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12-01-2021, 02:23 AM   #1
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Surprising what a sensor clean can do, and how bad it can get before that . . .

It's probably been around three years since I last had my K-1 sensor cleaned, and for the most part it hasn't been much of a bother to remove the occasional sensor spot off any photos.

However, it got monumentally awful over the last few weeks, to the point where I gladly took it in to the local shop. I really don't know how it got to that point either, but one day a line of dots appeared on the photos, like a centipede had marched across the sensor. I think my rocket blower may have somehow been responsible, as the previous day I ( successfully ) dislodged and removed a larger dust particle that was causing a very dark spot on the photos. I was careful not to allow the blower tip make contact with the sensor, but it's possible it sprayed some debris across the sensor in a line. It doesn't help that I shoot my beach composites usually stopped down to f20 or f22 to get the depth of field I need for longer focal lengths, which I would expect would make things worse?

I got the camera back and went out for another shoot as was very surprised to find that the resulting photos were spotless! I thought much of the mess was from dust on or in the lens, but nearly all of it must have been the sensor! $60 well spent, I'd say, judging by the collection of Spot Removals in Lightroom on the photo ( vertical pano composite, one photo for the sky, three photos merged for foreground ),

I'm sure others have seen much worse

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12-01-2021, 02:34 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote

I'm sure others have seen much worse
Well, yours seems pretty dirty...
So why not try cleaning the sensor yourself? Do you consider that risky? (would be logical)...$60 is not that much to bring inner peace, but could be spent elsewhere...
12-01-2021, 02:40 AM - 2 Likes   #3
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I have used the Pentax magic stick successfully several times, though it can take a while to get them all off. I hate having them there, even if they can be removed in post.
12-01-2021, 03:12 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
I got the camera back and went out for another shoot as was very surprised to find that the resulting photos were spotless!
Congrats, you must feel much better now
I had to clean manually my old K-5 once or twive back in the day (both the Pentax "lollipop" and with wet swabs), but I don't recall ever needing to do it for my K-3II or K-1 (over a similar period of time). My assumption is that the automatic sensor cleaning has improved (or I became more careful over the years? that is a possibility too).

12-01-2021, 04:51 PM - 2 Likes   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
It's probably been around three years since I last had my K-1 sensor cleaned
For the love of god what made you put it off for THAT long? When I get one single speck that become blatantly visible at f/11 I clean my sensor. Even at their dirtiest, when I take a photo of clear sky at a narrow aperture to spot dust my sensor: it doesn't resemble a Jackson Pollock painting.
12-01-2021, 06:15 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Michail_P Quote
So why not try cleaning the sensor yourself? Do you consider that risky?
I've only ever given it a passing thought. I've never really looked into what the equipment might cost as I would need it that infrequently, but considering how reckless I am with my gear it's probably not that risky to give it a go! I don't mind supporting a local camera shop, but I will probably look into a cleaning kit no that I've rediscovered the joys of a clean sensor.

QuoteOriginally posted by Digitalis Quote
For the love of god what made you put it off for THAT long?
When the number of spots is barely in the double digits I hardly mind! Perhaps it's a the story of a frog in a boiling pot, but when I say it got bad quick, it really did; it was acceptable for my standards for the first 2.85 years of the 3. Or maybe I'm just misremembering how bad it was before then . . . .
12-01-2021, 06:32 PM - 1 Like   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
When the number of spots is barely in the double digits I hardly mind!
That is where you and I differ, if I can count the dust bunnies on one hand it's time for a cleaning.

12-01-2021, 06:45 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Digitalis Quote
That is where you and I differ, if I can count the dust bunnies on one hand it's time for a cleaning.
Pretty much the same here and FWIW, if auto cleaning is not enough, just a few puffs with the Rocket Blower is usually all it takes.


Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 12-01-2021 at 06:50 PM.
12-01-2021, 06:57 PM   #9
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Auto clean is generally enough but a Rocket Blower is easy to use and inexpensive. I used it tonight to clean a couple specks from the view finder.
12-01-2021, 08:23 PM - 1 Like   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
I think my rocket blower may have somehow been responsible, as the previous day I ( successfully ) dislodged and removed a larger dust particle that was causing a very dark spot on the photos. I was careful not to allow the blower tip make contact with the sensor, but it's possible it sprayed some debris across the sensor in a line.
This might sound obvious, but were you holding the camera face down? If not, the dust is just getting blown around inside.
QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
It doesn't help that I shoot my beach composites usually stopped down to f20 or f22 to get the depth of field I need for longer focal lengths, which I would expect would make things worse?
What would really make matters worse would be getting fine grains of sand in the camera. It always makes me nervous if I have to change lenses at the beach.
QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
$60 well spent, I'd say,
For sure. Having got so bad, cleaning the sensor would be tricky and time-consuming - it might have required several goes (with a clean swab each time).

One feature I miss from the K-3 is Dust Alert. The K-1 has it too doesn't it? Don't even need to take a narrow aperture image of the sky!
QuoteOriginally posted by victordeamorin Quote
My assumption is that the automatic sensor cleaning has improved
My experience too, with the ultrasonic dust removal in the K-3 and KP, compared to entry level models.

Last edited by Des; 12-03-2021 at 12:10 PM.
12-01-2021, 10:17 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Des Quote
This might sound obvious, but were you holding the camera face down?
Yep. Kinda had to line up the nozzle and then tip the camera and blower over before starting to push the air around. A little difficult to see what's going on, but with spray and pray you normally dislodge whatever you were aiming for. That probably sounds very haphazard, but again I'm careful to at least not touch the sensor with the blower or flail around in the mirror box like I'm stirring a pot of soup. Next time I should probably lie down on the ground with the camera above me so I can actually see exactly what I'm doing rather than making a best guess.

QuoteOriginally posted by Des Quote
What would really make matters worse would be getting fine grains of sand in the camera. It always makes be nervous if I have to change lenses at the beach.
I rarely change lenses on the beach, unless it's unique circumstances ( like a wide angle for a rainbow ). The DFA 28-105mm is used nearly exclusively for those shots, and it's proved to be very capable at withstanding the elements!

In my defense this is a single frame from a shoot about 5 days earlier. Starting to get a few spots on the lower half of the frame, not not nearly comparable to what it turned into. I used my K-1 only once in between these two beach photos for some lunar shots, swapping between longer lenses. I'm still not sure how it became so bad so quickly.
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12-02-2021, 01:02 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Focusrite Quote
I've only ever given it a passing thought. I've never really looked into what the equipment might cost as I would need it that infrequently, but considering how reckless I am with my gear it's probably not that risky to give it a go! I don't mind supporting a local camera shop, but I will probably look into a cleaning kit no that I've rediscovered the joys of a clean sensor.


When the number of spots is barely in the double digits I hardly mind! Perhaps it's a the story of a frog in a boiling pot, but when I say it got bad quick, it really did; it was acceptable for my standards for the first 2.85 years of the 3. Or maybe I'm just misremembering how bad it was before then . . . .
A cleaning kit of swabs and fluid should cost about $25.
12-02-2021, 01:45 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wheatridger Quote
A cleaning kit of swabs and fluid should cost about $25.
I've always been wary of the wet clean, except in the most stubborn cases. The potential for me stuffing it up and leaving a residue is substantial. The Pentax lollypop has always sufficed.
12-02-2021, 04:26 AM   #14
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Automatic sensor clean at both startup and shutdown is the default setting on the K-1. I don't understand why anyone would ever switch away from that setting. Dust Alert would be useful but the K-1 doesn't have that feature (as far as I know!). I have been using the Pentax lollipop since my *istD days, very effective but you need to be very methodical to get good results.
12-02-2021, 06:39 AM - 1 Like   #15
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Definitely fewer spots on K3 than on K20. Auto clean at startup and shutdown, of course, and when changing lenses I point the throat of the camera downwards, use the blower, and also use the blower on the mount end of the lens I am fitting too (also directed downwards). Once a month I do a mirror-up clean with the blower, clean all lens caps and filters, clean the contacts on camera and lenses and use the blower on both ends of each lens that I usually carry. Don't do much beach photography, as there are usually vast hordes of people around spoiling the view - if I do go to the beach, I take my cheap Jufi bridge camera to use.

Last edited by 35mmfilmfan; 12-02-2021 at 06:40 AM. Reason: stopped snowing
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