remain open as long as the shutter release is held down.

All you have to do now is look into the front of the camera and press the shutter release. The shutter will open and let you look directly at the sensor. Once you are satisfied, release the shutter button and the shutter will close again. Then you just have to put the lens back on.

There's most likely an option in the menu to do this same basic thing for sensor cleaning, but this will work on any SLR camera.

As for the setting the lens to f22, most lenses can get to f22. Often they can go smaller. In any case, set the aperture as small as it will go (as high a number as you can get. It will usually be f22 or higher). Take a photo and have a look at it on a computer (if you can. if you can't, zoom in on the image on the rear LCD screen.). The reason that you should use a small aperture is that it increases the Depth of Field. This will help to make any dust on the sensor sharper (if it's blurry, it can be very hard to spot).

In the meantime, check out the tutorials in my signature.