[kjphilippona]

I just returned from my vacation from the Grand Canyon, while looking at the pictures my daughter noticed spots on the pictures. They are easy to remove with Lightroom but did not make me happy. I took all my lenses with the intention of swapping them out to see what, if any difference between them. I ended up using the DA*16-50 on almost all my picture so there are a lot of pictures i have to fix. I looked thru the lens with the aperture open all the way and could see three specks in the lens. Has anyone sent their lens in to have this cleaned out? what was the cost?

[DeadJohn]

Consider that it could be sensor dust before sending your lens for repair. Dust inside a lens generally doesn't show in photos; such dust is far away from the sensor and too blurred to notice in a photo.

Sensor dust can be cleaned at home. You need a "rocket blower" (never used canned aerosol air) sold in any camera store.

[ZombieArmy]

It's likely sensor dust, easy to clean yourself.

[Venom3300]

agree with the others. its likely on the sensor. three specks on a lens will not affect the image. even a large amount of dust in the lens would not likely produce spots, but rather a loss in contrast or make it more likely to flare.

[transam879]

While your lens may have dust inside it, as most lens have some dust in them, it shouldn't show in the photos. Typically dust on the sensor shows up at smaller apertures. From my experience, anything f/11 and smaller. Typically wider than f/11 (or f/8 in extreme cases) may show dust on the sensor. Dust is normal inside lenses and it takes alot to impact IQ. I have a Pentax-F* 300 f/4.5 with a shattered front element (courtesy of the USPS) that works fine at f/8 and smaller with no impact on IQ.

[Na Horuk]

Yes, first you should check the front and back of the lens, if there is dust. If yes, blow it off using a rocket blower or wipe gently with a cloth made for such purposes. If there is dust on the front or inside, it usually does not show up.
What is more likely is the dust is on the sensor, inside the mirror box. You can start by using the dust removal function in the camera. Many have it set to automatically run dust removal on start up. But if you have a lot of dust, this might not be enough. In that case, you will have to do the sensor cleaning function, where the camera merely exposes the sensor and you have to remove dust yourself. You can do this fairly well with a rocket blower. You should never touch the sensor! There are some special sensor cleaning tools and fluids, but those should only be used if rocket blower is effective. They usually come with their own instructions.

Finally, yes, you can send your lens and/or camera to a shop for cleaning. In some countries, you get a free cleaning as part of warranty, or maybe if you payed for extended warranty. You can contact some local shops and official dealers in your area about which services they offer, and at what price. Even camera stores that service Canon and Nikon should be able to clean a Pentax.

[aleonx3]

You can not see dust in the lens from the picture you take with the lens... the dust is on the sensor, not in the lens.

[kjphilippona]

Thanks everyone for the help, i will purchase a good rocket blower and give it a try

[UncleVanya]

Thanks everyone for the help, i will purchase a good rocket blower and give it a try

To verify the problem pop another lens on that doesn't show any spots that you notice and take a picture of the blank blue sky or white wall using f/8 or smaller (f/11 works well) to get the spots to show up. Then change lenses and do it again. The spots should not change position as I understand it.

[GlennG]

To verify the problem pop another lens on that doesn't show any spots that you notice and take a picture of the blank blue sky or white wall using f/8 or smaller (f/11 works well) to get the spots to show up. Then change lenses and do it again. The spots should not change position as I understand it.

I was about to suggest this, but UncleVanya spoke first. I have had spots on my photos and it was definitely dust on the sensor. I don't know if I've ever had dust inside my lens, but I'd certainly think I had to have at some point, but could not tell it. I have seen demonstrations of huge cracks and flaws on lenses and the photos still turned out fine, remarkably. So a little dust in a lens should not be a problem.

[drypenn]

Another way to check sensor dust is to shoot a a frame or two WITHOUT a lens while filling the frame with a bright light source. I use a led desk lamp. Of course, you should try this in a relatively dust free environment

[apfhex]

Just to add my 2 cents, although I thought I knew that lens dust likely won't show up in pictures - like everyone says - I was only seeing dust spots with my Tamron 17-50mm photos, and since there is pretty visible dust underneath the glass, I blamed the lens. But I guess due to the nature of the photos only taken with that lens (wide angle landscape shots with blue skies) I just didn't notice the spots with my other lenses. After doing a blank blue sky comparison I could see them in each photo. Rocket blower to the sensor cleaned it up.

[kjphilippona]

I finally had the time to check my camera out, first i attached the lens to my K-50 and took a few pictures of blue sky, no spots! I purchased a bulb blower from bestbuy and gave it a try. After a few tries, i gave up the spots were still there. Not sure if a better rocket blower would work better or i need a sencor cleaning kit.

[Na Horuk]

One thing to remember is that the spots are actually on reverse sides. Um, kinda difficult to explain, but if you see a spot on the top right on the image, the spot is going to be on the inverse corner on the actual sensor. Read a couple more sensor cleaning tutorials before you decide on getting a more expensive kit, different tools, or getting it serviced.

But yes, dust is unfortunately something that comes with digital sensors. They have some static, cameras move the mirror and shutter, so things tend to end up on there. Its something we all have to deal with.

[kjphilippona]

Thanks, that i will! It just really stinks, this is my used K-30 i purchased to back up my K-50 and it likes the DA*16-50 better