spot in sky background - K200D - Kit lens

LSC · 08-15-2008, 10:04 AM

An irregular small but noticeable slightly dull spot is appearing with pictures taken with the sky in the upper (1/3) left background. It was more noticeable with gray and cloudy sky than with blue, but now will show up in both. Does not show up otherwise, but when it does always in the same place and under the circumstances described above (I see it every time now). Seems to be getting worse but maybe because I am just now noticing it. I cleaned the front lens and used a lens cleaning cloth on the back lens . I also did the K200D auto mapping of defective pixels but nothing helped. Very annoying in the shots it appears now that I see it.

My camera (from Amazon) is new (had about 14 days), but I sent in the rebate form with the UPC cut out from the box before I noticed the spot in a couple of newer pictures. I have owned a few p&s digitals (Kodak and Canon) plus a couple of film SLRs (Minolta and Canon) and never had any problems, so guess I did not check out the Pentax closely enough when I first got it. Any suggestions other than send the camera and/or lens to Pentax. Looks like I got a defective camera or lens.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Attached Images

RoxnDox · 08-15-2008, 10:07 AM

Looks like dust on the sensor. Do you have a Rocket blower? If not, get one, it's the first and safest thing to try for cleaning it off.

Jim

**eccs19** · 08-15-2008, 10:20 AM

Maybe it's an alien ship following you around everywhere, and that's why you only see it in your sky shots.

LSC · 08-15-2008, 10:51 AM

Thanks.

I do not have a Rocket blower, but wil look for one today. I live (and teach) in a small college town, and the local camera/repair stores, that I liked to browse in (and found some good stuff), in Greenville and Charlotte, have gone out of business in this digital age. My only option here is probably Ritz/Wolfe.

The sensor was only exposed for a few seconds to remove the body cap and put on the kit lens, and this camera is supposed to have a couple of dust removal systems built in, but who knows.

Igilligan · 08-15-2008, 11:13 AM

Originally posted by LSC

Thanks.

I do not have a Rocket blower, but wil look for one today. I live (and teach) in a small college town, and the local camera/repair stores, that I liked to browse in (and found some good stuff), in Greenville and Charlotte, have gone out of business in this digital age. My only option here is probably Ritz/Wolfe.

The sensor was only exposed for a few seconds to remove the body cap and put on the kit lens, and this camera is supposed to have a couple of dust removal systems built in, but who knows.

someone on one of the forums said they used it and blew a ton of tiny particles out onto their sensor. Apparently some manufacturing debris...

Order a Rocket Blower from one of the online places if you cant find one locally. They have an intake filter that keeps you from sucking in dust just to blow in to the camera body.

Marc Sabatella · 08-15-2008, 11:59 AM

Rocket blowers, or other equivalents, are widely available, at Ritz/Wolf and probably even general electronics stores like Best Buy. Do be sure to get one with a filter on the intake, and do perform a few test bvlows first to clear out anything that has been sitting inside since it was shipped.

But before messing with that, try the dust removal feature (one of the last times on the Setup menu, so just hit the up arrow a couple of times). Works best, I find, if you point the camera *down*, and do several iterations with maybe 10 seconds between. I used to find the feature a waste, but I'm now finding it really do th job much of the time.

Easiest way to test if it worked is to shoot a picture of the sky or a blank white object (white curtains work well) with the lens fully stopped down - f/22 or whatever your lens goes to. Although the K200D has a "dust alert" feature that attempts to show you where the dust is, I find it gives many false positives if not used very carefully (ou really do have to point at a very plain surface or it sees the texture on the surface you are point at as dust).

rfortson · 08-15-2008, 12:11 PM

I've used a Rocket Blower on my *ist DL, my K100D, my K10D and my K20D (in succession - I sold one to finance the next). I've never had to do a wet cleaning of the sensor.

Just remove the lens, set the camera to sensor cleaning mode (to raise the mirror), hold the camera so the lens opening is pointing down, stick the tip of the Rocket Blower just at the entrance to the opening (NOT inside the camera), and give it several good blasts.

The Rocket Blower and others like it draw air in from a filtered inlet (not the nozzle), so it won't suck up dust and then blast it into your camera. If you're worried about manufacturing debris, blast it onto a piece of paper first to see if anything comes out. Mine (and I suspect just about all) was clean as a whistle, but I'm sure manufacturing errors occur.

