Dust on sensor

<p>What would be the best way to detect if there is any dust on the camera sensor ? I have a D700. Any tips from the forum members is appreciated.</p>

<p>The best way is to take photos of the blue sky. I find I have to get a little something beside the sky in the photo for the camera to focus and snap the shot. But, I just take four different photos of the blue sky with the camera- straight, sideways, upside down and then the other sideway. If you have dust you will be able to easily see dark spots in the blue sky photos. Also, make sure your lens is free of dust or particles before blaming sensor.</p>

<p>Set your camera to aperture priority, set it to the smallest aperture available for your lens and take a photo of a bright, plain area like a clear blue sky or a blank white LCD monitor.</p>

<p>"What would be the best way to detect if there is any dust on the camera sensor ? I have a D700. Any tips from the forum members is appreciated."</p>

<p>The other responses are totally spot-on.<br>

But if you don't know, then don't worry. If you aren't seeing little, blurry dark spots on your images, then you probably don't have any dust worth dealing with. Very few sensors are pristine, and almost none have to be.<br>

The newer Nikons place the optical filter plate above the actual sensor at a distance beyond the focal point that renders a small amount of dust generally imperceptible.<br>

I haven't blown the dust off my D200 in months...(though I will admit to being super careful changing lenses).</p>

<p>Sensor loupe for $89 or Micro Tools loupe set + key chain light for $20. They both work, the loupe + keychain is not nearly as elegant. You can see every pin point of dust.</p>

<p>Removal? Rocket blower. So just get a Rocket blower and blow it off to start with whether you can see it or not. If you can`t get it clean, some more advanced methods are necessary. My advice is do not over clean.</p>

<p>People say to use F22 to detect dust. DSLR lens probably should not be use smaller than F8 otherwise diffraction starts to set in, so why check at 22.</p>

<p>NX2 and a dust off reference photo.</p>

<p>There is another way to make a selection around all the dust, make a new layer with the selection active, and only the selection moves to the new layer. use the arrow key to move the selection 1 pixel at a time. Change blending mode to lighten and all the dust goes away. </p>

<p>Bob Atkins <a href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/sensorclean.html">describes a simple process on his page</a>. Set the focus to infinity, the aperture at f/22 or smaller (who cares about diffraction, this is not a test of the lens) and take a picture of a uniform bright scene like a blue sky.</p>

<p>When checking for dust, shooting the sky or some blank area works best. It is important to use a small aperture. This minimizes the angle of the cone of light impinging on each particle, casting a sharper shadow than a wider aperture.</p>

<p>It makes very little difference where the lens is focused or whether the lens is clean, and diffraction plays no part whatsoever. You can detect particles with much greater sensitivity than with a loupe or viewer directly on the sensor. In a way, it's like trying on swim suits under fluorescent lights - every fault is exaggerated. You'll see particles that have no photographic significance.</p>

<p>I just use a white sheet of paper. Turn the camera to manual focus, aperture priority, small aperture, then take a picture of the white paper so that it fills the frame. The small aperture will show spots with moderately sharp edges. Wide apertures will blur the dust spots.</p>

<p>Using a white paper makes it easy to check when cleaning. You can keep the paper on your workbench and check right after blowing off the sensor or swabbing it to see if you got everything.</p>

<p>I don 't really agree with the rocket blower because it just doesn't do anything . it just recirculates the small pins of dust or anything that might be there . there are some little razer scraping things specially made for each type of sensor . they're called green clean or something like that . I'd suggest u try it or if you don't have the guts give it to someone more experienced . it will do the job 100 % .</p>