Getting a black spot on some photos

kratos

Senior Member
Hello everyone,
I am facing a little but annoying thing with my camera. On some photos, I am getting a little black spot on the top left corner; strangely its not happening with all the photos. Couldn't figure out the reason. Check the 2 photos attached. Can anyone think of any possible reason? _DSC1544.jpg_DSC1548.jpg H
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Looks like a bit of dust on the sensor low pass filter,if you have a blower brush lock the mirror up hold the camera upside down and blow it out,taking care not to put the blower too far in,dont blow into it yourself as a lot of moisture can come out with your breath.
 

nickt

Senior Member
Dust will show up best at high f stops. Stop the lens down (high number) and shoot the sky, you might see more. Test again after cleaning. Plenty of info around on wet cleaning yourself if blowing it off does not help.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Thanks, I tested and found that the spot is coming for large f-numbers; will buy an air blower.

Don't forget that large f numbers mean smaller apertures... At what number do the spots start showing up? If there is only one or two spots, they usually can be easily removed in post processing. This is where digital shines, all the processing possibilities.
 

kratos

Senior Member
Don't forget that large f numbers mean smaller apertures... At what number do the spots start showing up? If there is only one or two spots, they usually can be easily removed in post processing. This is where digital shines, all the processing possibilities.
Didn't try with all f numbers but it showed up at 4.5 but didn't show at 2.8
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
This is the video BackdoorHippie posted when I asked how to clean a sensor. The beginning part shows the correct way to use a rocket blaster (do not insert it into the camera's body). Also, I'd suggest getting a blaster like the Giottos large size because it has a filter on the back end which helps prevent it from sucking in dust which would then get blown out inside the camera. They also make them in medium and small, but the large packs the most punch. The large size also works well to blow off dust from the front and rear of a lens.

 

nickt

Senior Member
Try locking up the mirror and using a blower, everyone should own a blower anyway. If its still there, read up on wet cleaning and decide if you want to do it yourself. Sometimes the dust is sticky, pollen perhaps, and you must wet clean. It's not really hard at all. As long as you have a steady hand and some sense of what would be appropriate pressure. Read up on it though. Don't use a cotton swab. Don't ever touch the mirror. They sell the proper sensor swabs and cleaning fluid. I'm cheap and make my own swabs from a Pec pad. I only end up doing it twice a year or so.
 

kratos

Senior Member
Tried air blower but it didn't work. Checked local stores for professional cleaning but gosh!! they charge 90 AUD here just for cleaning. Thats almost 1/10th of the camera price :). So finally I did it myself with sensor swabs. Had to do it twice but the pictures are coming clear now. Thank you all for the help, specially @hark for posting the detailed video.
 

LouCioccio

Senior Member
Sometimes DIY works especially when faced with costs. I think I watched several videos before I tried it on any of my cameras. Its really not that difficult but watching the videos do help. Glad it worked out.

Ciao,
​Lou Cioccio
 
Top