Small black dot in all photos from new D 50?

[bman0023]

Hi all, I just got back from my trip to Maine and I got some great shots.

However, about 20 pictures or so I noticed a black dot that appears in the same

location in all the other photos. I did not see it in any of my prior test

shots I took before the trip, and I have not taken the lens off at all. I did

take it off to inspect it and it is in mint condition clean. What in the heck

could be causing this dot? Does anyone have an idea? Basically, all of my

shots are ruined and I am pissed. I could not notice anything on the view

screen of the camera when i was taking the pics. Any help will be

appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Brad

[Ed_Ingold]

All is not lost! You have dust on the sensor - probably more than one spot too. You need to clean the sensor - just search Photo.Net for ways to do that. Secondly, you can usually fix these spots in Photoshop using the Healing Tool.

[arnabdas]

Brad, that is probably dust on the CCD. It is not uncommon for even brand new out-of-the-box cameras to have dust on the CCD.

 

You can test this very easily. Point your camera to clear sky -- take one shot at the widest aperture and another at the smallest aperture. If you see more prominent dot(s) on the photo with small aperture, then it is likely dust you will need to have cleaned.

 

Cleaning CCD is no big deal, many people do it themselves on a regular basis. You can get supplies from http://www.copperhillimages.com (am not associated in any way except that I get mine from them).

[curritch]

I'm going to take a contarion view here.

 

A brand new D50 shouldn't have a dirty sensor.

 

That's simply lack of quality control by Nikon.

 

That's the kind of crap that consumers are expected to put up with now days.

 

There are not too many choices here. Either return the camera or clean it yourself. Either is a hassle that a brand new D50 owner shouldn't have to face.

 

You Nikon apologists are out of line here. Nikon should do better if it wants to be in business 20 years from now.

[scott_rushing]

and stating the obvious...is the lens clean? I ran into this where I cleaned the internals as best I could, and still had spots...then I noticed they were on the filter or the lens, not inside the camera...

[arnabdas]

Scott, dust on filter doesn't show up as black dots on pictures. A very dust filter can reduce contrast and increase flare.

 

Curtis, I wasn't aware the camera was brand new. Even if one changes lenses a couple times and dust gets in in the process, Nikon shouldn't be held responsible. I am aware of Nikon doing gratis cleaning when you send your camera in for some other problem, but that's them just being nice (and making sure they do not introduce additional dust). Dust on CCD is a common problem and there are rememdies available.

[photo5]

Nikon bodies aren't made in Japan anymore. It's the end of an era. Welcome to

outsourcing and falling quality! *shiver*

 

Dave

[robert_finkelman]

Dave -

 

F6, D2x and D2H are built in Japan to the best of my knowledge.

 

Dust on the sensor is the likely culprit for the dot. Your pictures aren't ruined! Simply use any photo processing program such as Photoshop or Nikon Capture Editor and the problem will be gone in mere seconds! There are a number of sensor cleaning remidies available at any decent camera store to solve the problem itself.

 

Rob

[Jerry_]

Does the 'spot' show up in images with large areas of sky? If you overexpose a little, one pixel may be the problem, but Nikon won't mess with it unless you have several bad pixels.

[marcofrancardi]

if you use Nikon Capture,

BEFORE you clean your dirty filter (that's what 99% probably is), take a "dust reference" picture (should be on your manual "how to").

 

It is a "mapping" picture of all the particles as they are presently situated on your sensor and il will automatically "overlap" all over your shots taken with the dirty sensor situation, compensating the black spot effect. As previously mentioned, you can do amazing thing with PS as well. Digital Era!

[wayne_murphy8]

Just take the camera back to the agent. My understanding is that Nikon will clean the

sensor under guarantee once. That's the case here in Australia. My D70s was cleaned by

the Nikon agent under guarantee (3 obvious dust spots). They made the point that it was

covered under guarantee, but only once. Obviously, dust cannot be eliminated from the

production/delivery process but at least Nikon accepts that and does a clean.

 

I was very nervous about cleaning myself after reading dire warnings on the net but I

cleaned the sensor with a blower brush and it worked just fine. In time, I am sure I will

need to clean properly and I have a visible dust brush for that. As previously stated,

photoshop eliminates all but disastrous dust effects.

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

I have a D70, D200, D2X and have yet to have a dust spot that couldn't be blown off the sensor. You likely do not need to worry about cleaning the sensor which is a potentially risky procedure if you don't know what you're doing. Get a good bulb blower like a Giotto Rocket (B&H has them for a few bucks) and blow the dust off. And NEVER used canned air. It wil spray damaging chemicals onto the sensor. Dust is a ubiquitous part of life. It's not Nikon's fault. It was stated the lens wasn't changed. Did it come on the body in the box? Mine didn't. So at some point the body was opened and a lens was attached, at least once, and probably not in a dust free environment.

[bman0023]

Thanks for all the great answers. I still am very concerned, and I will try to get a sample shot up tonight after work. The black spot is relatively large, perhaps too large to be a dust spot. I will estimate that if I were to enlarge it to an 11x14 print it would be the size of at least a quarter if not a half dollar. I just hope I can get my pics to come out ok, I got some great shots for my portfolio, some of the best I have ever taken. I fear PS may not be able to fix them though. I am gonna get a bulb blower and try to clean it to see if that is what it is. I contacted Nikon and they say it is most likely dust, and to blowit out. I will post a pic tonight.

 

thanks,

Brad

[phule]

<<I still am very concerned>>

 

Then perhaps a DSLR is not for you? Dust is a fact of life with DSLR cameras. You simply have to learn to deal with it. Only Olympus was able to patent a vibration system to reduce dust on the sensor without manual intervention.

 

Read up on dust-elimination products (there are plenty of threads in the archives) and decide which solution works best for you.

[bman0023]

Here is a pic of the black dot.

[richard_lewis3]

Brad

Short answer is to return the camera for replacement if within the retailers return period, or for service to Nikon if not. From the pic you posted, it looks too square in shape to be dust, etc. It more likely is a piece of some material stuck to the kit lens (assuming the D50 came with one) or sensor, or a defective chip with a group of pixels not functioning. No matter what the problem, it's under warranty and should be fixed accordingly.

[bman0023]

Here is a resized pic of the spot. It is on the lower left hand side of the frame. I tried another lens and it appears also. I am getting a blower bulb thing soon: they were sold out at the shop. I hope that will work.