D600 Dust & Shutter Count

I know there are plenty of dust threads but I haven't seen posts discussing if the dust/oil issue is getting better over time.

My question is directed at those who have had the dust/oil issue pop up at relatively low shutter counts. Have you noticed the interval between cleanings increase as you accumulate more use and shutter activations?

I don't like the sound of this thread.

Not sure what this thread "sounds like" to you but I'm just curious what other users experience has been. I have a D600, I have the dust and oil issue, and I've ordered cleaning supplies so I can deal with those issues because I enjoy the camera.

i just want to know if the issue improves overtime after a few cleanings or if the rather expensive sensor swabs are going to be a regular part of my photography budget.

It sucks that what it sounds like to me...shouldn't have to bleach clean your new 2 thousand dollar camera every time you use it...uggh I hate hearing this stuff and I don't even own such a camera.

I hope it clears up in good time...

I had a D3s and it was a dust magnet. It never settle down however with careful awareness when changing lens & using a Rocket blower I was able to keep it in check. I have a feeling the D600 is the same. The D3 is horrible, to make matters worse it doesn't even have an internal sensor cleaner.

I'm at 2358 shots. The dust issue does appear to lessen over time. I've blown the sensor off 3 times and it has taken care of all but one spot on the far edge. I may wet clean it after 3000 shots. For me that will probably be an annual event, not concerned. Also, I change lenses several times a day.

Rick did yours have any oil issues or has it always been dust?

CajunJosh said:

Not sure what this thread "sounds like" to you but I'm just curious what other users experience has been. I have a D600, I have the dust and oil issue, and I've ordered cleaning supplies so I can deal with those issues because I enjoy the camera.

i just want to know if the issue improves overtime after a few cleanings or if the rather expensive sensor swabs are going to be a regular part of my photography budget.

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Don't worry. It does improve dramatically after the first cleaning. I didn't see any signs of oil on mine. Just dust that were easily removed with the blower and a single wet swipe.

This camera is such a great performer that it is worth it to learn sensor cleaning. This should be part of basic DSLR operation since at some point they all need it.

I have no other experience to offer other than my own. I got my first piece of dust at 100 shots with lens change. My first non-blowable object at 600 shots. My second non-blowable at 1600 shots, which was 60 shots ago. My experience is that I get dust more often when operating in continuous shutter mode. Whether this is due to the shutter mechanism spitting oil or the mirror flapping creating greater dust movement I do not know, nor do I speculate.

Regardless, I find myself in a routine now where I take a dust-check image every time I remove my card to process images and blow clean as necessary, recheck and then wet-clean if I have to. As Marcel points out, the images the camera produces means this effort is worth the results. All cameras will eventually need cleaning, so it's a good habit to get in (taking the dust check image).

If dust really bothers you, the camera has the ability to produce a dust reference image that Capture NX2 can use to quickly remove dust from your photo (Canon has the same ability using Digital Photo Professional). Would be nice if the reference image could be used by other software, like Photoshop, but it is what it is.

I'm at 9,332 and I can't remember the last time I cleaned mine. I just checked it and I counted 2 spots, blowing did not get rid of them and for me 2 spots isn't enough for a wet clean so I'm not really worried about it. I'd say that's a marked improvement from the earlier days of my D600.

Whether or not you clean has a lot to do with how and what you're shooting. The more you shoot towards minimum aperture the more troublesome the dust spots are. Though the last of these for me would appear at anything smaller than f8, so a-cleaning I did go.

BackdoorHippie said:

Whether or not you clean has a lot to do with how and what you're shooting. The more you shoot towards minimum aperture the more troublesome the dust spots are. Though the last of these for me would appear at anything smaller than f8, so a-cleaning I did go.

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It also seems to me that the wider the lens, the more these spots will show up.

They also seem to show up more in HDR.

Rick M said:

They also seem to show up more in HDR.

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Quite a bit more I'd say… I wonder why though.

Marcel said:

Quite a bit more I'd say… I wonder why though.

