Dust!

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My new 17-85mm 400D lens managed to pick up a few dust particles at the weekend. Nothing quite so obvious on pictures, but is this likely to cause more serious problems in the future?

I can appreciate there might be a number of ways to deal with it; what are the best?
 
to be honest, dust in the lens, unless in excessive quantities, is not really much to worry about. You won't be able to see the difference in images unless the particles are huge. Dust on the sensor is worth worrying about, as this is far more noticable on photos.
 
Safest way is to use a blower such as the rocket blower. That tends to get most light dust off the sensor, however a little more expensive just recently come onto the market is the Artic Brush which produces anti -static when directions followed and attracts dust.
Other methods as sensor wipes and pencil type brushes designed especially for cameras but it is always preferable to try using either of the first two methods first.
One should always try and hold the camera so its facing downwards and in an extremely clean environment to clean the inside of a camera.

A tip I use to check if the cleaning has worked is to place an A4 sheet of white plain paper on the computer screen and photograph it making sure the photo reproduced is as near white as the paper. Next I view the photo as you would normally view a photo and zoom in a couple of stops on the screen. That way you can see if any dust spots are left by moving the screen sliders up/down/sideways.

One advantage by doing it this way is it can be done in the evening and not rely on daylight such as taking a picture of clear sky.

As regards to lens cleaning I have found that metholated spirit and kitchen paper towels is excellent for dealing with dust/ smears on lenses and doesn't cost much if anything. Pour small amount on kitchen paper towel first never directly onto lens. Then carry out test as described above.


Realspeed
 
Nightmare; the second I get to an event earlier today, I discover one or two noticeable dust grains though my view finder. So I carefully clean both ends of the lens and both sides of the UV filter (with microfiber cloth and rocket blower) in the hope they'd disappear. But NO, still there and absolutely no way of removing them. Any idea's???
 
They are probably on the focus screen. You can check by taking the lens off then looking through the viewfinder at a brightish light. If they are on the screen, the best way to get them off, if the rocket blower doesnt work, is to use a Specgrabber.
You need a good light and a magnifying glass and you will see the specs, then just ( carefully) grab them off.
Eesy peasy, and they wont turn up anywhere else.
Allan
 
or if all hell breaks loose and you really screw it up, you can get a replacement focus screen (original for 400D) for about £15-25
 
As has been stated. They are probably on the viewfinder and not the lens. But be careful. I had two specs on my viewfinder and tried to clean it over the weekend and now I have twenty specs on it.

These will not impact your image, but can be annoying.

If anyone has an idiot proof way on cleaning the view finder let me know.

But I regret even trying.
 
PD_BARBS said:
As has been stated. They are probably on the viewfinder and not the lens. But be careful. I had two specs on my viewfinder and tried to clean it over the weekend and now I have twenty specs on it.

These will not impact your image, but can be annoying.

If anyone has an idiot proof way on cleaning the view finder let me know.

But I regret even trying.
Click to expand...

Did you use a speckgrabber? Here.
This shows cleaning a sensor, but the principle is the same. I used it successfully many times and wouldnt be without one. ( I have 2!)
Allan
 
allanm said:
Did you use a speckgrabber? Here.
This shows cleaning a sensor, but the principle is the same. I used it successfully many times and wouldnt be without one. ( I have 2!)
Allan
Click to expand...

I like the look of this, have you tried it on a viewfinder?
 
The 17-85 lens is a well known dust vacuum/dust magnet. I used to have one.
 
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