Is D610 with 2 oil spots from the beginning normal?

<p>I bought D610 last week expecting the oil spot problem is gone. Previously, I purchased D600 but returned to the vendor due to too many oil spots with the photo taken with f16 against the sky.</p>

<p>I tested the new D610 just in case for the oil spot on the day I received it. It is within 100 shutter count that I took the sky with f16 to check for any oil spot. Much to my surprise and disappointment, I found 2 oil spot on the upper left corner and top mid area. I am not sure if the oil spots will show more as I take more pictures.</p>

<p>I see one post in B&H D610 comment section that one reviewer posted the D610 photo with an oil spot.</p>

<p>My question is that if this is normal for the D610 to have 2 oil spots from the beginning even though Nikon says they fixed the oil spot problem in D610. Or it my unit a defective one so I need to have this exchanged?</p>

<p>Could the D610 owners please make comments on this?<br /><br />Thank you very much.</p>

<p>It might be more appropriate to say that all DSLRs are going to get and show some dust and other contaminants on their sensors. Cleaning those sensors is a normal part of using such a camera, especially if you routinely shoot stopped that far down against bright fields like the sky.<br /><br />It might make more sense for you to use your usual wet cleaning method (are you sure, by the way, that you're looking at oil, and not dust?), confirm with similar photographs that you've got it clean, and then use the camera for a bit longer to see where you really stand. </p>

<p>As long as you are shooting a uniform sky at f16, very few DSLR is going to be completely clean with that kind of testing. I would get a wet cleaning kit and clean the sensor yourself.</p>

<p>I recently bought a new bottle of the Eclipse cleaning fluid for my D800E and D700. I have been using the D700 to capture images of the Df and lens I am testing. To gain depth of field, I am using f16 on my 60mm macro and my D700's sensor is not that clean even after wet cleaning.</p>

<p>Unless you still get "serious" oil/dust issues after a few thousand captures, I wouldn't worry about it. It is quite obvious that Nikon replaced the D600 with the D610 using a different shutter mainly to resolve the oil issue (or at least get rid of the negative publicity associated with that model).</p>

<p>Thank you for the encouraging reply. I might be a little bit paranoid about the oil spot because I got burned by the D600 purchase with numerous oil spots and had to go thru return procedure. </p>

<p>I am new to cleaning the sensor with wet clean or other brush since I am afraid that I might make it worse. I used the Rocket Blower before, though.</p>

<p>If all other new D610 has some oil spots from the beginning, then mine is normal and I will keep. But if not, I am thinking that I might have a bad one.<br>

Thank you.</p>

 

<p>Definitely get over your concerns about cleaning the sensor. A little bit of care and the right solvent/swabs, and you're in business. I've finally had reason to clean my D600 (shooting stopped-down video against the snow was the final straw!), and it took me three swabs to get it completely, 100% clean. Used it all day a week later, changing lenses many times in a very dirty environment, and though I did pick up a couple more dust specs, those came away using only the camera's built-in cleaning feature. But I'll use a wet cleaning as often as I feel the need, and have no worries at all about doing so.</p>

<p>There is no reason that a brand new Nikon camera should have oil spots. While, over time, dust and other substances/debris can make their way onto the sensor, oil from the shutter mechanism should not be one of them. Since the camera is brand new, you have some options available to you at this time.</p>

<p>I wonder if this was ever an issue with film cameras and nobody ever noticed. It could have happened and then the "sensor" is replaced with a brand new, clean one. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>I wonder if this was ever an issue with film cameras and nobody ever noticed. It could have happened and then the "sensor" is replaced with a brand new, clean one.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The difference is that with film cameras, the "sensor," i.e. each frame of film, is replaced after each frame. (In case you use multiple exposure, you could use the same frame a few times, but certainly not many times.)</p>

