Dirty Sony DSC-W1 sensor?

Hi folks.

Recently I have noticed that many pictures I've taken with my point-and-shoot camera, a DSC-W1 model, have some dirty marks on them.

In the begining I thought it was a simple matter dirty in the lens. But latter on I found out that the lens itself was clean enough, haven carefully examined it. Trouble is that it can be one of two things; the sensor itself is somehow dirty or one of the outmost lens element is dirty.

Do you guys have any idea what could be the problem?
Does anyone have had similar problems with any sony digital camera?
Does anyone has dismantled this model before?

Erich.

Whatever you do please do not try to dismantle the camera yourself. It is possible that some dust did make its way inside the camara, be it on some lens elements or the sensor. Dust on the lens usually isn't very apparent unless it's really big dust. I'm guessing perhaps the dust made it onto the CCD. I'd take it to a certified repair center for a cleaning.

Erich-
Can you post a sample photo so we can see what the problem looks like? Dust on the sensor is usually pretty obvious. And it's not that likely since your camera should be sealed up pretty good. It's easy to get dust on digital SLR sensors if you change lenses a lot. But with compact cameras there's not much of an opportunity for dust to get in there. Not that it's impossible. But it's not as likely.

I agree with the other two replies - dust isn't likely but not impossible, and don't try to fix this yourself. An image would help, especially something like a clear blue sky that makes the problem stand out. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. At least John and I are pretty familiar with sensor dust so we'll know it when we see it!

while were on dirty sensors... which is the best way to WIPE a ccd sensor? i have this splochy film on my ccd like i think somone sneezed while i had the camera open and some spit floated down and settled on the ccd sensor... i'll start another thread if you dont find this one in time.

I just went through this with my DSC-N1 and all I did was turn it on and with the lens extended blew air down through the expanded connections. Then I turned it off removed the battery and blew around in there.

My dust spot is now gone and I'm a happy photo nut again!

I used regular air at 150psi but I wouldn't recommend you using that much air pressure.