BTW, just to confirm, the spec on your shots is dust. It's nothing to worry about, but yeah, it's distracting from the shot. You'll have to clone it out in post processing (not hard, but just another thing to do).

**sinus007** · 08-15-2008, 06:53 PM

Hi LSC,
I had exactly the same thing on my k200d. As prev. posters suggested, giotto(sp?) blower and setup for shake up at the power up took care of the problem.
Good luck.

Dave54 · 08-15-2008, 07:34 PM

I had the same problem with a sigma lens , or so i thought I couldn't see any spots on my lens or the filter but when looking at my pics there was 3 spots same spot in every pic. Cleaning the sensor didn't help, spots always there. My daughter was looking at my camera out in the sun and said your filter is dirty trying to clean it she couldn't get the SPOTS off , so in the bright sun if I turned the filter flat to the sun I could see my spots , flaws in the glass not spots on the glass so if the problem just won't go away , it is possible to have flawed glass.
Dave

LSC · 08-16-2008, 07:29 AM

Thanks for the suggestions

I tried the noise removal vibration and changed the setting to come on at start up. I had though it was auto. I could not find a Rocket blower at the Ritz, CC or BB stores in this area. They did not know what it was. Ritz had a hurricane blower, in their own brand, which looks like the Rocket except for the fins. I bought that and used it as instructed here, but the spot is still there.

Dave, I had already taken the filter off, but that did not solve the problem. I do not have another lens to try for this camera. I will not likely buy one now until this issue is resolved.

I will probably order the Rocket from Adoroma and try it. I can see I will miss the Greenville and Charlotte camera stores which were very helpful and honest. Not enough to stay in business today, I guess.

andrewjoseph · 08-16-2008, 08:09 AM

The other thing to remember is to make sure the camera is switched off when changing lenses.

patrickt · 08-16-2008, 01:42 PM

I enjoy my Pentax cameras but I'm convinced the last step in preparing a camera for shipping is to toss in a bit of dust. I think it's a little photo humor. The newer models, K10D-K20D, have a much better coating on the sensor. I would clean my sensor on my IstD four or five times a year with Eclipse solution. I've never had to do that with my K10D. When I notice a spot, I use my rocket blower, run the dust-shake gizmo, and it's always been good to go. Where I live is, in my opinion, a real test because although we have dust our real problem is soot. Most people cook over fires and diesel trucks are horrible. It's a real stress-test environment for sensors.

straightshooter · 08-16-2008, 02:00 PM

Originally posted by LSC

I live (and teach) in a small college town,

Catawba???

Welcome to the forum.

CW

Marc Sabatella · 08-16-2008, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by LSC

They did not know what it was. Ritz had a hurricane blower, in their own brand, which looks like the Rocket except for the fins. I bought that and used it as instructed here, but the spot is still there.
...
I will probably order the Rocket from Adoroma and try it.

Fins won't make a difference. A blower is a blower. Don't waste your money on another. Just keep trying with the blower you have, and with the dust removal (running multiple times with the camera pointing down and a few seconds between attempts *does* make a difference),. Chances are you'll eventually get it. If not, though, a different blower won't help - you'll need to move on to one of the wet cleaning systems.

LSC · 08-17-2008, 04:38 PM

As a followup, after a few more camera vibrations and use of the air blower, the spot did not show up today in a couple of pictures with the sky in the background so it may be gone. Going back, I noticed the spot first showed up (but missed by me) in the 185th picture I took and had not shown up on some earlier pictures taken that day. I had not removed the lens since I put it on - I only have the one right now - so I guess the dust was somewhere in the system, and just worked its way to the sensor at that point.

Thanks again for the help.

CW, A little south of there - Clemson

PS. For those asking about battery life in other threads, I have taken 398 pictures with rechargeables plus these vibrations and a lot more use of the menus than I would if more experienced, and the camera battery indicator is still full.