<p>Back in 1999, on a trip to the Utah National Parks, there was some lint stuck around the top of the shutter on my F5 body. As a result, for that entire trip, there is a shadow of that piece of lint on every frame I captured with that camera, although it moved around a bit from frame to frame. Of course I was not aware of the problem at all until I got home and had my slide film developed. I immediately cleaned my F5, but that was already too late for the images from that trip.</p>

<p>I think with the film camera, the sensor is in effect the 35mm film itself, and it changes with every shot. So, if there is any oil or speck, I think it is on that flim frame unlike the digital camera sensor.</p>

<p>Is the OP sure it's oil spots or is it just regular sensor dust?</p>

<p>I am sure it is oil spots, not dust. I know from D600 problems.<br>

Here is the link <a href="

<p>I think if it is dust spot, it would look darker and more clearly defined. I showed it to the vendor product specialist the same photo, and he acknowledged it as oil spot and suggested for product return for swap. Thank you for your comment.</p>

<p>I just took a similar image on my D800 with my 90/3.5 CF at f/16 (your image was 85mm at f/16) and the few dust spots look very similar to yours - not clearly defined at all. I wouldn't jump to conclusions that it's oil - it looks very much like typical dust to me. Like I said, I recommend getting a sensor loupe and look at it before you return the camera.</p>

<p>25K images on my D300 and maybe one or two dust spots last time I checked. Worry less shoot more. My old Graflex RB had nice dust deposit inside yet it still took great images.</p>

 

<p>BTW, it looks like the OP also posted this question to DPReview: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3606851</p>

<p>I am sure that just like another other camera model, there are defective D610 out there, but I would suggest the OP to clean his sensor a few times and wait for more actuations. This is a new camera with a new warranty, so there will still be plenty of opportunities to send it in for repair should that be necessary.</p>

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=24372">Shun Cheung</a>, what is OP? I do not understand what OP means.<br>

Yes, I posted the same q to another forum for 2 reasons. I did not expect this many answers and want to hear what people say about oil spot on d610.<br>

Thank you.</p>

<p>OP: original poster (originator of the thread).</p>

<p>I for one will welcome the Nikon D620. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>what is OP? I do not understand what OP means.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>OP stand for <strong><em>outrageous person</em></strong>; i.e. people who make crazy claims. :-)</p>

<p>Just kidding. As Michael Chuang points out, it refers to the person who starts the discussion thread: <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=op">http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=op</a></p>

<p>BTW, it is perfectly fine to ask the same question on other forums outside of photo.net, but I think we give better answers. :-)</p>

<p>I will take the OPs word that he knows the difference between oil spots, and dust spots, and no, oil spots are not normal, or acceptable. Anything arguing to the contrary is bunk . If a pattern is developing here with Nikon camera's, and I emphasize, IF, I suggest to future OPs with similar issues with D-600s, and 610s, be careful with what is, or isn't an oil spot concern. I take the oil spot issue very seriously, as oil spots on camera sensors are subjects pertaining to defective, or poor component choices, and purchasing by the manufacturer. I say this, because comments following the OPs remarks skew to sidestep the point. I would be thoroughly disappointed if I went through the D-600 oil spot debacle, then opting for the D-610, only to face the nightmare all over again. To dismiss all this to say this is life with the sensor, live with it? Well, What? Is this the nightmare on steroids?</p>

<blockquote>

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=6789788">Don Bright</a><a href="/member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub3.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 14, 2014; 10:15 p.m. I will take the OPs word that he knows the difference between oil spots, and dust spots,</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well guess which is the OP's "oil spot" and a dust spot from my D800 taken this afternoon with my 90/3.5 CF at f/16 . . . both converted to B&W . . .<br>

<img src="http://www.seanet.com/~hinkey/DustSpots/11955404756_e86f94d309_o.jpg" alt="" width="388" height="346" /></p>

<p><img src="http://www.seanet.com/~hinkey/DustSpots/_DSC1693.jpg" alt="" /><br>

It really doesn't make a difference which one you guess, because there's no real difference in the character between the spots that would make one an oil spot and the other a dust spot.<br>

