Dust Spot ?

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183
Name
Liam
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi All,
It appears I have some kind of dust spot on my images,
What I can only think as dust ?,
It’s only one spot and it’s always to the right of the image in the same place,
I have locked the mirror up and examined the sensor with a torch and can’t see anything at all,
And I have checked my lenses on the front and rear and there’s nothing on them either,
It’s in the same place no matter which lens I use,
Which leads me to believe it’s not the lens at fault,
There’s no spots showing in the viewfinder either,
Only shows up when the picture is taken,
Hope I’ve covered everything here to get the best possible advice,
Maybe the dust is on the sensor and I can’t see it with the naked eye,
Should I get a rocket blower just to try ?
I understand it can be easily fixed in Lightroom but that’s not the fix I want,
I’d like to know what’s causing it and sort it accordingly,
Here is a sample image I took earlier totally unedited straight from the camera,
Any advice would be be much appreciated,
Thanks

Dust Spot to the Right of Image ? by Liam Dobinson, on Flickr
 
It’s a dust spot on the sensor. When you stop down the lens to a smaller aperture they become easier to see. There’s another two or three on that side also.

Only answer is to clean the sensor but, to be honest, for such a small number I wouldn’t bother just clone them out.

You can get obsessed with having a clean sensor, spend ages getting it right and the first time you change your lens you get some dust on it.
 
Yep that's a dust bunny. The best way to check for dust bunnies is to set your lens to the smallest possible aperture, and then point the camera at a well lit white surface. A white wall, or even a uniform blue sky will do. Keep your ISO as low as possible when you do this. Shutter speed doesn't matter as the stuff your looking for is attached to the sensor so won't blur.

Then open the image on your computer and be amazed at how much crap has accumulated on your sensor! A rocket blower will shift most of it, but you can get sensor cleaning wet wipe kits from any decent camera shop to get your sensor sparkly clean again.

As in the post above though, don't get too obsessed over it. A dust out with a rocket blower every few weeks will sort most of it. It's a fact of life with digital cameras unfortunately. It will only show up when you shoot at smaller apertures, wider apertures blur the dust out so you can't see it.
 
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Thanks, I’ll grab a rocket blower from amazon,
I don’t really trust myself to actually touch the sensor with swabs etc..
After being mentioned above I have examined closely and can see more,
I only thought it was the one,
Hopefully a blower will sort it,
 
Thanks, I’ll grab a rocket blower from amazon,
I don’t really trust myself to actually touch the sensor with swabs etc..
After being mentioned above I have examined closely and can see more,
I only thought it was the one,
Hopefully a blower will sort it,

Don't be scared of giving your sensor a wet clean, it's not as daunting as you think. Just be very careful and go slowly and you'll be fine. Most DSLRs have a low pass filter in front of the sensor anyway so you'd actually be swapping that, not the sensor itself. Your sensor isn't dirty enough to need a wet clean yet but it will be eventually.
 
Cheers guys,
I have just ordered a Giotto blower,
It’ll be here tomorrow,
I’ll have a blast with that first,
I may attempt a wet clean if I don’t bottle it
 
Btw there is an Amazon basics version of the rocket blower. (Oops too late)
 
Don't be afraid to clean the sensor yourself. I was reluctant to have a go a couple of years ago, but I tried it on an old DSLR and it was easier than I thought. As the others have said, don't get obsessive. Hopefully the blower will sort it out.
 
Because the sensor's usually quite small relative to the viewed image, spots on it are magnified. You won't necessarily see them with the naked eye.

To do a wet clean, use good quality swabs because they're less likely to scratch anything. And fully charge your dslr battery beforehand, to ensure that the mirror stays up during the process!
 
Second what others have said about sensor cleaning. Goittos rocket blower first. The Giottos model is filtered to prevent it sucking dust back in and then blowing it all back on your sensor. Many of the cheaper one's do not.

If that fails, wet cleaning seems horrific but is actually a doddle. If you've ever owned a D600, you get used to it quite quickly!
 
Yeah so sorry,
I completely forgot that I posted last time about this,
I even forgot to order a blower,
That’s sorted now it’ll be here tomorrow,
This can be deleted if needed
Sorry again to create another
 
And don't forget, the image is inverted/reversed - what is at the top of the image will be at the bottom of the sensor; what is to the right of the image will be to the left on the sensor .... just in case you'e looking and can't see it :)
 
And don't forget, the image is inverted/reversed - what is at the top of the image will be at the bottom of the sensor; what is to the right of the image will be to the left on the sensor .... just in case you'e looking and can't see it :)

Inverted, but not reversed ;)

A dust mark in, say, the top-right of the image will be on the bottom-right of the sensor as you look at it through the lens mount.

Edit: despite the doubters below, this is correct.
 
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Inverted, but not reversed ;)

A dust mark in, say, the top-right of the image will be on the bottom-right of the sensor as you look at it through the lens mount.

Sorry, I have to disagree with his. There is no trickery or magic involved with the projected 'image disc' from a lens.

A lens is a predominantly a circular device, projecting a circular disc image - if it inverts top to bottom it must also reverse (invert) left to right. This is what makes using a TLR viewfinder an interesting experience :)

Don't believe me? Try holding a lens up and observe the image as seen through the lens - top is bottom, left is right. (Let's not even enter in to what our brain/eye does to correct this :) )
 
Sorry, I have to disagree with his. There is no trickery or magic involved with the projected 'image disc' from a lens.

A lens is a predominantly a circular device, projecting a circular disc image - if it inverts top to bottom it must also reverse (invert) left to right. This is what makes using a TLR viewfinder an interesting experience :)

Don't believe me? Try holding a lens up and observe the image as seen through the lens - top is bottom, left is right. (Let's not even enter in to what our brain/eye does to correct this :) )

This one always causes debate. Yes, the image from the lens is both inverted and reversed as you look through it, or you are looking through the back of a ground glass screen. But you're not, you're looking directly at the sensor from the front - basically you've reversed the image by turning the camera around and looking through the lens mount.

Try it with the lens demo you suggested, but don't look through the lens. Hold it up and project the image on to a piece of white paper or the palm of your hand.
 
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you're looking directly at the sensor from the lens mount - basically you've reversed the image by turning the camera around and looking from the front..

You're not wrong - but I've spent too many years in a darkroom with 'spots' - mentally I've made the correction and never considered I've turned it about. I suppose I've been viewing it from the non-emulsion side :D

Not really bothered for ages as I now have an illuminated loupe - dust is dust wherever I look
 
Quick update,
And thank you again for all who inputted,
I received my giottos blower earlier and give the sensor a good few blasts whilst facing to the floor and I can now say that it’s done the job,
There’s no longer any dust spots,
Wow these rockets are quite something haha
Cheers all again I appreciate it
Although I did forget about the last post
Sorry again
 
Great stuff - dust spots near the edge of the frame usually pose no issue as you can either crop them out or compose around them if it's that big a deal. If they are quite near the top again no issue as usually sky in the shot so very very easily cloned. Ones in the middle can be more of a pain.
 
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