Oil Spots on D7100

Hi,


I purchased a new Nikon Camera from JB - HiFi in August of 2013. However, soon after the purchase I noted that there were small dark spots appearing in the top left of the image. In September, I decided to take the camera to the authorised Nikon Service Centre in Melbourne, (As I was interstate at the time) for an image sensor clean. This initially solved the issue however once again, these dots reappeared. As such, I purchased some Do - It - Yourself Image Sensor cleaners to clean the dots (oil residue from Shutter Module) to clean it myself as it costs approx. $65 to get a professional sensor clean. Unfortunately, these cleaners left streaks down the pictures and I decided to take the camera to the authorised Nikon Service Centre in Perth to rectify the issue, where I was told that I had voided the manufacturers warranty because I had cleaned it myself. However, I was not advised at the retailer where I bought the products that I would void my warranty. The problem was satisfactorily rectified by the service centre once again in December, however now these spots have appeared once again in my images and are always visible in the images, especially in the mid left on the image.



Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem or has any advice? I also zoom in and out very carefully on all my lenses (Nikon 70 -300, 35 1.8 & 18-55 VR2.) and when I occasionally change them, it's done indoors in a room with minimal dust and upside down and quickly.


Thank - You,


Luke

Welcome,possibly me but what am i looking at

im confused

It looks like a black carpet with white spots

Welcome to the forum!
It looks like you have photographed a dark sheet of paper, and then used a tool to highlight the spots? If so, there does appear to be a lot on there.

How many actuations have you got on the shutter? I have heard that it can take ~3000 shots to clear any excess oil left from manufacture, so if you have fewer than that whack the camera in high continuous, and get the camera up to 3000+ shots. Then get the sensor cleaned, and if the problem reappears, get it checked by Nikon, but often the problem won't return once the shutter is "Run in" a bit.

Oil spots aren't caused by lens changes, so while being careful is a good thing there's no reason why it can't be done outside (With in reason - a windy beach is not a good idea!) I just use the in built sensor clean function once a new lens is on.

Let us know how you get on

SteveH said:

Welcome to the forum!
It looks like you have photographed a dark sheet of paper, and then used a tool to highlight the spots? If so, there does appear to be a lot on there.

How many actuations have you got on the shutter? I have heard that it can take ~3000 shots to clear any excess oil left from manufacture, so if you have fewer than that whack the camera in high continuous, and get the camera up to 3000+ shots. Then get the sensor cleaned, and if the problem reappears, get it checked by Nikon, but often the problem won't return once the shutter is "Run in" a bit.

Oil spots aren't caused by lens changes, so while being careful is a good thing there's no reason why it can't be done outside (With in reason - a windy beach is not a good idea!) I just use the in built sensor clean function once a new lens is on.

Let us know how you get on

Click to expand...

Never thought of that,was trying to work out what it was

It just reminded me of the sharpening mask in Lightroom, where it makes the whole frame back and as you increase the sharpen mask, it starts to show hard edges in the picture..... Its a good way of finding tiny blurred birds that need cloning out of landscape shots! lol

welcome to the forum....and I haven't heard of any oil spots until now on the D7100....but there is an entire thread on the D600 module detailing all the problems that camera has regarding oil spots on sensors. Good luck to you, and continue to clean the sensor yourself. I never heard off anybody's warranty voided because of that. Just be careful when you do it....as I'm sure you have been...and use the fluid specifically made for cleaning sensors.

Looks to be the spot removal tool in LR/ACR with the "Visualize Spots" option turned on.

Alas, the D600 problem has sent every Nikon owner into a panic every time their sensor gets dirty, as if fate has dealt them a cruel blow. It's not oil, Luke, just dust (or other airborne particulates), scattered about the sensor. Depending on where you use your camera, how frequently and where you change your lens, how often you do long exposures and which direction your camera faces during that time, and just in general what type of environment your camera tends to exist in, you're going to get this. It's springtime here in the US and I've noticed a quick buildup in both my cameras thanks to pollen being everywhere, which unlike normal dust will stick to the sensor.

There's nothing about the distribution of spots in your image that makes me believe it's anything abnormal. I live in the country and dust is just a fact of life for me. I try and keep things clean, but I wind up wet cleaning my sensors 2-3 times a year. Not the camera, just life. If you're experiencing this rather frequently then I suspect it is something intrinsic to the environment you use your cameras in. I'm not calling you dirty, just saying that there could be a higher concentration of dust and particulates where you are.