The OP might be right, but unless you try to clean it or look at the spot with a sensor loupe you just can't tell from taking an image what kind of spot it is. Plus, he has only two spots that I can see on his entire 24MP sensor - that's pretty outstanding in my book as as soon as I've cleaned my sensor I still have a couple of very minor spots just like his.</p>

Those spots look the same as dust. You can easily have two bits of dust on your sensor at your camera's current age -

they could have got there during packing or rubbed off from packing materials or floated into your mirror box while you

were mounting the lens.

<p>Nobody is suggesting that oil spots (or for that matter dust spots) on the sensor are acceptable. However, if it is something the owner of a new camera can clean her/himself for a few times, by all means learn how to do that. If the problem goes away, you have just saved yourself a lot of trouble. If the problem persists or the oil problem gets worse, by all means get an exchange or send it back to Nikon for repair. However, in the long run, cleaning the sensor once in a while is simply normal for ownership of any camera with interchangeable lenses.</p>

<p>Nikon has been making SLRs for 5 decades. I just can't believe that they have gone through the trouble to replace the D600 with the D610 while any known problem is not resolved. I have had over a dozen Nikon SLRs over the years and none has any oil problem that I need to worry about. Clearly Nikon knows how to do this right.</p>

<p>Once upon a time there was a photo.net member, who apparently had plenty of money. He owned a bunch of high-end Canon and Nikon equipment, and he kept on finding little flaws on each item he bought. As a result, regardless of whether it is a canon lens or Nikon body, he always exchanged it 2, 3 times before he found something acceptable.</p>

<p>I think that kind of practice merely drives yourself crazy and generates a lot of unnecessary work for everybody. And if I were in charge of a camera store, I would put such customers on a black list and refuse their business.</p>

<p>I would assume that they are dust spots unless I had decisive evidence to the contrary. Dust spots on new camera sensors are very common, but oil spots are much less common. Some dust spots look like oil spots, and vice versa.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

<p>I think the only problem, and it's not a problem as such, is the cost of sensor cleaning. Having it done commercially is very expensive and even buying the packs of suitably sized swabs mounts up. It often takes 2 or more to clean properly. It's difficult to generalize but they are ~ £3 <em>each</em>. Couple of packs would get you a nice, used AIS lens!</p>

<p>I wonder if there's a need for a scratch-proof final surface layer like a modern lens coating? They are not indestructible, but from all accounts are way tougher than a sensor's.....but <em>maybe</em> that's a myth?</p>

<p>Anyone remember that paint-on and peel-off stuff for cleaning camera CCDs and lenses? I got on very well with that product. I was a bit scary 'painting' your sensor, but it worked very well and was very cost effective. Worked on dust, oil and all surface contaminants. Seems to have disappeared from the market and not replaced.</p>

<p>Back in 2002 when I got my first DSLR in the Nikon D100, I was obsessive about keeping the sensor clean, but gradually I stopped doing wet cleaning on a regular basis.</p>

<p>I bought my first FX DSLR in 2008 with the D700. However, it was only a few weeks ago that I bought my first set of FX-width sensor swabs. In other words, I never wet clean my D700 and D800e until recently. In these days I typically just use a blower and that was ok for like 5 years. Eventually I had some stubbon dust on my D700 sensor that I couldn't just blow away.</p>

<p>As I said, don't get too obsessive about it. Usually I rarely use f16 due to diffraction concerns, especially on a high-density sensor such as those 24MP and 36MP ones. If you are the type that checks your sensors against a uniform sky at f22, you'll end up paying more for cleaning.</p>

<p>Having said that, any new owners of the D600 and D610 or another model should definitely check their new cameras thoroughly. If there are persistent problems, get it exchanged or repaired under warranty while you can still do so. There is a fuzzy gray line between valid concerns and being obsessive about little issues.</p>