Updated the post re
"oil spots" on the D600
10/15/12 UPDATE: Picked up the D600 from Bel-Air Camera today. Their repair guys said they found no oil on the sensor, just dust. They said they were able to clean it with just a blower. I was surprised that the spots were just dust given all the characteristics I saw, and they said you can't really tell unless you look at the sensor with a loupe.
I took some test shots at f/8 through f/22. The spots that I saw were gone (there were a few specks that were visible at f/22 if I maximized contrast). See the test shots below. So it appears I didn't have any problems with my D600 after all. Meanwhile, one of the staff showed me how to use a sensor cleaning kit, which I will try on the D70 and I'll post about it then.
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| f/8 |
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| f/11 |
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| f/16 |
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f/22
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Good news if they are just dust. You should know after using it for a little while, oil tends to come back pretty quickly, at least for D7000 that is the case.
ReplyDeleteHi Xiaoli. Thanks for the tip. As far as I know my other cameras don't have oil on the sensor so I don't know much about it. I appreciate your advice. Anyway, I bought a sensor loupe with light and plan to reinspect after a while. I think that way I can easily see if it's oil or dust.
DeleteBest regards,
Mic
I am curious which sensor loupe you got. I'm the Anonymous that posted in the other thread who chose to clean the sensor instead of returning. I intend to get a lighted sensor loupe soon, and I am bewildered by the choices. The full-size VisibleDust Quasar seems the best design, but it is very expensive for what it is. I mean, you can get an all-glass visor headset with LED illumination for less money!
DeleteBy the way, it would seem that the Sony fixed mirror cameras and their isolated sensors have an advantage regarding dust not getting on the sensor. For those who change lenses often, this could be a significant benefit.
Re the Sony: I wouldn't be so sure of that, if you get dust on the sensor, and you can, you won't be able to reach the sensor to clean it.
DeleteI never had dust on my 550D or 60D, however on the 5D Mark II I found minor dust spots, and I bought the Eclipse survival kit (cleaning solution + pec pads + swabs), but I sold it before I received the cleaning kit. I hope I don't have to clean the 5D Mark III.
Hello there friend. I got the Lenspen SKLK-1 Camera Cleaning Kit. To be honest I didn't do research on it. I just bought it from Bel-Air and it was the only kit with a loupe that they had. I also bought the sensor swab from them. I figured if I bought something they recommended, then perhaps they'll help me out if something goes wrong :) Anyway I'll post about how well it performs. At this point I plan to try it out only with my older APS-C cameras. I don't want to risk damaging the D600's sensor.
DeleteGood point about the Sony mirrors/sensors!
Best regards,
Mic
Hey Mic, glad your sensor issues are pretty much gone now. I was actually thinking your spots were dust spots before as I had discovered those ugly spots when shooting various cityscapes at sunrise and sunset.
ReplyDeleteWhen I pull out my camera I make sure to check the front and rear lens elements and use my air blower to clear off any dust. Make sure occasionally to blow the inside of your lens caps too as dust can easily get trapped there!
Hey Francis. Good to hear from you. Thanks for the tips! I'd like to know more about dust. For example, I don't understand why we need to be careful when we switch lenses, while at the same time I see many people leaving the body cap off their camera for a long while. Even when I picked up the D600 from Bel-Air, I saw that the D600 was just sitting there without a body cap on a table, without anything to cover it. Weird.
DeleteBest regards,
Mic
When switching lenses, dust could get into the opening on the camera body, so in practice it seems best to hold your camera facing down to minimize the amount of dust that can enter the camera body. It's easier to clean the dust of the rear element of a lens than clean the camera sensor (which I haven't had to do yet thankfully).
DeleteI'm not sure why anyone would want to leave the body cap off for extended periods of time though. I guess for display models in store, they might not be too concerned since it's not their own camera.
Thanks for the tip Francis!
DeleteBest regards,
Mic
I bought a D600 3 weeks ago and noticed oil spots after the first week. Only now have I realised what they are. I have quite a lot of them as well. I have contacted the shop I bought it from and waiting a reply. This seems to be a reoccurring defect as well so having it cleaned will probably not solve the problem in the short term. From what I've read, you will have to shoot several thousand pictures before the oil stops splashing. It's really disgraceful. Apparantly the same happened with the D7000 and they have used some of the same parts in the Nikon D600. Go figure!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Hopefully they might be just dust spots (I thought mine were oil spots but it was just dust). As for the D7000 I have heard that it needs to be cleaned at 2k and 12k. If yours is oil, hopefully it goes away after those cleanings...
DeleteBest regards,
Mic