08-15-2008, 10:04 AM	#1
LSC Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 9	spot in sky background - K200D - Kit lens An irregular small but noticeable slightly dull spot is appearing with pictures taken with the sky in the upper (1/3) left background. It was more noticeable with gray and cloudy sky than with blue, but now will show up in both. Does not show up otherwise, but when it does always in the same place and under the circumstances described above (I see it every time now). Seems to be getting worse but maybe because I am just now noticing it. I cleaned the front lens and used a lens cleaning cloth on the back lens . I also did the K200D auto mapping of defective pixels but nothing helped. Very annoying in the shots it appears now that I see it. My camera (from Amazon) is new (had about 14 days), but I sent in the rebate form with the UPC cut out from the box before I noticed the spot in a couple of newer pictures. I have owned a few p&s digitals (Kodak and Canon) plus a couple of film SLRs (Minolta and Canon) and never had any problems, so guess I did not check out the Pentax closely enough when I first got it. Any suggestions other than send the camera and/or lens to Pentax. Looks like I got a defective camera or lens. Thanks for any suggestions. Attached Images

08-15-2008, 11:13 AM	#5
Igilligan Guest	Dont get that cheapy one from ritz... Originally posted by LSC Thanks. I do not have a Rocket blower, but wil look for one today. I live (and teach) in a small college town, and the local camera/repair stores, that I liked to browse in (and found some good stuff), in Greenville and Charlotte, have gone out of business in this digital age. My only option here is probably Ritz/Wolfe. The sensor was only exposed for a few seconds to remove the body cap and put on the kit lens, and this camera is supposed to have a couple of dust removal systems built in, but who knows. someone on one of the forums said they used it and blew a ton of tiny particles out onto their sensor. Apparently some manufacturing debris... Order a Rocket Blower from one of the online places if you cant find one locally. They have an intake filter that keeps you from sucking in dust just to blow in to the camera body.

08-15-2008, 07:34 PM	#9
Dave54 New Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 11	Another possibility I had the same problem with a sigma lens , or so i thought I couldn't see any spots on my lens or the filter but when looking at my pics there was 3 spots same spot in every pic. Cleaning the sensor didn't help, spots always there. My daughter was looking at my camera out in the sun and said your filter is dirty trying to clean it she couldn't get the SPOTS off , so in the bright sun if I turned the filter flat to the sun I could see my spots , flaws in the glass not spots on the glass so if the problem just won't go away , it is possible to have flawed glass. Dave

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08-15-2008, 10:07 AM	#2
RoxnDox Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Gig Harbor, Washington, USA, Terra Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,494	Looks like dust on the sensor. Do you have a Rocket blower? If not, get one, it's the first and safest thing to try for cleaning it off. Jim

08-15-2008, 10:20 AM	#3
eccs19 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lisle, Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,510	Maybe it's an alien ship following you around everywhere, and that's why you only see it in your sky shots.

08-15-2008, 10:51 AM	#4
LSC Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 9 Original Poster	Thanks. I do not have a Rocket blower, but wil look for one today. I live (and teach) in a small college town, and the local camera/repair stores, that I liked to browse in (and found some good stuff), in Greenville and Charlotte, have gone out of business in this digital age. My only option here is probably Ritz/Wolfe. The sensor was only exposed for a few seconds to remove the body cap and put on the kit lens, and this camera is supposed to have a couple of dust removal systems built in, but who knows.

08-15-2008, 11:59 AM	#6
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	Rocket blowers, or other equivalents, are widely available, at Ritz/Wolf and probably even general electronics stores like Best Buy. Do be sure to get one with a filter on the intake, and do perform a few test bvlows first to clear out anything that has been sitting inside since it was shipped. But before messing with that, try the dust removal feature (one of the last times on the Setup menu, so just hit the up arrow a couple of times). Works best, I find, if you point the camera down, and do several iterations with maybe 10 seconds between. I used to find the feature a waste, but I'm now finding it really do th job much of the time. Easiest way to test if it worked is to shoot a picture of the sky or a blank white object (white curtains work well) with the lens fully stopped down - f/22 or whatever your lens goes to. Although the K200D has a "dust alert" feature that attempts to show you where the dust is, I find it gives many false positives if not used very carefully (ou really do have to point at a very plain surface or it sees the texture on the surface you are point at as dust).

