What do I DO?????HELP needed ASAP! [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 18:21

HELP
Havent even had this camera(Digital rebel) two weeks and look like I've gotten something on the mirror inside! Dont see how I did it, was nowhere near anything wet when I changed lenses but looks like a tiny drop of water on all my pictures in exactly the same spot. How could anything wet get on the mirror? Unless I stinkin drooled on it! Do I just follow the directions on cleaning it in the manual or take it to Wolf camera and will they do it?
I feel so stupid maybe its too sensitive for me. Never got anything on the mirror of my old Minolta 35mm SLR!
Help me.....
Julie
PS looked at that website that talks about using a Wendys knife. WHOA!!!That's way more than I could do, just a 25 year old KID for goodness sake. Plus it doesnt look like dust, like a tiny spot of dried water!

Tom W

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 18:31

If you're seeing them on the actual pictures and not on the viewfinder, then chances are that they are just dust on the sensor (even if they look like water drops, they probably aren't).

Anyway, there should be some instruction in the camera manual for Sensor Cleaning or some words to that effect. If the instructions don't provide enough cleaning, check back here or do a search here for "sensor cleaning" as there are a couple of medium and heavy-duty cleaning methods that you might try (or alternately, if just blowing the dust off the sensor as Canon suggests doesn't work, you can get them to clean it for you).

garethhhhh

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 18:37

If you see the "water blobs" when you look through the viewfinder then the dirt is on the mirror, if however it shows up on all you pictures then you have dust on the sensor

Never clean the Mirror, a dirty mirror will not affect you images. The mirror is very sensitive and you will damage it if you clean it.

If you have sensor dust then you can clean it yourself, just follow the tutorial here:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml

ron chappel

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 18:41

Hi julie.If you can see a spot/drop on your mirror...well,that isn't causing the spot you see in your pics.
Because the mirror flips up when a picture is taken it can have no effect on what the camera sees.
So anything that is showing on you pics HAS to be on the sensor itself.

do this-set the camera to 'M' then rotate the dial behind the shutter button 'till it says 'bulb'.
Remove the lens,look in the front and hold the shutter button on.That shiny thing way down in there is the sensor(well actually you can see the last filter layer on the front of the sensor).
If something is showing on every pic you should be able to see it on the sensor very easily.
Do you feel like trying to clean it?
To be honest i've never had to do mine but it sounds not too difficult :)

You're only a 25 yo kid?LOL :D
I have never heard that one before-most young people are allways trying to say they are older than they are :lol: :lol:

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 18:53

No, I cannot see it through the viewfinder, so its the sensor, and not the mirror? I looked closer inside. I see no dust on the sensor and what looked like a water spot on the mirror is not, it is just one of the round places in the corner of the mirror. I have no stinking idea! The sensor looks CLEAN to me, yet a spot in every picture
I will post one so everyone can see the spot
Julie

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:05

Tom W

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:08

Did it look like this:

http://home.comcast.net/~trwilk3/Images/dirty.jpg

That was my first speck of dust on the sensor. I cleaned it with my regular lens cleaning blower - the kind that looks like a mini-turkey baster with a removable soft brush. After dust removal, here's the same shot (of a blank wall):

http://home.comcast.net/~trwilk3/Images/clean.jpg

ssim

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:12

I did the bulb thing and I do see a speck on the sensor. I am afraid to clean it if it will void my warantee! I think I will take it back and see what they say about it since I've only just gotten it.
Julie

Cleaning your sensor will not void your warranty. I can appreciate your panick as I had the same feelings of despair when I got my 10D and had a dust bunny a few weeks later. Without a sample image it is hard to tell but I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

I use pec pads for cleaning my sensor and they work quite well. I only do mine about every three months.

Tom W

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:17

There's a very good chance that a shot of air from one of the little lens blowers is all that is needed. Tilt the camera so that gravity will allow dust to fall out of the camera when you do it. In fact, it might be a good idea to use the blower to clean out behind the lens before you open the shutter to clean the sensor.

Clean is good.

ron chappel

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:19

Try cleaning it like they describe in the 300D instruction manual (pg 34?),you can't void a warrantee that way.Just be carefull and you'll be fine-it's a hard plastic/glass covering that you are actually cleaning-not the sensor itself .
If you are carefull the worst that you can possibly do is smudge the spot and spread it further

An interesting thought.....most dust on the 'sensor' is out of focus somewhat so it has to get pretty bad before it is noticed.
I wonder if a drop of liquid could act like a lens and focus light onto one spot of the sensor--and so make it appear worse than it is...?
just thinking out loud there julie-nothing that helps you

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:20

ron chappel

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:30

Roll up a tissue into a 'sharp' tip and gently touch the spot.If it's a liquid it will mostly soak up :D
Oh-set the shutter to 'sensor clean' first
in the main menu on the far right (the 2nd tools symbol)
scroll down to 'sensor clean' and enable it
that hold the shutter open while you clean (the bulb method i showed you before was just for a quick look)

garethhhhh

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:33

How can dust get in there anyway?

When you change lenses dust can get in there but it only gets onto the sensor when you take a picture. When you take a picture the shutter opens and the sensor is charged and that attracts dust onto it.

Don't be affraid to clean your sensor. Realistically you will have to clean your sensor quite a few times every year, depending on how often you use the camera, how often you change lenses and what sort of environment you change your lenses in. You had best learn now so that you don't have to send it off to get cleaned everytime it gets dirty. :wink:

Tom W

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:36

yes it looks like the spot in the photo but darn it! I read the post about how to post images but how do I find a host first? Tried to blow it off with the blower thing (mine looks like the thingie they use at hospitals that they use to suck snot out of newborns noses---not that I've ever had a kid but I've seen those things---)ANYWAYS its still there. Scared to touch it. Cannot find my booklet, I've had it in so many different places I cannot remember where I was reading it last. Driving me bananas. How can dust get in there anyway?

Julie

That's the eternal question. I managed to keep mine clean for 2 months, then just the other day, I had to clean it for the first time. That was followed 2 days later by another cleaning.

Dust gets in the area when you change lenses, plus a little is inadvertently left around in the factory, I'm sure. Its hard to be perfectly clean, and just a tiny speck of dust can leave a pretty good impression on a picture. Anyway, as you operate the camera over time, the dust gets dislodged from its resting point and can find its way past the shutter as you shoot and onto the sensor.

Its just one of those things that happens occasionally.

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:41

Tom W

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:46

I wish someone was here to help me:(
I'm at least not freaked out anymore. But aggrivated that I cannot figure out how to have a gallery.. I went to www.pnavy.com, it says you can upload photos, I signed up but darn if I can figure out how to get my photos uploaded. Where does everyone else have theirs posted.
I feel so stupid today.
Julie

Well, I have been using the "free" web space that comcast gave me with my internet service, though I'm running out of room there. It took me a while to figure out how to load pictures onto the web, and I'm still not sure I can explain it.

There are other sites that offer free photo web space, such as www.fotopic.net. I've got a handful there as well, but there is a slight time delay between putting your pictures up there and actually being able to see them on the web.

There's people around here that have a considerably better grasp on web stuff than I do.

ron chappel

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 19:52

I post most of mine on photo.net (free,no adds)
but don't worry about showing us the spot-it doesn't change the situation.
It needs cleaning for sure.It's just a matter of trying to do it yourself or if you can't remove it easily...you'll have to take it to a repair shop

-oh-remeber you don't have to get ALL of it off.Most light spots simply don't show up in pics
Even if you get most of it off you should then be fine
-because dust specs are not on the sensor surface but some distance in front (a millimeter or 3?) they are nearly allways out of focus.Having the lens set to a small aperture makes them show up more.I just checked mine-it shows several clear spots at very small apertures but wide open there is nothing showing whatsoever.

Jemmind

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 20:02

Thank you all so much. I used the sensor clean in the menu to hold it open then cleaned the spot, most of it came off but a tiny speck will not but like someone said above, it does not show now when I take a picture. I feel so much better. Now I just have to go crop the spot out of all the photos I took today. Luckily it was in the lower left corner and not the middle!
If I ever find a host, (why didnt I think of my own provider, duh?) I will be doing great.
Julie
THANK YOU ALL so much. I love this place!

ron chappel

27th of March 2004 (Sat), 20:13

:D :D :D
Ah great news!
i thought we could talk you through it successfully!
Good luck using your own webspace to host pics-i have never learned how on earth i upload stuff to my space-i THINK you have to design a page to go with it??!! :shock: :shock:
The photo.net i mentioned is good but not ideal-they compress the images abit too much resulting in small fringing things around edges
The whole site is good though with no adds that pop up and overall well thought out.
Here is my portfolio on p.net if it helps you choose which way to go
all the best!! :) :) :) :)

Oops,wrong one.here's the right one

http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=389053