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I suspect it's because the process looks to pull as many details as possible from the various layers and hunts for information in each pixel. I've had horrible dust spots in HDR photos that I can barely get to show in any of the individual shots, so there's something about it that makes it all the more noticeable.

Marcel said:

Quite a bit more I'd say… I wonder why though.

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Which is exactly what I'm running into.

I've done the unspeakable....,

As mentioned, I've had one or two spots that would not move on the extreme edge. I took two cotton swabs and covered the tips with new untouched Zeiss micro-fiber cloth. I blew the sensor (filter) as normal. I very gently with almost no pressure ran the cloth covered swaps over the extreme edges. rotated the tools for each edge. I did not go into the middle as there was no dust, and blew it off one more time. It is 100% clean! All spots including the one that would not move are gone. It was not oil.

I think we get a little crazy over this stuff. The industry would love us to spend $50 on sensor cleaners and special swabs.

I am not recommending my procedure, just sharing.

as i read the cleaning methods, i get a bit wary - so for now, i am holding off of purchasing the 600. I would expect
Nikon to find a way to fix the problem at its source, in manufacturing, so that you can spend your time catching photos instead
of catching dust! I have heard this is a great camera, so more's the pity.
Can anyone tell me if this has become a problem for Nikon. My last camera - film - was a Nikon and it helped me
take beautiful, timeless photos of my children. No i use the 7000 and wish i was back shooting with film. Is the 600 that
good, that the prints approach film? I have heard that it is. If so, then nikon would be wise to correct the issues so that
potential consumers, hesitating because of concern over oil/dust issues, will part with thousands of dollars to purchase the camera.
I hope Nikon is paying attention to this forum!
Last point, i respect those of you who are willing and able to deal patiently with the spots and know how to clean the sensor
without worrying about doing damage to the camera.
Take care

eli said:

as i read the cleaning methods, i get a bit wary - so for now, i am holding off of purchasing the 600. I would expect
Nikon to find a way to fix the problem at its source, in manufacturing, so that you can spend your time catching photos instead
of catching dust! I have heard this is a great camera, so more's the pity.
Can anyone tell me if this has become a problem for Nikon. My last camera - film - was a Nikon and it helped me
take beautiful, timeless photos of my children. No i use the 7000 and wish i was back shooting with film. Is the 600 that
good, that the prints approach film? I have heard that it is. If so, then nikon would be wise to correct the issues so that
potential consumers, hesitating because of concern over oil/dust issues, will part with thousands of dollars to purchase the camera.
I hope Nikon is paying attention to this forum!
Last point, i respect those of you who are willing and able to deal patiently with the spots and know how to clean the sensor
without worrying about doing damage to the camera.
Take care

Click to expand...

You make good points eli, you have to have a comfort level to deal with this stuff.

eli said:

as i read the cleaning methods, i get a bit wary - so for now, i am holding off of purchasing the 600. I would expect
Nikon to find a way to fix the problem at its source, in manufacturing, so that you can spend your time catching photos instead
of catching dust! I have heard this is a great camera, so more's the pity.
Can anyone tell me if this has become a problem for Nikon. My last camera - film - was a Nikon and it helped me
take beautiful, timeless photos of my children. No i use the 7000 and wish i was back shooting with film. Is the 600 that
good, that the prints approach film? I have heard that it is. If so, then nikon would be wise to correct the issues so that
potential consumers, hesitating because of concern over oil/dust issues, will part with thousands of dollars to purchase the camera.
I hope Nikon is paying attention to this forum!
Last point, i respect those of you who are willing and able to deal patiently with the spots and know how to clean the sensor
without worrying about doing damage to the camera.
Take care

Click to expand...

Even if Nikon take care of this problem, there will be a day when you'll have to clean your sensor.

If you're looking for the camera that will make prints look like film, for now, I think it's the D700. I know that the 600 and 800 have more definition, but the 700 gets the job done and a darn good one at that. But it's a little bigger and heavier on your shoulders but a lot lighter on your computer.

Enjoy your Nikon!