Dust in sensor : please help

[nilangsu mahanty]

I was trying to test the extent of vignetting one gets with 18-55 kit lens at

18 mm when the shutter is opened wide ( I use the 350D ), by pointing at a

blank wall. As I progressively closed the shutter down to f/22 ( the lowest

possible), I discovered, to my utter horror, that the sensor is literally

filled with what can only be dust.So now I am now caught betweem a rock and a

hard place. Wide open there is an awful amount of vignetting and closed down,

the photo gets filled with black spots and lines.

 

I am not sure I want to try anything out myself ( Is it possible to do

anything at home?).But here in India, Canon service is not as good as, say, in

the US. I am going on a vacation soon to an exquisitely photogenic place ( a

place called Munnar in Kerala, India) and need to fix the problem before I

leave. Your advice would be most welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.The attached photos illustrate the situation.

 

Regards,

Nilangsu.

[nilangsu mahanty]

This photo has been taken at f/22. Believe me, the wall was itself spotless.

 

Regards,

Nilangsu.

[sgpix]

I had similar issue and bought a VisibleDust sensor cleaning kit. It was very easy to use, gave great results and I did not feel that I was likely to do any damage to the sensor. And they are available to buy online (no idea whether they will deliver to India, as I am in UK)...

 

Simon

[james_symington1]

One thing you can do with very little risk is to buy a bulb blower like the the Rocket Air made by Giottos. It's cheap and extremely effective and has the advantage of not involving touching the sensor. Just open the shutter using the sensor cleaning function and blow air in using the blower. It will cure your dust problem almost every time.

[nilangsu mahanty]

Thanks, Simon and James.I have a blower brush. Can I take the brush off and use the blower?

[james_symington1]

You can - but usually those blower brush things are tiny and you can't get yourself a decent airstream from it. Buy a Rocket Air - the airstream you get out of that is many many times stronger than your little blower brush.

[papasan]

You can also get a baby or medium size enema bulb in a drug store, they are cheaper than any "specialty" photo equipment and will do the job as well if not better. Make sure you point your camera downward when you blow on the sensor. Start by blowing the dust off around the lens even before you remove the lense. Then remove the lens with your mirror locked up (sensor exposed) and blow gently, holding your camera facing the floor to allow the dust that is lifted from the sensor to escape the mirror cavity, otherwise you will just move it around and it will eventually make it's way back onto your sensor.

[mark u]

Here's a range of solutions - hopefully you can find something similar in India:

 

http://www.eos-magazine.com/Sales%20folder/Sales/sensorcleaning.html

[shaun westlake]

Another vote for Visible Dust products. The artic butterfly bundle

http://www.visibledust.com/products.php?PID=101 would be my recommendation. Have it and took the cleaning brush with me on a recent vacation to Europe and Northern Africa. Highly recommended and worth every penny.

 

Shaun

[mike_smith2]

I'm not so sure that the "hair" is hair, it radiates out from a central point and looks more look fungal growth - are you in a humid part of India?

[nilangsu mahanty]

Yes, Mike, I live in an exceptionally humid part of India. I also had a sinking feeling that it might be fungus.

[geoffs1]

> I also had a sinking feeling that it might be fungus.<br>

<br>

Assuming whatever's on your sensor won't blow off, I wonder if one of the "wet" methods would work? (ex. <a href="http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=tutorials">PEC-Pads and Eclipse</a>)<br>

I can't remember enough about how fungi attach themselves to their substrates to know if that would cause more problems than it solves...<br>

<br>

Just FYI, dust becomes more visible with smaller apertures and longer focal lengths, so to see that much effect at 18mm f/22 is pretty dramatic. I usually use my 400mm lens stopped down to f/40 when I'm chasing dust...<br>

<br>

Cheers,<br>

<br>

Geoff S.

[pennyjack]

I don't know if you have found a solution yet, but I have had great success with these: http://tinyurl.com/padon. They are a simple design that works well. I also have a technique to show dust that is foolproof. Just set up for a longer exposure, .5 sec or so and in bright light, take an image while panning the camera. Any dust spots will show up clear as day becuase the whole image will be blurred except for that which isn't moving...the dust! Seriously though, those pads work very well.

[arnabdas]

Ooops, this is fungus. You need a trip to Canon service center. Dust is manageable, don't try removing fungus on your own.

 

PS: Check your lenses too.

[balajee_srinivasa_rajagopa]

Hello Nilangsu,

 

I have similar problems with my Sensor, I live in Helsinki and took my cam to a Canon authorised service centre for cleaning and they told it might be a fungus under the sensor filter and they were not sure if they can remove. It would cost 120 Eur to trying to remove that and they might or might not remove the fungus.

 

Advice what you did with your cam

 

Regards

Balajee

+358 40 3549097