08-15-2008, 12:11 PM	#7
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129	I've used a Rocket Blower on my *ist DL, my K100D, my K10D and my K20D (in succession - I sold one to finance the next). I've never had to do a wet cleaning of the sensor. Just remove the lens, set the camera to sensor cleaning mode (to raise the mirror), hold the camera so the lens opening is pointing down, stick the tip of the Rocket Blower just at the entrance to the opening (NOT inside the camera), and give it several good blasts. The Rocket Blower and others like it draw air in from a filtered inlet (not the nozzle), so it won't suck up dust and then blast it into your camera. If you're worried about manufacturing debris, blast it onto a piece of paper first to see if anything comes out. Mine (and I suspect just about all) was clean as a whistle, but I'm sure manufacturing errors occur. BTW, just to confirm, the spec on your shots is dust. It's nothing to worry about, but yeah, it's distracting from the shot. You'll have to clone it out in post processing (not hard, but just another thing to do).

08-15-2008, 06:53 PM	#8
sinus007 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Cleveland, OH, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 292	Hi LSC, I had exactly the same thing on my k200d. As prev. posters suggested, giotto(sp?) blower and setup for shake up at the power up took care of the problem. Good luck.

08-16-2008, 07:29 AM	#10
LSC Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 9 Original Poster	Thanks for the suggestions I tried the noise removal vibration and changed the setting to come on at start up. I had though it was auto. I could not find a Rocket blower at the Ritz, CC or BB stores in this area. They did not know what it was. Ritz had a hurricane blower, in their own brand, which looks like the Rocket except for the fins. I bought that and used it as instructed here, but the spot is still there. Dave, I had already taken the filter off, but that did not solve the problem. I do not have another lens to try for this camera. I will not likely buy one now until this issue is resolved. I will probably order the Rocket from Adoroma and try it. I can see I will miss the Greenville and Charlotte camera stores which were very helpful and honest. Not enough to stay in business today, I guess.

08-16-2008, 08:09 AM	#11
andrewjoseph Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: wales Posts: 70	The other thing to remember is to make sure the camera is switched off when changing lenses.

08-16-2008, 01:42 PM	#12
patrickt Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Posts: 247	I enjoy my Pentax cameras but I'm convinced the last step in preparing a camera for shipping is to toss in a bit of dust. I think it's a little photo humor. The newer models, K10D-K20D, have a much better coating on the sensor. I would clean my sensor on my IstD four or five times a year with Eclipse solution. I've never had to do that with my K10D. When I notice a spot, I use my rocket blower, run the dust-shake gizmo, and it's always been good to go. Where I live is, in my opinion, a real test because although we have dust our real problem is soot. Most people cook over fires and diesel trucks are horrible. It's a real stress-test environment for sensors.

08-16-2008, 02:00 PM	#13
straightshooter Inactive Account Join Date: May 2008 Location: Forest Park, Georgia/Jacksonville, Florida Photos: Gallery Posts: 633	Originally posted by LSC I live (and teach) in a small college town, Catawba??? Welcome to the forum. CW

08-16-2008, 02:17 PM	#14
Marc Sabatella Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Denver, CO Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,685	Originally posted by LSC They did not know what it was. Ritz had a hurricane blower, in their own brand, which looks like the Rocket except for the fins. I bought that and used it as instructed here, but the spot is still there. ... I will probably order the Rocket from Adoroma and try it. Fins won't make a difference. A blower is a blower. Don't waste your money on another. Just keep trying with the blower you have, and with the dust removal (running multiple times with the camera pointing down and a few seconds between attempts does make a difference),. Chances are you'll eventually get it. If not, though, a different blower won't help - you'll need to move on to one of the wet cleaning systems.

08-17-2008, 04:38 PM	#15
LSC Inactive Account Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 9 Original Poster	As a followup, after a few more camera vibrations and use of the air blower, the spot did not show up today in a couple of pictures with the sky in the background so it may be gone. Going back, I noticed the spot first showed up (but missed by me) in the 185th picture I took and had not shown up on some earlier pictures taken that day. I had not removed the lens since I put it on - I only have the one right now - so I guess the dust was somewhere in the system, and just worked its way to the sensor at that point. Thanks again for the help. CW, A little south of there - Clemson PS. For those asking about battery life in other threads, I have taken 398 pictures with rechargeables plus these vibrations and a lot more use of the menus than I would if more experienced, and the camera battery indicator is still full.