Dust in camera and dust inside lens

<p>I have a black dust particle in my camera - when I look through the viewfinder without a lens, I see a black piece of dust near the center of my fov. I took it to Ritz Camera, and they blew it out with a 'hurricane' but it is still there. I also have dust particles in 1 of my lenses - my 50 f/1.8. You can see it when you look inside the outer element down through the lens. ughhhh.. So, is the only option to send my Canon Rebel XS and lens to Canon for them for cleaning? It will probably cost almost as much as the lens cost to have it cleaned! What are you thoughts? Any help much appreciated!!!</p>

<p>Is the dust particle in your viewfinder, the lens itself or in the sensor as well? Could you try out a different lens to see if the sensor dust issue could be eliminated?</p>

<p>Most internal dust in a lens is of no significance until it builds up horrifically. It won't then be visible, but will reduce the image contrast quality. Only under rare circumstances, like a piece on the rear element, will you ever notice a "shadow" in the photo.</p>

<p>Obiously you have a speck of something on the viewfinder (underside) or less likely, the mirror. Looking into the camera's throat with a bright light should show you where it is. A proper bulb dusting "should" remove it. Beware about the underside of the focus screen or the mirror, they are exceeding delicate surfaces and scratch at the lightest of rubbing. So, unless you know what you are doing, no Q-Tips or similar.</p>

<p>Jim</p>

 

<p>chandler,</p>

 

<p>The spot you see through the viewfinder is on the focussing screen, or possibly the mirror.

It’s entirely harmless, if annoying. Attempting to clean it would likely damage the camera.</p>

 

<p>All lenses have dust inside them, even multi-thousand-dollar “L” lenses new in the

box. It, too, is harmless. You’d have to have truly epic quantities of dust (or mold, <i>etc.</i>)

before it would have a visible effect on a picture. That goes for the front and rear lens elements, as

well.</p>

 

<p>The only kind of dust you need to worry about is dust on the sensor. This will show as a small

fuzzy dark spot in the same position on every frame. If you really want every bit of sensor dust to show

up, shoot a bare patch of blue sky at f/22 (or your lens’s smallest aperture) and zoom to 100%

pixels. But, again, most of that dust won’t be visible in a print. That which is can easily be

cloned out in Photoshop. And cleaning the sensor with a rocket bulb blower is easy, guaranteed to be

harmless, and almost always effective. (When it’s not, Google is your friend.)</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

<p>I have changed out my lenses and see it regardless. I do see some semi-transparent spots that I believe to be on the other side of my viewfinder, but there is 1 spot that is different and is black - looks like a small dust fiber. I cannot see it in my photos unless I put it on f/22 and take a pic against a white piece of paper. Then it is noticeable. I thought when I took it to Ritz that would get rid of it, as it did last time. However, it did not. It is not that big of a deal, but it really drives me crazy....Just wondering if any suggestions.<br>

and about the lens, I have not noticed any evidence in my photos, but I know it is there and it drives me crazy......will my lens - (17-85) and my 50 continue (and my camera for that matter) to get dust in it? It is really annoying! and thanks for your responses! new to this forum and any help much appreciated! I could read on here forever!!!! </p>

Hi my friend, my pinion is that You are doing the correct, to send your lens with the experts, as You know the equipments are very delicates and expensives and I think you don´t have the necesary tools neither the knowlege for do it by your self, You have to take care your equipment, haven´t?

Best regards.

<p>Chandler, see my thread. I have similar problem. <a href="../casual-conversations-forum/00WB9b">Situation with photo store that cleaned my camera sensors</a><br>

Regarding the lens. I had dust in my Nikon kit lens and a Sigma telephoto lens. Both companies cleaned lens at no charge. They were under warranty.</p>

<p>Chandler -<br>

You said ...<br>

" <em><strong>I cannot see it in my photos unless I put it on f/22 and take a pic against a white piece of paper. Then it is noticeable.</strong></em> "</p>

<p>If it shows up in a print/or on the PC, it <strong>CANNOT</strong> be on the viewfinder prism nor the mirror. If you resort to F22 to see "it", that is the telltale & classic symptological sign of something on the camera's sensor. I repeat, if it is on the mirror or the viewfinder, it cannot and will not be imaged in the photo. (whatever "it" is)<br>

Jim</p>

<p>I'm a little confused. Let me explain why: by definition, any spot you CAN see through the viewfinder is NOT on the sensor. It CAN'T be, because what you see is either on the prism, the focusing screen or the mirror - you are NOT looking at what is on the sensor. So, if you're seeing something on your image when you're stopping down, it is NOT what you're seeing on your viewfinder. Therefore you problem seems dual: you have a spot on your viewing parts and another on your sensor.</p>

<p>Thankfully, both are easy to remove - the former less so than the latter. Now, to get rid of the former, chances are you might have to go beyond a normal dust blower. However good they are, they sometimes do not have the sheer power to remove particles in such remote places. In these cases a careful application of compressed air should do the trick. Taking care NOT to tilt the compressed air can, aim the nozzle (preferably with the long tube-thingy attached) at the point in the camera where the top focusing screen meets the front of the camera - there is a small gap there used by service bureaux to replace focusing screens - that's usually where the dust gets in from. This should remove the spot.</p>

<p>Sensor cleaning is something well covered in many, many posts and other sites and I will not add to their excellent instructions. I will only add my 2 cents in saying that I usually stick with a simple blower before I resort to wet cleaning methods.</p>

<p>Take care and if the visible spot is still there, then yeah, send it for a professional cleaning service - you never know when that spot might migrate to the sensor...;-)</p>