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10-05-2007, 05:25 PM   #1
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Dust or what?

These 3 circled areas clearly show blotches of something, but exactly what I do not know. Dust? Or is there something more serious going on here? I cleaned my lens just before shooting these and performed a dust removal function with the camera itself (k10). And what do you suggest to get rid of them? Anybody? It really bums me out man!

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10-05-2007, 05:29 PM   #2
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Dirty wall?

Kidding.

Dust on sensor, probably. Google 'Visible Dust' or sensor cleaning.

QuoteOriginally posted by ecce38 Quote
These 3 circled areas clearly show blotches of something, but exactly what I do not know. Dust? Or is there something more serious going on here? I cleaned my lens just before shooting these and performed a dust removal function with the camera itself (k10). And what do you suggest to get rid of them? Anybody? It really bums me out man!
10-05-2007, 05:31 PM   #3
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Looks like dust to me. I had a similar thing and used a rubber bulb blower to get rid of it. Before I remove my lens, I always blow around the bayonet mount to get rid of dust clinging to it. Seems to help.
10-05-2007, 05:39 PM   #4
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Sensor cleaning is tricky stuff and will have to investigate it more throughly. My buddy worked with a professional photographer who showed him how to do it and cleaned his for him. Thanks guys.

10-05-2007, 05:53 PM   #5
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It may be dust. Look below on bottom right and you will see what looks like an eyelash. I just had the sensor cleaned today and it turned out to be hair on the sensor and not the mirror or lenses. But I had no idea.

I thought the sensor cleaner was automatically on but it was not. I turned it on but still the hair persisted until I had it cleaned professionally. I should have had my sensor cleaner on automatically. Be sure to turn yours on for every start up, that's what I was recommended. I have to correct a lot photos now, but don't think I will bother.

JMR

Last edited by JMR; 10-08-2007 at 11:53 AM.
10-05-2007, 06:15 PM   #6
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I had a scare just this week. A little wiggle of lint on my sensor looked like a pretty decent smear. It scared me because I thought I had a big scratch on my Sigma 70-300.

Luckily, my little $2.00 bulb did the trick.

Don't expect dust removal to get rid of lint/hair that may creep inside. For that you would need a shake that would register on the Richter scale. It will shake off most particles of dust (imagine if you didn't have it at all) but for the bigger stuff, a bulb will do the trick.
10-05-2007, 06:16 PM   #7
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Hi ecce38,
Dust.
Welcome to the world of dslr. Dust will become your ever present bogey man.

The best investment I ever made, besides my Sigma 24mm f 1.7, was a $20 Giotto Rocket Blower.

10-05-2007, 06:19 PM   #8
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I just did a CCD sensor clean using a hurricane blower and this is what I got. It's an improvement but some dust remains. I turned the tone up on purpose just to see any shadows. Does anyone clean their own sensors using professional products or do you send yours off to be cleaned? Just askin'....
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10-05-2007, 06:54 PM   #9
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Try again

QuoteOriginally posted by ecce38 Quote
I just did a CCD sensor clean using a hurricane blower and this is what I got. It's an improvement but some dust remains. I turned the tone up on purpose just to see any shadows. Does anyone clean their own sensors using professional products or do you send yours off to be cleaned? Just askin'....
use the blower a couple more times. If that doesn't work try a dry que tip lightly passed over the sensor to loosen the dust up. I've had to do that once since Nov..
10-05-2007, 07:15 PM   #10
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ecce38,

Don't panic. As long as you change lenses, your going to occasionally get dust on the sensor. There are some things that help before running to the local camera tech for 40-60 buck cleaning.

1) Do a mirror up sensor cleaning command. Take the lense off with the camera body opening pointed down. Hold the body in this position close to (but not directly over) a light source so that you can see the sensor. (actually it is the low pass filter in front of the sensor) Do you see any dust particles? If so, use a bulb blower (or if you must, a Giotto Super Rocket Hurricane blow the toupee off your neighbors head from 60ft. blower) to blow the dust off and out. It may take several tries but if you can no longer see the dust, chances are it's no longer there. You may have to try this a couple of times to get it all off the low pass filter. If it is, and it's not moving around, you will need professional tack type cleaning. The dust may be welded in place.

2) If that blower method is successful, chances are you now have dust and crap (like hair) on the focus screen which is now driving you crazy because your beautiful clear matte viewfinder has specks. This won't appear on your images but is very annoying. In trying to blow the focus screen off you will inevitably blow dust into the chamber between the focus screen and viewfinder lens and possibly back on the sensor. It is now impossible to remove this dust from the backside of the focus screen without having to remove it. So, if you can live with a little dust on your focus screen and your pictures are clean you've got it. Otherwise, take it to the proffesional. Removing and installing the focus screen is not for the faint of heart and if you scatch it there is no user installable replacement for the K100D other than after market split focus screens. If your using a K10 you can get another from Pentax for a price.

3) Always change lenses with the body opening facing down. I've seen camera store clerks lay the body, lens off, opening up, on counters while changing lens on a DSLR in the store. All I could do is shutter. No pun intended. Inspect the rear of the lens to make sure the lens your installing is clean and try to be as expeditious as possible when swapping your lenses. Always protect that body opening. If there's wind blowing or a fan running try to get away from that. Hold the camera down inside your camera bag and change lenses there if at all possible.

4) If you use Photoshop and for some reason you have dust spots on your pictures like the one above, zap em with the healing brush tool. Piece O' Cake.

Just remember, a little caution when changing lenses and a little puff from a bulb blower from time to time will keep you from plopping down extra LBA dollars for sensor cleaning at the local shop.

And believe me, I've been through it all and survived.

Good Luck

Chuck
10-05-2007, 08:22 PM   #11
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fashion a pin hole out of a piece of card stock and place it in front of the lens -- cut it to the correct size to fit in the filter threads or tape it on. Open the aperture wide open on the lens. Take a picture of a white wall with the correct exposure -- focus doesn't matter. You'll see all your dust crystal clear on the sensor.
10-05-2007, 08:24 PM   #12
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I'm cheap and lazy, and I don't have a camera store near by. I use a turkey baster for a "bulb blower". It works, and it's clean.
10-05-2007, 09:07 PM   #13
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Similar to the pinhole trick, but easier to perform without makeshift materials, is to shoot a plain background at the smallest possible aperture. A shot of the brigthblue sky works well. The dust will look sharp, and really stand out...even peices of dust on the sensor that aren't visible any other way.

But if you can't see it at a more moderate aperture, it's not really a problem.
10-06-2007, 08:44 AM   #14
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areodave, your simple test showed me exactly where the dust was on my sensor. Thanks for the info. Take a look.
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10-06-2007, 12:29 PM   #15
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That's exactly the kind of result I expected. It really brings those dust bunnies into sharp focus. Remember that the image produced is flipped in both directions from how the sensor sees it. And when you turn the camera around, you flip it again horizontally. The result: a dust speck that shows up in the upper left of the image, like you have, is in the lower left of the sensor when you look at it from the front (with the camera right side up). The center-right line in your image will be in the center-right of the sensor when you look at it. And remember, some dust isn't easily visible to the naked eye, but it gets easier when you know where to look.


If blowing doesn't remove the dust you see, you'll have to use a wet cleaning method. I really wouldn't recommend rubbing anything dry on the sensor.

Wet cleaning is intimidating until you do it. I was apprehensive about doing it on my K100D, but it's truly nothing at all if you have the right tools. I ordered a kit including some Pec Pads, a Sensor Wand, and some Eclipse from Micro-Tools. After following their instructions, I had a squeaky clean sensor with no problems.
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