D70 With "Spot" In Images

[wjastrow]

Gang,

I've had my beloved D70 for almost 2 years now and somewhere along the line I've ended up with a very troublesome "spot" that appears in light backgrounds (e.g. sky in background) marring what would otherwise be lovely images. The "spot" (it appears as a small circle, perhaps a drop of water) is in the top center of the framed image and I've been able to crop it out. If the background image is dark, the "spot" isn't visible.

I understand that there's a way to "clean" the D70 along with enough warnings and cautions to scare the daylights out of me.

Has any other D70 owner undergone this process?

I do have a service contract that I can resort to if need be but I'm not keen on being without my camera for an extended period of time.

I'll be glad to post an image to illustrate if that will help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ksmattfish]

It's probably dust on the sensor. Here's a good link

http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

Cleaning your sensor for the first time is scary, but you can do it. There are scary warnings on you car, your bed, and even your soda pop.

 

[Jeff Canes]

Myself and everyone I know use a blow bulb to clear sensor filter, also shooting at low f-stop will reduces these spots

 

[huegostudio]

Most of the time you can just use a powerful blower to get rid of the dust. hold the camera facing down when you blow.

set your aperture to the lowest (22 or 32) and take a photo of the sky to compare your before & after results

 

[wjastrow]

Thanks to all who responded.

Shortly after posting (and I should have started with this), I searched this site for "d70 sensor cleaning" and was somewhat relieved to find I wasn't alone in this situation. I really thought this was >just me<.

I did follow the link to the cleaning site and then attempted the "bulb blowing" (I have a "rocket" blower) technique.

The interesting thing to me is that I can see the speck of whatever that's causing the "spot"; it just won't budge. I plan to take the camera in. Maybe the people in the store I purchased it are more adept at this or have an in-house service. If all else fails, there's the service contract.

I'm actually considering purchasing a Nikon 35mm (film) camera since the lenses for my digital should be interchangable so that I can continue to enjoy photography.

 

[darich]

I'm actually considering purchasing a Nikon 35mm (film) camera since the lenses for my digital should be interchangable so that I can continue to enjoy photography.

Be careful about this - Canon have a 2 ranges of lenses EF and EF-S.
EF lenses will fit every SLR camera. EF-S lenses will only fit some of their digital SLR range.
Be sure to check your lenses are compatible with film bodies before changing.

As an aside....in my opinion it's not worth changing from digital to film just incase i get dust on my sensor. Sensors are easy to clean if fragile and delicate. Also consider the fact that several large photographic companies have ditched all but a select few film products.
You may find that soon you'll be struggling to get what you want. With film market dwindling you may also find the price starts to creep up.

 

[Dave_D]

Be careful about this - Canon have a 2 ranges of lenses EF and EF-S.
EF lenses will fit every SLR camera. EF-S lenses will only fit some of their digital SLR range.

You don't have to be too careful with this. With your Nikon F mount system you can use any lens from 1977 up on any camera. Companies like Canon did not retain backwards compatibilty like Nikon did. Features will vary a bit but they all work!

 

[wjastrow]

I enjoy the immediacy and ease of my D70 far too much to abandon digital photography altogether but have seen prices drop on what were once premier 35mm offerings to where such an addition becomes worth considering as a backup to address the inevitable withdrawal brought on from having no camera (while my D70 is serviced).

 

[darich]

You don't have to be too careful with this. With your Nikon F mount system you can use any lens from 1977 up on any camera. Companies like Canon did not retain backwards compatibilty like Nikon did. Features will vary a bit but they all work!

Dave
I'm a Canon user and have no idea about Nikons but thought it would be worth pointing out.
Obviously your nikon knowledge is far better than mine!