Go with Jake's post over mine - He know MUCH more about these things and how they manifest themselves!

Streaking may always be a possible side effect from a wet cleaning. Some cleaners do a better job than others. Sensor Swabs coupled with Eclipse for the wet cleaning solution work quite well although I've heard the pre-moistened swabs can leave streak marks. I've used the unmoistened swabs and wet them with the bottle of Ecplise solution--be sure to only use 2-3 drops as recommended--as too much will most likely leave a film that will dry as streaks.

To hark's point, I just wet cleaned my D800 yesterday using the Sensor Swabs and Eclipse solution and was aghast after checking the sensor after my first pass. The pollen was so thick on it that it produced huge streaks across the sensor. It took 3 passes to get it pristine.

BTW, when using LR/ACR, if you turn your "Visualize Spots" slider all the way to the right it can freak you out as it can be very sensitive to very minor spots on an otherwise spotless sensor. I was frustrated as all get-out after using a 3rd swab yesterday, but before heading back to do one more pass I nudged the slider to the left just a touch and the sensor showed spotless. The technology can show you things you'll never see, even at f/22 in high structured HDR. So don't panic. I suspect if you nudge your slider to the left a touch that Milky Way-like band of spots running on the diagonal will disappear quickly. The rest need to be dealt with (and whatever cleans them will likely take care of the swath across the middle).

I agree with Jake, but remember what he said this time a year with pollen being so thick in the air. Be careful when you change your lenses.

sonicbuffalo said:

I agree with Jake, but remember what he said this time a year with pollen being so thick in the air. Be careful when you change your lenses.

Click to expand...

And with those long exposures and LiveView (which no one seems to ever equate with why their sensors get dirty - but it's a HUGE culprit).

I have never "spotted" the visualize spots thingy in LR Jake, where is it? I've always used the Sharpening mask slider...

Thanks to contrast, levels and sharpening filters, one can certainly find such dust specks when shooting a white wall or bue sky at f-22. But guys, please try to keep these things in perspective. How often do you use f-22? Do you have dust specks when using your camera in a normal way for normal pictures?

I know that doing HDR will make these more obvious, but in normal day to day use of the camera, how many do you see without going to levels and sharpening adjustments that would just make any picture horrible?

I can wet clean my sensor and can almost always find something right after the cleaning when I get the levels and contrast all maximized, but when doing normal photography, I only get a noticeable spot once in a while and it can certainly be removed very easily with the brush in LR or PS.

So just try not to go out of your normal work procedures and just stop hunting for dust at unreal levels and contrast settings.

Ah, that feels good!

When i bought my first DSLR i was paranoid about it,now its just part of digital photography

Hi All,

Thanks so much for your help! In case your wondering, it's a image of a blue sky at f22 and then equalised with the visualise dust feature on, so yes, very excessive!!! The 7100's got around 6500-7000 clicks on her now so probably some spots are still left over from when she was only around 3000! I generally do aviation photography with some long exposures, etc on the side. As you said Mike I'm probably paranoid about the spots at the moment!!!

So sounds like the general consensus is that it's dust so I'll probably live with it and get a clean in a few months!!! Or risk it and do it myself again!

Once Again, cheers!

lukep198 said:

Hi All,

Thanks so much for your help! In case your wondering, it's a image of a blue sky at f22 and then equalised with the visualise dust feature on, so yes, very excessive!!! The 7100's got around 6500-7000 clicks on her now so probably some spots are still left over from when she was only around 3000! I generally do aviation photography with some long exposures, etc on the side. As you said Mike I'm probably paranoid about the spots at the moment!!!

So sounds like the general consensus is that it's dust so I'll probably live with it and get a clean in a few months!!! Or risk it and do it myself again!

Once Again, cheers!

Click to expand...

Luke, if it is dust (not oil), try using a rocketblaster to remove it. The large Giottos works extremely well. Sometimes stuff won't clean off without a wet cleaning, but it will help remove the dry, loose particles.

Amazon.com: Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster Large - Black: Camera & Photo

All this time I didn't notice that little check box for visualising spots..... I need a book! :sulkiness: