advice: my d40 pics have marks on them... with samples

p1tse

p1tse

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,391
Edit My Images
No
i have two lenses and swapped them over to check it wasn't the lens. so it's the body.

you can notice two darker type shadow marks on the left bottom and left middle.

advice please, does it need a clean, service etc.?

DSC_3317.jpg


DSC_3318.jpg
 
sensor cleaning time

you might as well get used to it, we all have to do it now and then
 
thanks for the quick response. any links on which kit and where to buy?

also any instructions on use?
 
so it's dirt on the sensor, and this part is? is it the roof of the inside above the mirror?
 
EdinburghGary said:
do you know how to change the APERTURE on your camera? IE, could you put the F number to the highest setting, take a pic of a white wall, and post it here?

Gary.
Click to expand...

i'll try this over the wkend, when i get back from lemans

thanks to the other posts. going to see if bristol camera sell one of these cleaning things and ask for a quick demo.

what's the cost of these cleaning things?
 
Rocket Blower - under £ 10

Arctic Butterfly - about £ 60, but you could get it free IIRC with one of the camera mag subscriptions

PecPads / Eclipse fluid - quite cheap but hardest to do.

Alternatively, you may prefer to pay someone to clean the sensor for you.
 
you could always send it away to Jellops for nine weeks and have it come back dirtier than before :(

Pecpads/Eclipse for me.
 
EdinburghGary said:
do you know how to change the APERTURE on your camera? IE, could you put the F number to the highest setting, take a pic of a white wall, and post it here?

Gary.
Click to expand...



actually done...

DSC_3320.jpg
 
andrewc said:
Rocket Blower - under £ 10

Arctic Butterfly - about £ 60, but you could get it free IIRC with one of the camera mag subscriptions

PecPads / Eclipse fluid - quite cheap but hardest to do.

Alternatively, you may prefer to pay someone to clean the sensor for you.
Click to expand...

rocket blower seems the better option on budget

which magazine. i have tesco vouchers to use and could go for magazine subscription
 
rocket blower it is then, best place to buy?
 
id go with the rocket blower first.

Non contact is always safer, unless you really need to use something else.

iirc there is a menu on the d40 to lock the mirror up to clean, just make sure there is sufficient power in the battery before you start, you dont want the mirror dropping down on your blower
 
If the rocket blower doesnt shift it, try a speckgrabber, here. Everybody should have one.
Allan
 
If the dust won't blow off and you live within range of a Calumet store, they do same day sensor cleaning (at least, they do in Manchester) every Friday. Costs about £35.

I find the costs of the cleaning kits quite high and I'm notoriously cack-handed, so I think it's well worth having it done professionally.
 
thompo said:
Good find might give that a go.

But £56 for a year

Or quarterly payments of £9.99 = £40 for a year? that doesnt sound right or am i missing something?
Click to expand...

Yes, you're missing something! :) If I read it right it's because the £9.99 per quarter offer is to the UK, the £56 per year offer is to Europe hence more expensive.
 
ok, have popped into jessops for a rocket blower.

now what do i need to do to use and where?

just blow into the camera, do i need to lock anything, and where to point etc.
 
When I first got my Nikon D40, and was dismayed to find that my first few "test photo" contained a couple of dust marks just like your's.
Because it was my first proper DSLR camera, I had thought about taking it back to where I bought it from and buy a high-end bridge camera instead but having done a bit of research on the interweb about dustspots on DSLR camera, I popped into my local independent camera shop and bought a pack of 3 wet/dry swabs which costed me £13.
I then set the camera to lock the mirror up and held my breath as I carefully lowered the wet swab onto the sensor and then the dry one . . . and it really worked! Result: one totally dustfree camera.
However, since my other camera, a Fuji S5600, is quite capable of taking brilliant pictures at 10 x zoom (well, at least I think so anyway!), I won't need to change the lens on my Nikon D40 in order to take zooms, this way it minimises the risk of any more dust getting into the mirror chamber (or whatever it's called!). I'm quite happy with the supplied 18 - 50 mm lens it came with! I'm glad I thought about using these swabs as I went onto loving this camera to bits.
 
thanks, i saw these swab kits too in jessops, but went with the rocker blower as recommended first action (from above).

how do i lock the mirror up
 
Sensor cleaning scares me. I am fine with rocket blowers but am really worried about when the time comes to clean the sensor.
 
p1tse said:
so it's dirt on the sensor, and this part is? is it the roof of the inside above the mirror?
Click to expand...



Given this level of technical knowledge, I would suggest getting someone else to do the cleaning for you. If you know what you're doing, sensor cleaning isn't that hard - if you don't, you can easily make EXPENSIVE mistakes.
 
I'm a Canon owner, so don't know how it works on Nikons. But on a Canon, there is an option in the menu for 'Sensor Clean'. This basically locks the mirror up, exposing the sensor behind it. This is the bit you need to clean. It will look like the sensor in the artic butterfly clip above, but obviously still inside the camera!! Incidently, the artic butterfly looks interesting. May have to look into that. I'm currently a pecpad/eclipse fluid man.
 
thanks for all your help.

i gave it ago and it has worked a treat (for now, until more specs get in)

but thanks again.
 
Mirror lock-up is a bad idea as the sensor is charged making the dust much harder to remove due to static. I don't know about Nikons but Canon's sensor cleaning mode will only activate if the battery has plenty of charge. Last think you want is the power to run out and the mirror to slap down whilst you're poking about inside the chamber :(

Cleaning mode also leaves the sensor turned off so no static charge gripping the dust.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top