Help, Dust on Sensor!!!

[The_Caper]

:cry:Hi all,

In the image below you will see a speck or blemish that I see in all my sky shots. Blue sky, Black sky either one. I have tried both my lenses and the speck is still there in the same spot so I believe that rules out dust/dirt on lens.

If this is on my Sensor which I believe it must be, how do I get rid of it! I have not had the camera long and I keep my lens on it all the time so how did dust get on the sensor?

Help would be very appreciated. Thanks all.

 

[The_Caper]

After reading some info on Sensor brushes(which are ridiculosly expensive i.e. the butter fly version etc...) and blowers, does everyone here clean there own sensors and if so what method? Or does everyone just send the camera in for cleaning?

Thanks again all. Any input would be appreciated.


Paul.

 

[sothoth]

I use an air bulb and gently blow air over the sensor. I do this about 1-3 times per year.

I tend to be one of those people who FREAKS OUT if I even think of touching the sensor (or sensor cover) with anything.

It looks to me like you simply have dust, which should come off easily with the air bulb. To test it after cleaning, take a picture of a white sheet of paper with the aperature wide open, then examine the image carefully for specs. Sometimes, you need 2 or more passes with the bulb to get it all the way off the sensor.

Other people say using one fo the sensor swabs is OK, but I would never touch my sensor, period, no matter how safe others' say it is, it's a risk I'm not willing to take.

 

[The_Caper]

Good day all:

I broke down and used a blower with my camera in cleaning mode and it looks like I got rid of that ugly spot. I did not want to resort to the sensor swipe as that would intail touching the Sensor ale: Here is a shot of the sky without the spot, I hope?

 

[Big Mike]

I just use a blower, but I don't often shoot at small apertures...which is where dust really show up on the images.

Don't be so afraid of cleaning the sensor...you would only be cleaning the sensor cover...which is basically like cleaning a window.

 

[The_Caper]

Hi Mike:
Thank you very much. I tried cleaning the sensor with a blower, could you please tell me if it looks gone to you in the second photo.

Thanks Mike, have a great day.

Paul.

 

[Big Mike]

Looks better to me.

To really test for dust spots...set the camera to Av and set an aperture of F22. Point the camera at a wall, or something of a solid color (clear blue sky). Make sure you are not holding the camera (tripod) and use the self timer. The resulting image will show dust, if you have it. Most likely, there will be some...but as long as it's not too bad, don't worry about it.

Most of the time, it's very fast and easy to just clone out (Photoshop) the dust spots when they show up.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Caper.....if you are going to be shooting, then get used to ceaning your sensor periodically.

You do not actually 'touch' the sensor with a swab or brush. The IR filter lies on top of the sensor itself. Light or medium pressure will not harm the sensor, they are a lot tougher than you might expect.

Sensor cleaning is a part of DSLR use that nobody tells you about til you ask.

 

[The_Caper]

Thank you Jon:

I guess what I will do is keep using the good quality blower I have to get rid of the light dust and fluffs as it seems to have worked on the speck I had as seen above. If I end up ever getting some of that ground in stuff Ill break down and use a Sensor Swab.

Paul.

 

[EOS_JD]

Thank you Jon:

I guess what I will do is keep using the good quality blower I have to get rid of the light dust and fluffs as it seems to have worked on the speck I had as seen above. If I end up ever getting some of that ground in stuff Ill break down and use a Sensor Swab.

Paul.

To check for dust you've not used the best subject. Shoot a plain white sheet of paper or a blank wall in your house and then use levels in photoshop to show the dust. Using a dark (and underexposed) sky will mean you'll miss the dust on the darker areas.

Here's my try tonight (you reminded me to clean mine). This was shot against a plain yellow wall.

Before

After

Cleaned using the copperhill method and pretty much clean enough for me.