Sensor Cleaning

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TedG954

Senior Member
Have discovered a spot. I tried the auto-clean several times. I tried the manual air cleaning. The spot is still there. Any suggestions?

View attachment 12911

Nine o'clock, 1/4 way in from the left.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
At this point your only option is to send it to Nikon for a cleaning. How long have you had the camera? It's advised to have it professionally cleaned every 1 to 2 yrs so depending upon how long you've had it, it may be ready for a good scrub.

Btw, the spot is not on the sensor, per se, rather it's on the anti-aliasing filter or more precisely the "Optical Low-pass filter" (OLPF). It is placed directly in front of the sensor. I just got my D7000 back from Nikon due to oil spots on the filter. I was fortunate enough to have my Nikon rep authorize the work instead of paying the $79 it usually costs. Interestingly they didn't bother cleaning it but instead replace the entire mirror box which I assume holds the OLPF and it works like a champ!
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Mojo-Fstop said:
At this point your only option is to send it to Nikon for a cleaning. How long have you had the camera? It's advised to have it professionally cleaned every 1 to 2 yrs so depending upon how long you've had it, it may be ready for a good scrub.

Btw, the spot is not on the sensor, per se, rather it's on the anti-aliasing filter or more precisely the "Optical Low-pass filter" (OLPF). It is placed directly in front of the sensor. I just got my D7000 back from Nikon due to oil spots on the filter. I was fortunate enough to have my Nikon rep authorize the work instead of paying the $79 it usually costs. Interestingly they didn't bother cleaning it but instead replace the entire mirror box which I assume holds the OLPF and it works like a champ!
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I wouldn't classify it as "only option" but as one of the options; He can perform his own wet sensor cleaning if he buys the kit which cost less in the long run. There are several tutorials from youtube if you don't know how to perform this.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
Yeah, I have heard of people doing this successfully but I would advise against it. Just too much risk vs. reward, IMO. But then again, if your cleaning a $500 camera and cleaning w/ shipping amounts to ~$100, or 25% of your camera's worth, then maybe the risk vs. reward isn't that far off. However, on a $1k or higher camera is a different story.
 
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TedG954

Senior Member
cnyram said:
Don't be offended, but I assume you have tried different lenses?
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No offense taken, and yes. I tried two different lenses. Same spot; different intensities.

Light Room has a good spot remover, so I'll be using that if the spot becomes a problem. The camera is relatively new and I didn't have the auto-sensor-clean "on". The spot does look reduced from when I first noticed it, so maybe the auto cleaner just needs a little more time. Thanks.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
To get a good feel for just how much junk is on your filter, do this - Set your camera on manual and stop down your lens to f22 or smaller and take a photo of the blue sky. Stopped down like that will show each and every one of your dirt spots. When I did this to my D7000 it looked like a freaking Dalmatian!
 
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Just-Clayton

Senior Member
I had to wet clean my 300s several times.I had bought a refurbished one and I was getting several oil spots for the first few weeks. Then I was getting a large hair in my photos. That ended up being a hair in front of the low pass filter. It was frustrating to say the least. Everything seems to work good now. The wet clean should get the oil off. Just be very careful. I wasn't too concerned doing it myself. But, I also cleaned vcr heads for several years. They are a sensitive item to clean too.
 
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