Is There Dust On My Sensor?!?

Squidgy Black

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48127495@N02/5207763030/

I can't seem to tell if the white spots are dust on my sensor or not.
if it is dust, where's the best place to get it cleaned?

that seems to be the only one of the pictures i took at the gig with those spots as evident as they are....

Kintarō Hattori

stetyrrell wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48127495@N02/5207763030/

I can't seem to tell if the white spots are dust on my sensor or not.
if it is dust, where's the best place to get it cleaned?

that seems to be the only one of the pictures i took at the gig with those spots as evident as they are....

It's not necessarily dust on the sensor. Taking a flash photo indoors isn't the best way to judge the cleanliness of your sensor. Go outside during the day and take a photo of a clear blue sky or alternatively find a white surface that's lit well and take a photo of that.

In either of those cases if there's dust on your sensor it should show up. Going by the photo above it's difficult to make a definitive judgement.

Carrigman

Probably. You can get rid of them in Photoshop by using the Healing Brush or clone tools.

Sensor dust is part and parcel of digital SLR photography and it's nothing to fret about. It's unavoidable.

There are various methods for cleaning the sensor yourself - Google and you will find them. I don't know any local services that will do it for you but I'm sure they exist.

Regards,

John

Prenderb

I found that a rocket-type blower worked well for me when I found there was dust on my sensor, but you'd have to be careful pointing it inside the camera! Lock up the mirror of course. Oh, and you may need a wet clean - either pay for in the shop or buy one of the kits I've never used.

Edit: I always noticed the dust spots more at more open apertures. I also found taking flashless exposures of a flat white or light surface (wall, for example) pointed them out aswell.

Does your camera have a dust checking procedure? It might help.

SetOverSet

I see you shoot a D3000 - here's a good article on Nikon DSLR sensor cleaning by Thom Hogan...

pixbyjohn

I don't think those spots are sensor dust at all. Maybe its light reflecting from the symbals on to the wall.
To check your sensor for dirt, set your aperture to f22 and take a photo of an A4 white sheet of typing paper. Then look at the photo on your computer screen.

Thecageyone

I think pixbyjohn might well be bang on here. Any time I ever have dust problems the spots show up dark grey, never white[ish] like the ones you show in this image. Are they showing up in other images? If not, there you go. if they are, it might be lighter dust or wet splashes. Has anything spilled on your camera recently? Changed lenses in the rain perhaps?

I bought a rocket blower in Conns for about €11, not had much dust issues since.

Lock up the mirror, remove the lens, place your fingers over the opening and insert the funnel of the blower slowly through your fingers [to control how far/fast in it goes] - A few quick blasts usually does the trick.

Otherwise you'll need a wet-clean if the problem persists.

zerohamster

Id agree with the previous posters, doesnt look like sensor dust...more like dust on the lens or a splash of liquid (droplets) on the lens catching the flash and showing up.