Yes it needed cleaning. (A rude wakening)

[Grandpa Ron]

In a previous post I mentioned spots on sky and cloud photos. The consensus of opinion was dust on the lens and sensor. Well you folks were right on. It was just plain dirty.

I used a white piece of white copy paper taped to the monitor.
f22, focus infinity, 55mm 1/10 sec. 3200 ISO. Basically a blank screen.

This was the camera before cleaning. I was quite surprised, as I always keep a UV filter in the front of the lens and clean with a micro cloth.

Next I removed the UV filter and cleaned the lens front and back with an air bulb duster and micro cloth. Then used the air bulb duster to dust the inside of the camera body and the sensor with the mirror raised.

As you can see this is much better, but still some sensor dust which did not move or come off with additional air bulb dusting. Same camera setting as before.

Now came the tricky part, cleaning the sensor. This is often considered a no-no by many camera folks. A job best left to the camera repair pros.

But I ordered a sensor cleaning kit, watch several YouTube videos and swabbed the sensor accordingly.

Again, the same camera settings, and as you can see there is just a single dark dot on the lower left which I did not consider worth chasing. I expect it to be removed on the next cleaning.

In retrospect I guess my old film camera thinking prevailed. I have always used my cameras bodies for a lot of odd tinkering; such a home made pin hole lenses, telescope adapters, multiple lens etc. The only dust issues I encountered were with my 4x5 view camera film holders .

I had never even considered the sensor, tucked away behind mirror, to be prone to dust. So given my desire to experiment; sensor cleaning was just one more to task to be learned.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Space Face]

Wow, that was pretty manky. Great cleaning job tho.

 

[wfooshee]

Lens dust will never appear in an image, by the way, unless there's just so much of it you can't even see through the lens. Even then, it's not spots in the image, it's other distortions.

 

[Winona]

This is next on my list of many projects....,

 

[Grandpa Ron]

wfooshee,

That is true, I have an old film camera lens that has a fungus spot about 1/8" in diameter on the edge of the front lens, I use it with my digital and it never seems to be an issue. To see lens dirt I had to shoot a clear sky or sheet of white paper while focused at infinity.

Unfortunately this was not lens dust but sensor dust.

Even then if you look at a color picture, it is not all that apparent.

However when I set the camera up for monochrome, the sensor dust become quite apparent.

Hence the need for a sensor cleaning.

 

[mountainjunkie]

I recently had the same issue. Mine went from a couple spots I barely noticed to many that suddenly showed when I dehazed a couple shots. After looking in to it and taking some test shots as you did the sensor was pretty bad. I decided to take it and let a professional do it. Cost me a bit more but I didn't worry about messing it up and for a few bucks extra they detailed the entire body, battery grip, and two lenses. It was worth it to me, ymmv.

 

[smoke665]

. I was quite surprised, as I always keep a UV filter in the front of the lens and clean with a micro cloth.

Unless you plan on keeping your camera hermetically sealed and never use it, dust will happen. Dust is everywhere around us, every time you change lenses, or if you use a zoom lens you run the risk of dust getting to the sensor. I agonized for days before I finally did a wet clean, on mine.

 

[SquarePeg]

Cleaning the sensor was nerve wracking for me! The spots all cleaned off but the big one I was trying to get. It will not budge with the amount of force I’m willing to use. Decided to live with it since it only shows up in skies at certain apertures and is fairly easy to clone out. Some day, when I buy that 2nd camera body and my current one becomes the back up, I’ll try again and if unsuccessful I will send it out to be cleaned by a pro.


As for lens spots, dust getting in etc - I’m not that good about preventing all that. I change lenses in risky conditions - outdoors, near the ocean spray, in the wind, with seagulls flying over lol. With that in mind I clean my lenses front and back after each outing. Just wiping with a soft cloth after blowing off any visible dust.

 

[DarkShadow]

I sold my D7500 just over 31,000 clicks not once has the sensor needed a clean and i have looked for it. The only Cameras I ever had to clean the sensor was a D7200 I had and D610 I have know both purchased new and within a few hundred clicks some lubricant sling showed up on the sensor that took a couple wet clean passes to get out. now i am at 5,000 plus clicks on the D610 and it's spotless but I use my 50mm 1.8 prime and the 28-80 i only use on the wide end so i am not zooming in and out.

 

[jcdeboever]

I got rid of my D610 to simplify my life, but I had it less than a year and cleaned that sensor 3 times. I think it was slinging oil. I virtually never change lenses outside, actually can't remember when I did. I cleaned my XT2, 2 times before I sold it but I had it a few years.

I rocket blow the film box on my Nikon F2 everytime I load a roll of film. I have to blow out the prism a lot, how dust gets inside that is beyond me.

 

[DarkShadow]

JC i have read posts or reviews people with the D610 say they had lubricant spots much like the D600 yet the shutter suppose to be different then what was used on the D600. I have no issues now after the first few hundred clicks with my D610 after cleaning it. 5,000 clicks plus and counting all is well.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

As said, with today's editing software, it's easy to clone/heal out. I upgraded bodies, and even though the wife said " sell the old one ", I kept it and carry both bodies on a harness with me. I use one for macro/closeups, the other for wildlife/telephoto. Less lens changing, as Smoke said, means less chance of dust.

 

[SquarePeg]

I sold my D7500 just over 31,000 clicks not once has the sensor needed a clean and i have looked for it. The only Cameras I ever had to clean the sensor was a D7200 I had and D610 I have know both purchased new and within a few hundred clicks some lubricant sling showed up on the sensor that took a couple wet clean passes to get out. now i am at 5,000 plus clicks on the D610 and it's spotless but I use my 50mm 1.8 prime and the 28-80 i only use on the wide end so i am not zooming in and out.

I think this is probably my issue more than the changing lenses out in the open. I have several weather resistant lenses but also a few that are not. I use my zooms all the time.

 

[Rickbb]

I worried about cleaning mine as I've never been called graceful and have anything but delicate hands.

But then I'm lusting after a D810 anyway. lol

And now have a perfectly clean sensor and will have to find another excuse to upgrade.

 

[smoke665]

he spots all cleaned off but the big one I was trying to get. It will not budge with the amount of force I’m willing to use

I had the same issue with what was either grease or oil. Finally took it to a shop, the guy used this on a swab. ROR Residual Oil Remover (2.0 oz) 2mins and $30 later the spot was gone. I now have a bottle in my supplies.