Dirt inside my lens.....

[ChowChi-Ching]

How do I clean it? It is actually inside it. I have no idea how it got in there but it is a big pain having to edit every single picture. Can I do it myself? Do I take it in to be cleaned? If so, where do I go?

Also, I have another problem, with one of my lenses I had trouble with the manual focus, so under warranty, I sent it to Nikon to be fixed only to have it come back WAY worse. It is not worth it to me to send it back to them, Where do I go to have it fixed? I have only found camera shops that sell cameras, not repair them.

[SmartWombat]

Are you sure it's the lens causing the problem?
Usually that doesn't show up in the image.
Can you post a problem photo?
Or even better, shoot a white sheet of paper at maximum and minimum aperture.

[mjs1973]

Are you sure the dust is in your lens, and not on your sensor?

[A.M.D.A.]

How do I clean it? It is actually inside it. I have no idea how it got in there but it is a big pain having to edit every single picture. Can I do it myself? Do I take it in to be cleaned? If so, where do I go?

If the spots are dark and relatively sharp, then its dust on the sensor.
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My Lumix FZ7K's lens is full of dust. Though I don't see obvious spots in the picture, there is a little blurry blob in the upper right corner of a photo that I took of some text.

I used an aperture of f/8.0.

Is it worth to get the lens cleaned out, or should I shoot at larger apertures instead?

[SmartWombat]

Actually they can be slightly dark and fuzzy - wide open.
They may even be invisible.
But when you stop all the way down, then they appear small, dark, and sharp.
It all depends on how thick the IR filter is in front of the sensor.
Usually dust doesn't get behind the filter and onto the sensor itself.

[ChowChi-Ching]

Actually, I think there is some on both. I can actually SEE the dust on my lens. I will see if I can take a picture of it. Let me see if I can find a problem picture. I do think that some of it is from the camera itself (sensor) but I can't tell which spots are from where.

If I can't find a picture now, I will take one of a piece of paper like was suggested......

[mjs1973]

I have a ton of dust inside my 170-500mm lens. I asked a local repair shop about having it cleaned and they suggested I leave it alone. The dust inside my lens doesn't show up in my image.

[SmartWombat]

The dust in the lens most likely won't show up.
Unless you have bright light directly into the lens which lights up the dust.
Sensor dust is the most visible in photos.

[Alison]

Try taking a picture of the sky. That should help the spots show if they are on the sensor. That happened to my 350D. It was easily cleaned using a rocket blower.

I have a dark spot in my viewfinder on my 40D. Not sure if it's the viewfinder or the lens but it never shows on the pictures. So I'm not too worried about it

[another view]

under warranty, I sent it to Nikon to be fixed only to have it come back WAY worse. It is not worth it to me to send it back to them

Send it back to Nikon - first of all, it's under warranty so it's free. If they can't correct whatever they did wrong, they should give you a new (or refurb) lens. Talk to them about it and I'm sure they'll take care of it, but you may have to be firm with them.

As far as the dirt goes, taking apart a lens is not a do-it-yourself project. Try either shooting a clear sky or white piece of paper with the lens in question at minimum focus distance and minimum aperture (f22 or f32, etc). Then try the same thing with another lens and see if there's a difference. If not, then it's only sensor dust that is the problem. I've never had a piece of dust inside a lens show up on an image but it is possible.

[ChowChi-Ching]

Okay. If it is dust on the sensor, what is the best way to clean it?

[another view]

I've been using a Dust-Aid kit, but they changed what they offer not long after I got it. Mine is similar to the dry cleaning kit.

[SmartWombat]

If you don't want to pay for a new sensor if you get it wrong, the best way is for someone else to clean it
I will clean my 20D happily, but not the 1D or 1DS.

I use the Sensor Swab and E2 solution.
You can buy pre-wetted swabs(Sensor Swap Plus is the name) ready to use which are a lot easier to get the amount.of cleaner right
http://www.photosol.com/swabplus.htm
They are also easy to take abroad, where you can't carry bottles of Eclipse or E2 - these will probably get through onto the plane.

[freygr]

Actually, I think there is some on both. I can actually SEE the dust on my lens. I will see if I can take a picture of it. Let me see if I can find a problem picture. I do think that some of it is from the camera itself (sensor) but I can't tell which spots are from where.

If I can't find a picture now, I will take one of a piece of paper like was suggested......

The dust on and inside the lens will never show up on film or in the digital image. Two much dust, finger prints and junk one the front surface can make the image blurry. Dust inside the lens will only reduce contrast of the image not it's sharpness.

The spots you see should be always in the same place regardless of which lens you have on the camera. If this is the case there is dust on your sensor, actuality it's on the surface of the IR filter. Check the threads on sensor cleaning for directions on cleaning.

[SmartWombat]

If you can see it in the viewfinder, it's probably not going to appear in the images.

[ChowChi-Ching]

Sorry for taking so long to find an example but here is a good one....... Now if you can imagine these spots in a portrait shoot! :cryin: It is becoming a big pain..... and I just found out that there is one place local that might repair/clean cameras and they send them out too... So, I might as well just send it out myself. I just want my camera to take clear pics again......

[freygr]

That is dust on the image sensor, not dust in the lens. Look in your user's manual and find how to lock up the mirror so you can clean the sensor. There are threads on how to clean your image sensor.

[ChowChi-Ching]

okay - I will try that.......thanks!

[another view]

Yep - definitely sensor dust. This problem is part of life shooting with a DSLR...

Thanks for the reminder to clean mine so I don't have to edit some stuff I'm shooting this weekend.