Spot on pictures (cleaning problem maybe)

[tranceplant]

Here is are 3 pictures taken with 2 different lens. I get those spots on a lot of pictures mostly on the left of the frame (the one really dusty has been taken with a longer exposure)

i really don't know what is causing this. Should I have the camera clean or any suggestion on cleaning it myself?

It's a bit annoying. Should I simply get a new body?

 

[Mystwalker]

I would get one of those rocket blowers and give inside of your camera a few puffs. Worst case scenarior, you can't blow it off and have to clean sensor.

Looks like you have some dust on your sensor.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

If you're shooting digital it could be dust on your sensor. Try taking some pictures of the sky at a small aperture. If it's dust on the sensor, you should see smaller specs in your pictures.

This is pretty common with Digital SLRs. I have dust on mine.

 

[tranceplant]

I have a blower thing and I tried and for some reason it doesn't quite do the trick. Any better methods on how to clean the the whole thing up?

I am shooting digital btw :0

thanks a lot for your quick reply

 

[PhotoDonkey]

I use the blower thing too, and I agree that it doesn't work real well, but the only other option is a wet cleaning, which I am unwilling to do. I've just been trying to live with it and do a blower cleaning from time to time and hope it eventually works. At some point I'll send it in for a proper cleaning, but in the mean time I'll live with the dust and clone it out in Photoshop.

 

[tranceplant]

I was looking at something like that... would you guys recommend that or even try it yourself?

 

[julie32]

http://www.dust-aid.com/the_product.html

This is what I use and I've been very successful with it.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

You could try it if you feel confident that you can do it without damaging your sensor. I honestly don't know how easy it would be to screw up, so I'm not inclined to try it myself.

Looking at your pictures, I see a lot more dust than I have on my sensor. How long have you had your camera?

I personally plan to send it in to Canon once a year for a cleaning. The cleanings can get pretty expensive, but probably worth it if you only have to do it once a year.

To minimize the amount of dust on my sensor, I've begun blowing off the mounting side of the lens before attaching it to the camera when I switch lenses and keeping the camera mount facing down when I take the old lens off and put the new one on so that gravity pulls any loose dust out of the camera instead of down on the sensor.

 

[Big Mike]

That is certainly dust on the sensor. It is more visible with smaller apertures and on clean/smooth parts of the image.
DSLR sensors need to be cleaned from time to time. There are several products and methods for cleaning the sensor. A search should turn up plenty of info.

It's actually pretty easy to do and as you are only cleaning the filter on the surface of the sensor...it really isn't very risky.

 

[PhotoDonkey]

I've done a number of searches for this. Any suggestions as to which products are the best for this kind of thing?

 

[Big Mike]

As with most things...there is no 'best'.

As mentioned, a quick & simple cleaning can be done with a blower bulb (don't used that canned air). The rocket type blowers are great.

If the dust is stuck, then a physical cleaning will be needed. One way is with a statically charged brush. Check out Arctic Butterfly products. There is also a wet cleaning technique where you use swaps and a cleaning fluid like 'Eclipse'.

 

[SpeedTrap]

I have the Arctic Butterfly (http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=3)

I would recomend this to everyone, I can clean my sensor quickly and just about anywhere. Great Product!

 

[tranceplant]

from what I can see... dust aid is mostly used. Anyone tried it here? (besides julie of course)

 

[Heck]

this helped me,,,I make it a habbit before going out to shoot is to check for spots.. set the camera at f22 or more and take a photo of a white wall or paper then check for spots. If I see any I just use the rocket blower a bit and it takes care of most dust spots I come across.