Photo Spots

[weewood]

I have a Canon 20D and found that some of my photos have small dark spots in them. The spots are not competely black, they are just darker than the surrounding area. I've cleaned my lenses and the sensor with an air (not canned air), and I still get the spots. They do not appear in every photo, just the ones of the sky, or sunsets. Any thoughts?

[grnofslt]

Are you shooting jpg?, If so, what resolution? Are you shooting camera Raw? Do you have photoshop? If you do, when you increase the percentage of size, ore the dark spots individial pixals, or groups of pixals?

[weewood]

I normally shoot in RAW, but I've seen the spots in both JPG and CR2. JPG is 3504 x 2336 at 72 dpi. I'm not sure about the RAW resolution. Yes, I have Photoshop CS2, and the spots are visable without increasing the precentage size. The spots are made up of multiple pixels. I'll attach a small photo with spots in the sky. I pulled the curves way down so the spots would show up better. Thanks!

[grnofslt]

Hi Weewood. I couldn't see much of the spots but that might be because of the size that the forums limits you to. I think I saw maybe 3 or 4 clusters like you mentioned which are in the lighter areas just above the horizon line. I've not ever seen anything like that. But in my desires to help check out the following link:

http://www.dpreview.com/


When you open this page, search for the forums in the site menu along the upper left corner. You will find your Camera manufacturer listed. You might find someone who is having the same problem and the solution if others have had the same problem.

In thinking about it, there may be some weak sensor pixals that give you this. You could find out if this is so by taking the exact same picture three or 4 times and see if the spots are in the same area or if they have moved. If they are in the same area then I would venture a guess that the sensor is the culprit. But then again, it is only a guess. check out the Canon forums and see what you can find. Another place you might check is with Canon at their site . I think that there might be some forums on the Canon site under their support menu. If they have them, I believe that they would be there

Billy Jay

[kdr0014]

I know you said you tried cleaning with a blower, but you might want to try this solution. Photographic solutions makes some items that I would suggest you try. They make swabs for your sensor size, and the instructions are pretty clear. One thing that might help is making sure you turn the camera off before lens changes. Also, if you didn't lock the mirror before blowing the chamber you might have gotten dust in places you might need servicing. I know my 1ds Mark II is prone to this, but in general canon products are made pretty well. Sometimes the quality control is shaky, but one of my 10d cameras that I bought when the 10d came out is still operating. The abuse that it takes is a testament to the quality of canon hardware.
Best of luck to you.

[weewood]

I've not tried sensor swabs, but will look into it. I found an item called Green Clean http://www.adorama.com/CPCGKL.html that I'm interested in. I'm also checking with the store were I purchased the camera to see how much they charge for cleaning the sensor. I always turn the camera off when changing lenses, but I was not aware of locking the mirror. Thanks for the info!

[weewood]

Okay,,,I checked my procedure for cleaning the sensor, and the mirror is always locked when you follow the "Clean Sensor" menu selection on the Canon 20D. Well, I feel better now. At least I know I was doing it right! Thanks for all the help! :)

[mike lane]

Dust on the sensors of dSLRs is a big problem. Your sensor can get dusty even if you're not regularly changing lenses - it is especially bad if you are changing lenses. My 20D came with a massive amount of dust on the sensor (thanks a lot Canon). My first cleaning was a $50 job at a camera shop. After that I decided that I wouldn't be doing that again and went to http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning and ordered one of their cleaning kits. It's kind of scary at first and takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it you'll end up with a clean sensor. Plus you can clean it once a week or even every day if you wanted to.

The reason that you're seeing specks in the bright sky or in sunsets is that those dust spots are most visible when you are using smaller apertures. You'll use smaller apertures when you're shooting the bright sky or a bright sunset.

[kdr0014]

The sensor swabs are made specifically for the sensor of your camera. So there are only two swipes. One swipe in each direction that covers the entire sensor, so that you avoid streaks. One thing to keep in mind, you should never use old or used swabs on your sensor. They can pick up dust or oil that might get on your sensor, and cause damage, or make it more difficult to clean. Best of luck to you.