Dark vertical line

Hi all, I'm seeing a dark vertical line in a lot of my photos. Just had the sensor professionally cleaned for the first time about a month ago, but I don't think that's where the issue started. I looked back over my photos over the past year and noticed this subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) line in a lot of my photos. I'm seeing the line across all my lenses, so it seems like this is an issue with the camera. The line is most visible at very high ISOs, but definitely still there but more diffuse and subtle at lower ISOs. I glanced at the sensor myself and I don't see any really obvious issues there (dust, hair, a big scratch, etc.). Has anyone else run into this problem before or have any thought on what might be causing it? Thanks for the help!

Photo Info:
(1 of 4) ISO 2500 62mm f/18 1/1000sec (18-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX)
(2 of 4) ISO 25600 62mm f/25 1/8000sec (18-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX)
(3 of 4) ISO 3200 62mm f/5.6 1/8000sec (18-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX)
(4 of 4) ISO 25600 50mm f/22 1/8000sec (50mm f/1.8)

These examples are all very high ISO, but can see it in photos taken at ISO 400.

What's it like at F5.6 to F9...

Welcome to the forum..

pedroj said:

What's it like at F5.6 to F9...

Welcome to the forum..

Click to expand...

He shows #3 as F5.6 which is interesting in that the line in #3 is wide compared to the other 3 images. So it would seem to be something that the lens can influence, but not the lens itself, maybe??

GPSF said:

I looked back over my photos over the past year and noticed this subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) line in a lot of my photos.

Click to expand...

I'm wondering if it has always been there. How long have you had the camera?

Are you looking in the camera with mirror locked up and shutter open for cleaning?

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I wonder has the people who cleaned your sensor left the line on it...

Thanks for all the help everyone, really appreciate it! Still not seeing a pattern to what causes the black line to appear based on the settings (other than it's sometimes easier to see it at high ISOs). I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to add more photos to this thread, but basically I took some more photos at ISO 25600, f/5.6, 1/8000sec and the line was probably about a diffuse as the "3 of 4" photo shown above and the amount it was diffused seemed to be somewhat influenced by focus. Will keep fiddling with some settings and see if I can figure out anything else.

When I looked at the sensor, I looked at with both the mirror down and locked up and didn't see anything on the sensor, anything hanging down from the mirror, or stuck to the sides. Given how static the line is, seems like it's either pretty stuck to the sensor or it's an issue with the sensor itself.

I bought the camera in June 2011, so I'll go back and look through some of my earlier photos and see if there's any appearance of the line. I went back as far as early 2013 and if it was there, it certainly isn't as prevalent as it has been over the past 6-10 months. I don't think it was caused by the cleaning itself because I'm seeing the line in pre-cleaning photos and that was the first time I've had the sensor cleaned - maybe the cleaning exacerbated the issue?

Looks like a hair. Most likely, on the back of the lens.

It's looking like a hair or something similar, to me. Have you tried blowing it out with a rocket blower? Maybe it's something stuck on the mirror and not the sensor.

View attachment 88429

I was really hoping it was a hair on the back of one of my lens, but unfortunately I'm seeing the line in the exact same spot across three different lenses so far (photo 4 of 4 at the top is actually from a different lens than the other 3). I'm assuming that means it's something camera related.

I haven't tried a rocket blower yet, I'll try to pick one up tomorrow and see if that makes any difference.

Something on the back of the low pass filter. Perhaps?

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Try just doing a mirror-up-for-cleaning and eyeballing the mirror chamber.

This could be way off, but:

- Not moving for a year would seem to indicate it is not a lose "thing" and unlikely to be hanging around the shutter plane.

- Changing with ISO sensitivity would seem to indicate it blocks light, i.e. the higher absorption rates of the sensor as ISO is increased is not absorbing light through the "thing".

- Constant regardless of lens indicates not a lens or lens mount issue.

- Changing with F-stop indicates it is not the sensor (I think) or a "thing" on the sensor. It's in the DOF spread behind the focal point of the lens, but this would not change if the "thing" were on the face of the sensor (I think). A smarter person than me could use images taken at different f-stops to calculate the position of the "thing".

That leaves the low pass filter, which, If I am not mistaken, is what you see when the mirror is up and the shutter is open. Also likely what the professional cleaning cleaned, but only the outside surface.

All this seems to point to the "thing" being on the back of the low pass filter or possibly a micro-crack in the filter. Since "things" are unlikely to get behind the filter, micro_crack seems more likely, assuming a low pass filter can crack. Getting worse over time would also indicate crack.

Have reached the end of my basic understanding of how things are put together.

Good luck in resolving the "thing".

Thanks Eyelight! I might just drop it off at a camera repair place and see if they can figure it out. I'll be sure to let them know about your theory. If it is a crack, maybe it's time to retire this camera depending on how costly the fix is...

GPSF said:

Thanks Eyelight! I might just drop it off at a camera repair place and see if they can figure it out. I'll be sure to let them know about your theory. If it is a crack, maybe it's time to retire this camera depending on how costly the fix is...

Click to expand...

If it does turn out to be something behind the low pass filter, crack or debris, and you have photos that it shows from day one (or within warranty), I'd call Nikon. Can't hurt.

It does look like it may be a hair but you'd think you'd see it when you look in the camera. Have you tried blasting around inside with a puffer?

unless something was dropped into the camera during cleaning I find it highly unlikely that it could be a crack. In the past year I have dismantled a number of Nikon dslr's, the LPF is really quite sturdy and unless there is some manufacturing defact it wuld be almost impossible to crack it during routine cleaning or normal operation. I also dont believe it is something on the rear of the LPF, the filter fits in a rubber sealed chamber which is completely hermetically sealed for the sensor. I therefore believe this could be a hair which has gotten stuck to the filter surface.
Rocket blower, if that does not work then wipe the surface of the filter carefully with a lint free cloth.
Also, try the anti dust procedure available through the menu of the camera and see if the line shifts position at all. If so, then it is most definitely some contamination on the surface of the filter.

There is definitely a pattern - the smaller the aperture the more apparent the line. This is because the greater depth of field is making it more visible. It's either on/in the lens, likely towards the back element, or in the camera?

Is this the only lens you have? If not, do this with two different lenses. Put the lens in manual focus mode, turn the focus wheel so that the focus is set to the closest setting, put the camera in aperture priority mode and set the aperture to the smallest setting (highest number). Then take a photo of a brightly lit white wall or white piece of paper. If the line shows up in photos from both lenses then it's in the camera, if only the one lens then it's in that lens.

It looks like a hair, eyelash or fiber of some sort to me. It could be on the sensor, back element, or possibly inside the lens (I'm not sure how the 18-135mm is - some zooms have a rear element that retracts, so it's actually easier for dust to get inside the lens, so care needs to be taken when switching).