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Discussion
9 Years Ago
Photographers: check for and remove those sensor dust spots !
While reviewing images for a group, an artist (name withheld) submitted a picture with a big old honkin sensor spots in the sky.
I don't know for sure, and only support can answer this, but I would be willing to guess that some sold images have been returned when the buyer noticed sensor spots in the sky (of their print) that were not noticed in the smaller FAA gallery preview.
I'm also curious about FAA's review policy. It's known that FAA will advise about nose problems. Does FAA also check for sensor spots?
Photogs: check for sensor spots !
Reply Order
9 Years Ago
They drive me crazy sometimes. I've felt my camera has chicken pox :-)
Rocket blowers are your friend. PhotoShop band-aid is your BFF
9 Years Ago
I cleaned my sensor some days ago (a pain in ... you know where). One thing you learn from stock photography: Check all your images at 100% before submitting! Lightroom offers a good tool to find them: Go to Spot Removal, click Visualize Spots.
9 Years Ago
Thanks, JC. I assumed so. I know I would reject a print that had sensor spots - probably faster than one that had noise. Guess this one just slipped by the Sensor Spot Tactical Judgement and Review Squad.
9 Years Ago
Which reminds me, I have three that have sensor spots that need fixing that I missed on upload.
9 Years Ago
JC,
I don't know how to tell if an image has sold. Some of my sales have no related posts in the comments section, so I know that methodology is not trustworthy.
@Colin
" I cleaned my sensor some days ago (a pain in ... you know where)"
... more frightening that walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon.
I don't know about Nikons, but the sensors on Canon DSLRs are buried so deep you can hardly get to them even when using a 10-foot painter's pole extension. ; )
9 Years Ago
Gotcha
I thought you meant it got by our sensor spot tac team. Artists have varying levels when talking about catching that. I myself have three on here I missed and once uploaded the wrong image which was the pre-edited shot that looked like a leopard with the chicken poxs.
9 Years Ago
i've ran that internal cleaner on it every so often. at some point it will fail to work, then i'll have to do something. though usually its caught. and i know if i see it on my shots i do something about it.
---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com
9 Years Ago
With big blue skies, I usually start at 200% and then clean from there. 100% sometimes doesn't show the smaller spots. I start at one side and then go to the opposite, then drop down about the same distance and then go back.
Then I'll go back to 100% and see if I missed any spots.
This is of course,when I remember to do this..............
Rich
9 Years Ago
Sensor spots REALLY show when you use one of the high structure filters - pop or strong detail in Topaz, for example. So when I have a sky like Rich is talking about, I sometimes put a filter like this on on a layer for a minute and look closely. Then I take it off but then I know better where to look for the hard to see spots.
9 Years Ago
If you want to get in the habit of scrutinizing your work without the fear of losing a sale, join a contest and critique site like http://digitalimagecafe.net or http://betterphoto.com. You'll learn very quickly how to improve the quality of your photos and develop processing habits that will always stick with you.
Lightroom has a couple of nice features to deeply examine your work. One is zooming in at 100% and pressing Home. It'll take you to the upper left corner of the shot. Then press the Page Down key and you can review a section at a time. Lightroom also has a dust spot finder tool, as well as an excellent heal tool.
9 Years Ago
I periodically check for dust spots. To check, stop your lens down fully and shoot a plain white or gray sheet of paper. Then view the image on your LCD at high magnification, sequentially scanning from one end to the other, then moving up a bit. Repeat until you've inspected the whole frame. You'll typically see large spots that would easily show on prints, as well as tiny ones that normally won't. If you find any, clean the sensor with Sensor Swabs, and then repeat the inspection/cleaning process until they're all gone. The whole procedure shouldn't take more than about ten minutes.
I've found that the automatic cleaning feature of cameras are of limited value.
9 Years Ago
Murray, my Canon's documentation even suggested that I not rely on the auto cleaning feature. Still needs to be done now and again.
9 Years Ago
I clean my sensor (wet clean) about once every six months, which isn't very often. I'm surprised at how clean my sensor seems to stay despite lens changes in some tricky conditions. In post I run a spot check prior to editing, then again at the last stage. That pretty much ensures nothing gets through.
9 Years Ago
I had to clean my D90 about 2 years after purchasing, my D7100 1 year after I bought it. I decide to clean or wait depending on the number and the size of the spots. I donīt clean, if the spots are visible at f/16 or f/22 only, because even for shots you need to be sharp from foreground to background, f/11 is more than enough with crop sensors.
9 Years Ago
I once had sensor spots I couldn't clean. What's important to know is that there is typically a filter on top of the screen, made of plastic. This can be damaged, and the sensor underneath remain undamaged. My filter was damaged for excessive cleaning or abrasion. (I had somehow gotten red clay mud on my sensor! I could never get it clean.) I had the screen replaced with a screen which does NOT filter out the infrared, changing my camera to an infrared camera. You can also get it replaced with a glass screen that had the "normal" optical specs for the camera. Google DSLR Infrared conversion to find companies that do this, the one I used did a good job, and also could do the normal color glass screen.
9 Years Ago
One way to help check for sensor spots is to use a levels adjustment. If your image editor has a levels adjust just move the left slider to the right about a quarter to halfway over. The spots will darken more than the lighter sky and you can see them easier. Or you can increase the contrast. Then of course just undo that adjustment when you are done or delete the adjustment layer.
I use sensor swabs as it is very convenient and they come in a sealed package so hopefully are free of contamination.If you clean a lot you can make your own with PEC pads and sensor cleaning fluid.
I only clean if the spots are consistently in one place. A lot disappear with the camera sensor cleaner
9 Years Ago
I've got the old Canon 1Ds MKIII and it has the "sensor cleaning" function that automatically cleans everytime the camera is turned off and it's useless. I've told this story, but there is a sensor cleaning product out there that looks like it has a clear square piece of Gummy Bear on the end. My friend used it to clean his Canon and then mine and it really worked,especially in the corners,where it's hard to really clean out the dust with the wet stuff.
He then used it on his Sony digital camera NEX. The way this cleaning device works, is that it is sticky and you put the gummy bear on the sensor and then lightly push down and then lift and then do the entire sensor that way. Unfortunately, this removed the protective coating on the Sony sensor and when taking a shot, the lack of the coating in that spot showed up!
So I guess I would suggest this method, it worked on the 2 Canons, but ruined the Sony's sensor!
Rich
9 Years Ago
Bradford,
The dust seems to get removed, but the issue that I see, seems like it's an oil droplet,coming from somewhere in the camera and that's tough to remove, but the liquid seems to help,
Rich
9 Years Ago
The best way to check for sensor spots in Photoshop is to hit ctrl-I. It makes your picture look like a negative and spots are much easier to see.
9 Years Ago
You can also use an adjustment layer, and do ANYTHING to highlight the spots, like lowering the effective exposure, and maxing out the contrast so the spots show up clearly.
If you make them invisible under high contrast, they'll be invisible when you remove the temporary adjustment layer(s).
(I have Vast, or at least Half-Vast experience at retouching sensor spots, due to the crazy sensor cleaning problems I have for a couple of years.)