Dust Removal at Start-up: On or Off?

bdery · 08-13-2008, 12:19 PM

Mine is off, and I give it a little run manually when changing lenses (the time when it should be activated, IMHO) and from time to time, when I think about it.

No dust has survived so far.

simonkit · 08-13-2008, 12:52 PM

I leave mine on...never had any dust on sensor with K10D & change lenses pretty often, it makes more sense to me to use the feature as it may well prevent/reduce dust, if it's turned off it definitely won't !!

simon

ll_coffee_lP · 08-13-2008, 01:08 PM

Mine's on all the time with both my k10d's. It sounds terrible when it goes off, but I don't like jabbing my fingers in my camera's innards to clean it out.

To each his/her own I guess...

c[_]

borno · 08-13-2008, 01:34 PM

I leave it on and seldom have to get the blower out I had more dust problems when it was off. I don't think it is just coincidence. I hate dust, hated it with film and hate it now really hate having to go through the extra steps cloning it out. Did I mention that I hate dust?

rfortson · 08-13-2008, 01:43 PM

On for me, and I think it's working. I don't think I've had to blow out the camera since I got it in February. I even changed lenses at an outdoor rodeo on a dirt/dust floor and didn't see any dust spots resulting.

I know that the one controlled test I saw on the K10D and others said that only the Olympus system seemed to work, but maybe the K20D is different. It wouldn't be the only (non-announced) difference I've seen between the K10D and K20D.

WMBP · 08-13-2008, 03:50 PM

Originally posted by Jasvox

Mine is always on and so far (1 year) I haven't noticed any significant problems with dust (living in Greece, thats a minor miracle). I attribute it to careful lens changing, and keeping my dust removal on start up engaged.

My rocket blower gets most use just keeping the outside clean and lenses dust free.

Something must be working.

My experience is the same as Jason's. I leave the dust shaker ON, on both my K10D and my K20D. I can't remember the last time I noticed dust in a photo. I also use a blower when changing lenses, but I do not see any downside to keeping the dust reduction shake turned on. I suppose it uses some battery power but I get such terrific life from my batteries that it's obviously not a big problem.

I see that several folks here leave it off. But I don't see what the downside is.

Will

rortiz · 08-14-2008, 11:14 PM

I just had a thought: What does Pentax says about this. I've read the K20D Manual but it does not say anything about any bad effects of the dust removal system if used too much.

Another thought: does the whole sensor shake or is it just the Low Pass Filter?

Yet another one: given that the sensor has close to 15 million pixles, surely such a rough shaking action will cause something to break!

Passed my quota of thoughts for the day....

madbrain · 08-15-2008, 02:44 AM

I had some dust on my K200D sensor that was fairly hard to remove. It took a lot of tries with several blowers to remove it. After that, I turned the start-up dust removal on and I will leave it that way.

reeftool · 08-15-2008, 10:34 AM

I leave it on. I change lenses often and haven't had dust problems so I guess it works.

**Canada_Rockies** · 08-15-2008, 01:40 PM

Mine is turned on. I have my k10d since last November, and had to take off one (1) item from the sensor, a week ago. I blew it out with the old squeeze bulb I use instead of the new Giotto Rocket blower. The mark was not a spec of dust, more like a tiny eyelash, and did not come off on a couple of dust shakes, so I blew it out.

Marc Sabatella · 08-15-2008, 03:12 PM

I have mine off for two reasons:

1) I virtually never turn my camera off, so I equally rarely ever turn it on
2) If I do turn it off (and I *may* start getting in the habit when changing lenses, both to de-charge the sensor and to remind me to change SR setting), it makes a hell of a racket when turning it back on. I prefer to be more inconspicuous, especially given that much of my shooting is when listening to music.

As for whether it works or not, I can unequivocably state that it *does* work sometimes. That is, I *have* successfully removed dust from my sensor this way. It may take several runs, and it doesn't always work, but I find I can increase the odds by pointing the camera down and waiting several seconds between shakes.

christinelandon · 08-16-2008, 10:26 PM

Mine's left on, with great effectiveness. Feature works, and I'm glad to have it!

quarc · 08-17-2008, 02:57 AM

Originally posted by rortiz

I'm just finishing up customising the settings on my K20D and am not sure if I set the dust removal feature to "On at Start-up" or not. It just seems that the cleaning action is quite violent - I guess if it weren't it wouldn't be effective. I would think that the sensor should be built to take the "abuse" but still....

Has anyone had a problem that stemmed from setting the dust removal system to "On at Start-up"?

Mine is on, I get the impression it works much better on te K20D than on the K10D. I stll have had no dust issues or had to manually blow the sensor on the K20D. I have stopped switchig the camera off as much though, I usually leave it on for hours, while i temded to switch it on and off much more often before. I think the main advantage (assuming you switch off the camera) that everytime I change the lens, it will kick off any new dust before it settles.

Tinderbox (UK) · 08-19-2008, 03:01 PM

Hi.

this might be a daft question but is their a sticky patch inside to catch the loose dust and stop it from moving around?

**Canada_Rockies** · 08-19-2008, 05:09 PM

Yes, there is. It is mentionned in the specs for the K10d in any event.

