D300 and Sensor Dust

Hi. This is not really a question but a demonstration. I bought a brand new D300 this spring. I had a D70 before, but never really used it a

lot. I took the nice new D300 to Greece with a few lenses. I never considered the sensor dust issues in the past. I saw a spec of dust at

one point in the trip but had no way to clean it out on the road. I knew there was some dust on the sensor, but I didn't quite expect this:

<img src="http://www.ww2models.com/ebay/Dusty.jpg">

At home I tried the swabs, but could not get half of the stuff. I had to send it back to Nikon for a cleaning and now it is back in great

shape. Many pictures are damaged, but obviously no big deal. This is just a warning of what might happen. I would recommend learning

to clean the camera prior to the time when it gets this bad!

Did you try the built in dust removal function on your D300?

I've had some dust bunnies show up on my sensor as well. One thing that I noticed, that maybe someone else can confim, is that you must keep your lenses clean as well. It seemes that my lenses, unclean, will add to the problem. - Sean

I have had mine since first day of release. I have the built-in dust removal set on activation every time I start

up the camera. I've located one - - 1 - - dust bunny in all this time. I find that the built-in dust removal does

a great job & I live in super dusty conditions. I also find that a simple blower will do a great job as well.

 

I change lenses in the field etc & have not had any problems.

 

Needless to say - - keeping your lenses clean should pull down this issue as well. That's just logic to me.

 

Lil :-)

When I went from the F100 to the D80, I was afraid that dust would be a major issue. I'm an outdoor photographer, after all. However, it never turned out to be a big deal for me. Half the year the dust is under about a foot of snow, LOL! I am careful to change lenses quickly, and I keep the rear lens cap on any unmounted lenses. The idea is no dust will hitchhike into my camera on them. I too use a Rocket Bulb as my primary cleaner.

 

 

Kent in SD

I noticed two specs back in April after I shot few macros at smaller apertures. I brushed it off with arctic butterfly (less than 5 minutes work) and never saw a single spot again. So it does seem as if the bunnies I cleaned came from the factory and I had just never bothered to look for them. I never saw a single spot since then, although I shoot at smaller apertures almost regularly now.

 

Word of advice, when changing lenses always keep the camera down and always look if the back of the lens you are about to put on is clean. The dust that is on the back of your lens will sooner or later find its way into the places from where it is harder to remove it. Also always keep your camera down, even when not using it.

 

- Sergey

You need to send that image to <a href="http://www.coasttocoastam.com/">this</a> web site right away, Dmitry! You

have definitely captured evidence of an alien invasion in progress. ;-)

I always blow off the back of a lens before attaching it to my D300. I occasionally run the dust zapper. I've had my camera six months, changed lenses innumerable times and still no sign of sensor dust (knock on wood).

Keeping your lenses clean is just common sense. Whenever the mirror swings up, the air inside the camera is being moved around .... with all of the dust. I have had my 300 for a while now and have only found one small bit of dust on the sensor, which a rocket blower took right off. If nothing else inspect the sensor and mirror occasionally.

Gesundheit!