huh??

[bribrius]

i cleaned the camera, but then noticed when i had changed lenses most of the dots went away anyway. Is it possible to have a lens this dirty on the inside? It was shot with a nikon 18-140.

 

[TCampbell]

Those spots are on the sensor. It is not possible for the camera to focus that well on any particles insides the lens.

This is the same concept that applies when trying to shoot through a fence... if you get your camera lens very close to the fence and take the shot, the fence doesn't show up in your image -- it blurs out to almost nothing. In order for anything to show up, it needs to be located close to a focus plane (in other words... it needs to be on the sensor.)

After cleaning your sensor, attach a lens, point at a plain white wall or ceiling (something with no contrast -- even a plain blue sky would work), pick a reasonably high f-stop (e.g. f/16) and take a shot (you don't need to focus the lens -- in fact it's almost better if you deliberately don't focus the lens.) It should be very easy to spot any dust particles in the shot.

Some Nikon bodies had issues with oil splatter. Owners could clean the sensor, verify it is spotless, but within a handful of shots new spots would start showing up again. What camera body are you using?

 

[bribrius]

7100.
i did clean the sensor. what hell....

 

[bribrius]

i'll give it another go, then take some more shots.

 

[tirediron]

7100.
i did clean the sensor. what hell....

Maybe put it in for the 'Pot scrubber' cycle instead of 'Light rinse' this time? I'm not aware of any oil issues being reported with the D7100, but it could be the case. How have you cleaned the sensor?

 

[bribrius]

30 psi air compressor, alcohol and q tips.

 

[bribrius]

the camera has dirt in the view finder too, but so far not incredibly annoying.

 

[Designer]

30 psi air compressor, alcohol and q tips.

Air compressors usually are lubricated with oil, which can enter the air line.

 

[bribrius]

30 psi air compressor, alcohol and q tips.

Air compressors usually are lubricated with oil, which can enter the air line.

there is a thought.......

 

[Derrel]

30 psi air compressor, alcohol and q tips.

This is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo not the right equipment that it is almost comical. Dude...the sensor is now filthy. As the photo shows.

 

[Rob5589]

As a past mechanic I can tell you air from compressors have moisture (water and/or oil) unless they have a filter/dryer and even then, I would never use it on a camera sensor.

 

[tirediron]

As a past mechanic I can tell you air from compressors have moisture (water and/or oil) unless they have a filter/dryer and even then, I would never use it on a camera sensor.

I would go so far as to say 'always' (unless you have a REALLY good quality trap of the kind used by professional auto-painters. I would also expect 30 psi to do a lot more to the inside of a camera than just deposit a few smudges on the sensor...

 

[chuasam]

 

[nerwin]

Finally, the correct way to clean your sensor

 

[TCampbell]

It sometimes helps to have a magnifying loupe with light to inspect the sensor while cleaning.

But ultimately I use three tools (and there are certainly more)

1) A hand-squeezed blower such as a Giottos Rocket Blower. Sometimes a few puffs of air can get rid of any dust.

2) A pristinely clean soft brush. I give the brush a couple of hard taps against the edge of a desk to knock any dust loose before using it on the sensor. But this can sometimes clear debris that the blower couldn't clear. There are brushes that have a grounding wire so that if there is any dust clinging to the sensor based on static cling, it'll release the charge so the dust won't cling.

But as your sensor looks to be heavily spotted, I very much doubt a blower or brush will be enough... you'll probably have to resort to wet-cleaning.

3) To wet-clean the sensor you will need

(a) "Eclipse" cleaning solution (by Photographic Solutions). This is nearly pure methanol. It evaporates VERY quickly and leaves no residue behind.

You'll also need

(b) "Sensor Swabs" (also by Photographic Solutions). These are plastic disposable single-use swabs with a lint-free cloth wrapped around the end.

The swabs come in different widths (for full frame, vs. APS-C size sensors) APS-C sensors use the "Type 2" width swab.

You'll will put just a few drops (perhaps 3) on the swap (don't over-saturate) and then give it a single swipe from one edge of the sensor to the other in a steady SINGLE wipe motion. I don't like to use much pressure -- if there is any debris on the sensor (technically it's the filter in front of the sensor) I don't want to drag it across and scratch it. Do not use a back & forth scrubbing motion.

After one swipe... toss it in the trash. If you don't think it's clean, get a fresh swab (swabs are cheap... having a scratched filter replaced is not cheap. This is no time to try to save a few pennies by reusing the swab.)

There are numerous YouTube videos which demonstrate how to clean the sensor.

I recalled watching a video by Fstoppers on a product called the "Sensor Gel Stick" which looked interesting. They claim it is only available through one distributor in the US and, in the video, they mention it's about $40. But when I went to photographylife.com (the only distributor in the US market) I noticed it is listing for about $55.00. I've never used this -- I use Eclipse with Sensor Swabs.