[mikeq]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

First of all Happy New Year to All.
I am seeing a spot on my photos that is not from the lens, I am assuming this is something on the sensor. I have a K-70 and have gently blown off the sensor and the spot is still there. Is there anything else I can do?

[Adam]

First of all Happy New Year to All.
I am seeing a spot on my photos that is not from the lens, I am assuming this is something on the sensor. I have a K-70 and have gently blown off the sensor and the spot is still there. Is there anything else I can do?

You can physically clean the sensor, i.e. as described here:
Cleaning Your DSLR Sensor - Tutorial Videos | PentaxForums.com

If you haven't done this before, I'd recommend a professional cleaning for peace of mind. Any camera store should be able to do it for you.

[Kerrowdown]

sensor. I have a K-70 and have gently blown off the sensor and the spot is still there.

You could try to buy yourself an inexpensive bit of kit called a Rocket Blower, something like this...

Giottos GTAA1900 Rocket Air Blower - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

Then hold the camera pointing downwards, lens out and give a good blast.

[jatrax]

Dust removal procedure in order:
1) Use the camera dust removal system. There is a menu setting to turn on/off. If you have dust run this several times in a row and then check for dust again. I leave mine on "run on startup" and I think that is best so you don't have to worry about it.
2) Use a 'rocket blower' or equivalent to blow off anything the shaker will not get rid of. Do not use compressed air or canned air. Some folks report it is OK to use canned air if you are careful, personally I'm not taking any chances but YMMV.
3) Use a wet cleaning kit. This is the last resort, and on two cameras with over 25,000 actuations in all kinds of environments I've never had to use one yet. Get this if all else fails but don't go there unless you are sure you need it.
4) Send in for professional cleaning. Pentax extended warranty (in the US) includes one 'free' cleaning. Not sure about anywhere else.

Easiest way to check for dust is to set your aperture to f/22 or so and take an image of the sky. Dust on the sensor is more visible at smaller apertures.

[Tas]

Mate, you've received sound advice already on dealing with the dust spots in camera, so I'll provide some info on other aspects of managing dust bunnies.

I get dust spots from time to time, I use a rocket blower and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. It can be a pain but usually it's not the end of the world as dust spots can be easily removed in post processing by most if not all PP software. Sometimes the presence of dust spots can be quite subtle and hard to see. I was processing an image the other day and didn't realise there was a dust spot until I added some contrast or sharpening, I don't really recall which but they both increase the difference between light/dark in an image making them easier to see. When I saw it I undid the process, removed the dust spot then re-applied that step.

And this is a clue on how to determine if you have any other dust spots. If you are using a non-destructive photo editor you can undo your work without compromising the image. This means you can add excessive sharpening, clarity or similar tools to check for dust spots, remove them and undo the excessive PP step without compromising your image.

If you take anything away from the above it's; don't sweat on dust spots as you can use a rocket blower to remove some/all of them and deal with 99.9% of the rest in post. I've never wet cleaned any sensors in my camera bodies and it would have to be really bad before I'd consider doing so, but that's me, YMMV etc.

Oh, and the way you change lenses can help too. Avoid wind as best you can by changing in an area sheltered from wind. If there's no such place available, face the camera down/away from prevailing wind, avoid lens changes if the conditions are really bad etc. I've wanted to change lenses doing seascapes but with strong winds and salt spray I decided I'd rather look for different images than compromise my camera. I also use the rocket blower to ensure there's no dust on the rear lens element before mounting to camera too.

Tas