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08-13-2008, 12:19 PM	#16
bdery Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,357	Mine is off, and I give it a little run manually when changing lenses (the time when it should be activated, IMHO) and from time to time, when I think about it. No dust has survived so far.

08-13-2008, 12:52 PM	#17
simonkit Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: North Wales, UK Posts: 645	I leave mine on...never had any dust on sensor with K10D & change lenses pretty often, it makes more sense to me to use the feature as it may well prevent/reduce dust, if it's turned off it definitely won't !! simon

08-13-2008, 01:08 PM	#18
ll_coffee_lP Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,972	Mine's on all the time with both my k10d's. It sounds terrible when it goes off, but I don't like jabbing my fingers in my camera's innards to clean it out. To each his/her own I guess... c[_]

08-13-2008, 01:34 PM	#19
borno Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: md-usa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,580	I leave it on and seldom have to get the blower out I had more dust problems when it was off. I don't think it is just coincidence. I hate dust, hated it with film and hate it now really hate having to go through the extra steps cloning it out. Did I mention that I hate dust?

08-13-2008, 01:43 PM	#20
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129	On for me, and I think it's working. I don't think I've had to blow out the camera since I got it in February. I even changed lenses at an outdoor rodeo on a dirt/dust floor and didn't see any dust spots resulting. I know that the one controlled test I saw on the K10D and others said that only the Olympus system seemed to work, but maybe the K20D is different. It wouldn't be the only (non-announced) difference I've seen between the K10D and K20D.

08-13-2008, 03:50 PM	#21
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by Jasvox Mine is always on and so far (1 year) I haven't noticed any significant problems with dust (living in Greece, thats a minor miracle). I attribute it to careful lens changing, and keeping my dust removal on start up engaged. My rocket blower gets most use just keeping the outside clean and lenses dust free. Something must be working. My experience is the same as Jason's. I leave the dust shaker ON, on both my K10D and my K20D. I can't remember the last time I noticed dust in a photo. I also use a blower when changing lenses, but I do not see any downside to keeping the dust reduction shake turned on. I suppose it uses some battery power but I get such terrific life from my batteries that it's obviously not a big problem. I see that several folks here leave it off. But I don't see what the downside is. Will

08-14-2008, 11:14 PM	#22
rortiz Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 66 Original Poster	I just had a thought: What does Pentax says about this. I've read the K20D Manual but it does not say anything about any bad effects of the dust removal system if used too much. Another thought: does the whole sensor shake or is it just the Low Pass Filter? Yet another one: given that the sensor has close to 15 million pixles, surely such a rough shaking action will cause something to break! Passed my quota of thoughts for the day....

08-15-2008, 02:44 AM	#23
madbrain Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,341	I had some dust on my K200D sensor that was fairly hard to remove. It took a lot of tries with several blowers to remove it. After that, I turned the start-up dust removal on and I will leave it that way.

08-15-2008, 10:34 AM	#24
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	I leave it on. I change lenses often and haven't had dust problems so I guess it works.

08-15-2008, 01:40 PM	#25
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	Mine is turned on. I have my k10d since last November, and had to take off one (1) item from the sensor, a week ago. I blew it out with the old squeeze bulb I use instead of the new Giotto Rocket blower. The mark was not a spec of dust, more like a tiny eyelash, and did not come off on a couple of dust shakes, so I blew it out.

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08-15-2008, 03:12 PM	#26
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	I have mine off for two reasons: 1) I virtually never turn my camera off, so I equally rarely ever turn it on 2) If I do turn it off (and I may start getting in the habit when changing lenses, both to de-charge the sensor and to remind me to change SR setting), it makes a hell of a racket when turning it back on. I prefer to be more inconspicuous, especially given that much of my shooting is when listening to music. As for whether it works or not, I can unequivocably state that it does work sometimes. That is, I have successfully removed dust from my sensor this way. It may take several runs, and it doesn't always work, but I find I can increase the odds by pointing the camera down and waiting several seconds between shakes.

08-16-2008, 10:26 PM	#27
christinelandon Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 812	Mine's left on, with great effectiveness. Feature works, and I'm glad to have it!

08-17-2008, 02:57 AM	#28
quarc Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 182	Originally posted by rortiz I'm just finishing up customising the settings on my K20D and am not sure if I set the dust removal feature to "On at Start-up" or not. It just seems that the cleaning action is quite violent - I guess if it weren't it wouldn't be effective. I would think that the sensor should be built to take the "abuse" but still.... Has anyone had a problem that stemmed from setting the dust removal system to "On at Start-up"? Mine is on, I get the impression it works much better on te K20D than on the K10D. I stll have had no dust issues or had to manually blow the sensor on the K20D. I have stopped switchig the camera off as much though, I usually leave it on for hours, while i temded to switch it on and off much more often before. I think the main advantage (assuming you switch off the camera) that everytime I change the lens, it will kick off any new dust before it settles.

08-19-2008, 03:01 PM	#29
Tinderbox (UK) New Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: United Kingdom, England Posts: 5	Hi. this might be a daft question but is their a sticky patch inside to catch the loose dust and stop it from moving around?

08-19-2008, 05:09 PM	#30
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	Yes, there is. It is mentionned in the specs for the K10d in any event.