Dread of the dusty sensor
If you're using a digital SLR and begin to notice dark specks in your photos, don't worry: this is not caused by strange ghosts appearing in your photos. It's simply dust on your sensor. When you change the lenses on an SLR dust can easily get inside the camera and settle on the sensor, which in turns creates dark little spots in the pictures you take.
Your camera may already have a built-in sensor-dusting function, but most cameras will still require a careful manual cleaning.
1. Purchase a self-cleaning SLR.
Dust specks on the sensor cause dark spots like the ones marring the sky in the photo on the left. You can see the spots close-up on the right.
Olympus's E1 and Evolt E-300 SLRs have what the company calls a Supersonic Wave Filter built in. Every time you turn the camera on or activate the filter, it vibrates the sensor to shake dust off. The dust is then collected on adhesive strips along the sides of the sensor. In our experience, this system works pretty well. It's a pity other manufacturers don't offer something similar.
2. Clean your camera with care. If you don't have an Olympus SLR (or even if you do but are in a very dusty environment), sooner or later you'll have to clean the sensor. If you're nervous about doing it yourself, you can send it to the manufacturer for a professional cleaning. However, that's not a very practical or affordable way to handle the situation every time a new little spot shows up. Although you should take the utmost care, the best solution is probably to clean the dust out yourself.
Most sensors are covered with protective glass, and if you scratch or damage it, there's a good chance the manufacturer's warranty will not pick up the tab for repairs. So don't be cavalier about what you stick inside the camera. Never blow compressed air into your camera. It uses propellants that can leave a residue.
You want to find products that are made specifically for sensor cleaning, usually through any retailer who sells digital cameras. You can find a variety of products available from manufacturers such as Photographic Solutions and Visible Dust. Speck Grabber from Kinetronics' is a great product as it has a little light built in which is helpful for getting at particular bits of debris. If you own a Kodak camera you can use the Kodak sensor-cleaning kit which also comes with its own detailed instructions on how to clean camera sensors.
When you're ready to clean the sensor, put the camera into sensor-cleaning mode so that the sensor is exposed (check the manual about how to do this with your particular model) and remove the lens. You can use a bulb blower to blow dust off the sensor; just make sure you hold the camera up so that the dust falls out instead of settling inside again. Follow the instructions of the cleaning product you've chosen. Usually this will involve carefully swabbing the surface of the protective glass over the sensor.
To make sure that you have gotten rid of all the dust you can take a picture of a blank wall or piece of paper. Look at it at full size on a computer monitor and see if you can detect any remaining specks. - 16651
If you're using a digital SLR and begin to notice dark specks in your photos, don't worry: this is not caused by strange ghosts appearing in your photos. It's simply dust on your sensor. When you change the lenses on an SLR dust can easily get inside the camera and settle on the sensor, which in turns creates dark little spots in the pictures you take.
Your camera may already have a built-in sensor-dusting function, but most cameras will still require a careful manual cleaning.
1. Purchase a self-cleaning SLR.
Dust specks on the sensor cause dark spots like the ones marring the sky in the photo on the left. You can see the spots close-up on the right.
Olympus's E1 and Evolt E-300 SLRs have what the company calls a Supersonic Wave Filter built in. Every time you turn the camera on or activate the filter, it vibrates the sensor to shake dust off. The dust is then collected on adhesive strips along the sides of the sensor. In our experience, this system works pretty well. It's a pity other manufacturers don't offer something similar.
2. Clean your camera with care. If you don't have an Olympus SLR (or even if you do but are in a very dusty environment), sooner or later you'll have to clean the sensor. If you're nervous about doing it yourself, you can send it to the manufacturer for a professional cleaning. However, that's not a very practical or affordable way to handle the situation every time a new little spot shows up. Although you should take the utmost care, the best solution is probably to clean the dust out yourself.
Most sensors are covered with protective glass, and if you scratch or damage it, there's a good chance the manufacturer's warranty will not pick up the tab for repairs. So don't be cavalier about what you stick inside the camera. Never blow compressed air into your camera. It uses propellants that can leave a residue.
You want to find products that are made specifically for sensor cleaning, usually through any retailer who sells digital cameras. You can find a variety of products available from manufacturers such as Photographic Solutions and Visible Dust. Speck Grabber from Kinetronics' is a great product as it has a little light built in which is helpful for getting at particular bits of debris. If you own a Kodak camera you can use the Kodak sensor-cleaning kit which also comes with its own detailed instructions on how to clean camera sensors.
When you're ready to clean the sensor, put the camera into sensor-cleaning mode so that the sensor is exposed (check the manual about how to do this with your particular model) and remove the lens. You can use a bulb blower to blow dust off the sensor; just make sure you hold the camera up so that the dust falls out instead of settling inside again. Follow the instructions of the cleaning product you've chosen. Usually this will involve carefully swabbing the surface of the protective glass over the sensor.
To make sure that you have gotten rid of all the dust you can take a picture of a blank wall or piece of paper. Look at it at full size on a computer monitor and see if you can detect any remaining specks. - 16651
About the Author:
Did you like this article? Curious about Dominating Digital Photography? Well now you can by Discovering this free Blog...what are you waiting for?
