Flaw in Photos w/ New 350D

[mark__socal_]

I received my new 350D yesterday and took to a few photos to try it

out. The results were great. This morning was foggy so I stepped

outside to grab some shots. I now find spots in all of my pictures.

Cleaning the lens doesn't help. Can anyone suggest a technique to

determine if they are inside the lens or in the camera body? Is there

some technique I can use to narrow it down (i.e., shooting at

different focal lengths and examining the results, etc.). Also, I was

not very aggressive in cleaning the lens (front and back), as I can't

see anything on it. Is it possible that even though I can't see

anything, there is something on the lenses that is causing the spots?<div></div>

[jbq]

That's most likely on the sensor.

[cnhoff]

Imho you would have to use f/32 to actually see a spot (and probably only one on the back lens) on your pictures and i doubt you would miss such a spot when you examine your lens.

 

Maybe it's some kind of condensation on the chip or inside the lens or such a thing caused by the foggy weather and sudden temperature changes?!

[mark_chappell]

Almost certainly, dust or other debris on the sensor. I don't know how big this spot is (I'm

assuming the image you gave is a huge enlargment), but it looks exactly like what I see when

my sensor gets dusty. And as a previous responder said, it's extremely unlikely that this

comes from dust on, or in, the lens.

 

It's no big deal. Just follow the cleaning instructions that came with the camera, or search

this fourm for 'sensor cleaning' help.

[paul -]

Looks like dust on the sensor, a fact of digital life. It shows up more as you stop down the aperture more.<P>Here is a link to an article on sensor cleaning:<br><a href="http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/sensorcleaning/">Cleaning the CMOS Sensor of the Canon EOS 10D (and other digital SLRs)

</a><p>Pec pads and Eclipse fluid are my preferred weapons in the War Against Dusty Sensors.

[bobatkins]

Dust on the sensor.

[dogbert]

Yes looks like dust on the sensor. I typically don't worry about it unless it is showing up in prints. Canon include a little dust straight from the factory with the 350D.

[antony_bichon]

Ok, I am taking a shot at this one:

 

Seems like dust on your sensor...

Shoot the blue sky in Av mode with aperture around f/16.

The check the picture at pixel size on your computer. If you see dots like that all over the place... it's dust on the sensor.

[peterlee]

Looks like a UFO to me.

[bsd230]

That would be dust on the sensor. Welcome to digital SLRs. You can get rid of them pretty easily with photoshop and a little cloning. I take great care when changing lenses and I still have dust there is no way around it. You can have it cleaned but its kinda of a waist of time unless its really bad. Normally you wont even notice it unless your using a very small aperture shooting something like a blue sky.

[marknagel]

No doubt dust on the sensor, get a good nylon brush and swipe it.

 

m

[conraderb]

Mark - take Mark's advice with some caution. I'm not sure what to recommend, but I know that most photography sites have warned AGAINST using nylon brushes. many recommend special wipes that are designed to attract the dust and pick it up instead of spread it around.

[mark__socal_]

I took it to a Canon repair location and they cleaned the sensor. Looks good now. The weird thing is the lens wasn't removed between the time the pics were good and the time the dust-on-the-sensor" issue appeared. I stepped outside and took some pics in a light fog, so perhaps it was condensation. I hope the camera is a little more resilient than that, though. Thanks for the responses. Anyone else have concerns about the camera's ability to stand up to mild environmental challenges?

[shambrick007]

"The weird thing is the lens wasn't removed between the time the pics were good and the time the dust-on-the-sensor" issue appeared."<p> It came that way.

[PuppyDigs]

"Anyone else have concerns about the camera's ability to stand up to mild environmental

challenges?"

 

It's not your camera. All cameras can suffer the same types of problems. Even sealed 'point

'n

shoots. If you drag your camera through a sudden temperature and/or humidity

change, condensation is a fact of life. I often go from dry 'n cool AC interiors to hot 'n

humid outdoors. Put the camera in a bag and let it gradually adapt to the change. Thus,

the condensation will form on the outside of the bag and not the camera.

 

Low humidity has the added challenge of static electricity and the resulting attraction of

dust to your camera. I store my gear near a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze--a device that

ionizes air. Besides banishing static electric shocks from walkin' across the room rug (&

smelling fresh!), I also have nearly zero dust problems when scanning sides and negatives.

I haven't had to clean dust from the sensor in my EOS 10D for 2.5 years! Yes, clear blue

skies at F16 are clean.

[tommyinca]

I would just put the camera in M mode. Dial the shutter speed to blub. Take one of this and aim it at the sensor and squezze it a few time while pressing on the shutter. If it didn't get rid of it, since you just got the camera yesterday, I would just return it rather trying to mug with it. However, at some point in time with DSLR, one have to learn to clean a sensor some how.<div></div>

[andrew robertson]

OR, put the camera into cleaning mode.

[jean_jacques_lemaire]

YES, put your camera in "sensor clean" mode.<BR>

This prevents static electricity to accumulate on the sensor. A very bad thing if you are trying to clean it at the same time.<BR>

AND, in sensor cleaning mode, you have a beep sounding when your battery is going to be empty. Otherwise, you'll destroy your shutter if it happens during cleaning.

[marknagel]

Conrad, most of those sites are trying to sell you the swabs/wipes. The sensor is protected by a layer of glass. You can swipe a clean nylon brush on it all day without problems. Just use a high quality nylon artist brush ($10), wash it with mild soap, let it dry overnight, then store it in a clean case. Before you use it take a can of compressed air and blow it through the brush to charge the bristles, set your camera to sensor clean, and swipe the sensor a couple times. I do this before any important shoot and never had dust since. I've tried the bulb technique and all it did was move the dust around.

 

Mark

[wade_rose]

I am new and I got a 350d had the same problem senor got dust on it be careful when lens is off and make sure if changeing lens the inside of the lens your putting on is clean always keep it covered.