What does a dirty sensor look like?

[rob_garsson]

<p>Or how will I tell in my image? The spots I'm seeing in my image look kind of like grease spots. Here's a close up of a couple spots from a sky.<br>

<img src="http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w150/robjones91/SkyDust.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I notice consistent spots in some similar shots of the same sky but overall haven't notice a constant trend of spots in my photography, they seem to be fickle about when they pop up.</p>

<p>I use a 40d, which everytime I turn off it does that vibrate, "clean sensor" thingy, which I'm hoping works well. I've never attempted any kind of deep clean on my sensor and am wondering if I should.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Not sure what the image is - 100% magnification crop or something else - but you have several darker round areas that look exactly like dust on the sensor glass cover. </p>

<p>It is normal to get some dust spots, and a completely clean sensor is more or less an impossible dream. If they disappear on their own after you run the dust removal vibration cycle, then all is well.</p>

<p>You might think about how you can minimize the entrance of dust into the chamber. Obviously, don't leave the lens off the camera and the chamber open if you don't need to. Work fairly quickly when you change lenses. Try to protect the opening if you must change lenses in windy conditions.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>Take a pic of the sky with the lens at f16 or 22 or whatever the smallest aperture is. The "point source" of light will produce the sharpest shadows of the dust particles.</p>

 

[vrankin]

<p>I'm seeing out-of-focus dust spots on your sensor. Like Bob said, closing down the aperture to the extreme with make them appear more distinct. A lot of people seem to live with this. If you're adventurous you could purchase a cleaning outfit and do it yourself. There are many past threads with recommendations here.</p>

[b_christopher]

<p>That certainly does appear to be dust on the sensor. An air blower(blower bulb) does a nice job of removing dust from sensors. I haven't needed to use expensive sensor cleaning kits since I started using a <a href="http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=Giottos+Rocket+Air+Blower">Giottos Rocket Air Blower</a>.</p>

[rob_garsson]

<p>Thanks for the responses, I think I'll look into one of the Giotto air blowers.</p>

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

<p>There are a couple of photographers in the Leica forum (I'm NOT making this up) using vacuum cleaners to clean their sensors.</p>