D7000 Dust or Oil?

[xpurpleblob]

So these little spots show up in the picture...on the sides and tops of the picture
does it look like dust or oil?
and can i try to blow on the mirror to get rid of it?

 

[xpurpleblob]

ignore the second picture that was at a different f

 

[SCraig]

I don't see much, but it's almost certainly just dust. Never heard of a D7000 getting oil on the sensor.

Blowing on the mirror will do no good, it's on the sensor. When the shutter opens the mirror is up out of the light path. Rule of gospel (not rule of thumb): If you can see it through the viewfinder it's on the mirror; if you can see it on an image it's on the sensor.

 

[ratssass]

...as long as were kind of on this subject,is $50.00 out of line for a mirror/sensor cleaning by a shop?Seems like I had heard $20-$30 somewhere along the way.

 

[SCraig]

...as long as were kind of on this subject,is $50.00 out of line for a mirror/sensor cleaning by a shop?Seems like I had heard $20-$30 somewhere along the way.

Sounds a little high to me, but I've not had a shop clean mine. I do mine myself, it's easy to do. Takes a little time, a sensor swab, and some solvent. DON'T try to use something like Q-Tips and rubbing alcohol, that's asking for lint problems. Get the right stuff and you won't have any problems at all.

 

[xpurpleblob]

How bout those little rocket dusting things? Also, I blew on the sensor but it didn't do any good.
Also SCraig, Flickr: Nikon D7000 Oil on sensor
I've only had this camera for 4 days. But I have taken the lenses off about 3 times

 

[07Vios]

I made the mistake of dusting off the coffee table in our living room before swapping lenses (BIG MISTAKE). I think I ended up getting (what I'm assuming is) organic dust on my sensor. Tried compressed air and the in camera sensor cleaning a bunch of times, and it only got rid of the inorganic dust.



Depressed, I researched the best way to clean the sensor, and ordered this from B&H:


Here is the after result (before and after is taken with my 100mm f2.8 macro, shooting our white bathroom sink)



That stuff is amazing. Just make sure you follow the instructions and get the proper size for your camera (I think the D7000 is a cropped body, no? So 1.5x for you).

 

[SCraig]

How bout those little rocket dusting things? Also, I blew on the sensor but it didn't do any good.
Also SCraig, Flickr: Nikon D7000 Oil on sensor
I've only had this camera for 4 days. But I have taken the lenses off about 3 times

Blowing dust off the sensor with a bulb duster *IS* the first step. You did it right. Never use a can of compressed "Air", use only a bulb duster, and be sure to hold the camera with the lens opening pointing downward so the dust will fall out. Sometimes that will blow it off, sometimes it won't. If it doesn't it's time for a swab and some solvent.

I like Photographic Solutions, others like Visible Dust products. I suspect they are equally good. Photographic Solutions has a video of how to clean a sensor on ThEir Web Site. Do it like they say and you won't have any problems. I probably clean mine once every couple of months or so because I'm bad about changing lenses in dirty environments.

I don't worry about a little bit of dust on the sensor anyway. Normally the only times it shows up is in areas of solid color (such as a sky) and then it's easy to clone out. Sensor dust is a fact of life with digital SLR's. It's going to be there, and if I clean my sensor tonight there will probably be some more on there in a day or two. Unless there is a lot of it or unless I'm shooting something "Special" I Generally don't worry a lot about it.

As to the oil on the sensor, the D600 had a problem with it but not the D7000. Of all the people I know of shooting a D7000 I have never heard ANY of them mention a problem of that sort. I've had mine since last March and all it ever gets on it is dust.

Edit ... Also, enable "Clean Image Sensor At Startup/Shutdown". It's on page 284 of your camera owner's manual. It might not help, but then again it might. It certainly won't hurt anything.

 

[xpurpleblob]

Oh, I blew on the sensor with my mouth...

 

[07Vios]

I've used compressed air ever since I've had my D40. Just spray some air out of the can to make sure there is not liquid, and never spray with the can any way but it being straight up (unless your can says it can be sprayed upside down). I've never had any issues.

 

[SCraig]

Oh, I blew on the sensor with my mouth...

It probably didn't hurt anything but I wouldn't make a habit of it. If any moisture got on the sensor (actually it's the anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor) it may have left some spots, but they should clean off easily.

Take a few photos and see if you can even see anything. You know where the spots should be from your dust photos so look at your regular photos and see if you can see anything. Odds are that you won't. If not then it's really not worth worrying about. The sensor is going to get dusty from time to time, it's just a fact of DSLR life.

 

[SCraig]

I've used compressed air ever since I've had my D40. Just spray some air out of the can to make sure there is not liquid, and never spray with the can any way but it being straight up (unless your can says it can be sprayed upside down). I've never had any issues.

It only takes making a mistake once and then you won't do it again.

 

[07Vios]

I've used compressed air ever since I've had my D40. Just spray some air out of the can to make sure there is not liquid, and never spray with the can any way but it being straight up (unless your can says it can be sprayed upside down). I've never had any issues.

It only takes making a mistake once and then you won't do it again.

Thought about getting one of those bulb dusters, but I've read that it may actually put on more dust on your sensor. Turned me off from it. I'll see if I can find that again.

 

[07Vios]

Can't seem to find it. It was at the time before I purchased my Visible Dust swabs. I can't remember if it was a video I watched or an article/forum I read. However, I suspect that it might have been mishandled and placed on a surface where dust got into the tubing???

 

[07Vios]

The Giottos Rocket Blower is just $7.50 for a large sized one anyway, so I might just get one anyway since I can't always bring compressed air with me. That, and a nice, cheap off camera flash cord (to see if I can save on shipping since I've been looking for one).