dark spots in my photos...what to do?

I have tried searching this on the internet but I don't seem to get a clear answer.

I am getting a LOT of dark spots in my photos recently, especially anything with sky. What are they, and what can I do about it?

Here is an example of the problem

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/64373362@N08/7​681889280/

looks like dust to me. Clean your sensor and lens.

Get a lighted magnifying glass so you can inspect the sensor for dust. Blow it out really well with a rocket blower. I suspect you're going to need a wet cleaning though. That looks really bad and the picture is tiny too,

How have you been cleaning your sensor? Any chance that you blew on it with your mouth?

I've never seen that much gunk on a sensor before. A few tips:

- Never blow on it with your mouth
- Don't used canned air. Sure, some can get away with it, but they know what they're doing.
- Never use cotton swab (Q-tips) unless you want to make a huge mess of things
- Don't wipe it with a lens cleaning cloth or use lens cleaner on it
- Never use one of those cheapo squeeze bulbs with the brush at the end (result will be like using Q-tips)

I've never had to use more than a Giottos Rocket Blower for the sensors of my two DSLRs, but there's lots of folks here knowledgeable about the Copperhill method along with some other approaches.

Wow that is the dirtiest sensor I've ever seen. I would take it to a Canon service center and get that cleaned ASAP.

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

Sheesh, I feel a little embarassed now :/

I have never blown on it with my mouth or canned air or anything. I have never cleaned it. Unfortunately, here in Connecticut there are not a lot of camera service places. I looked some things up online, and examined the sensor, and it really doesn't appear to have anything on it.

Guess I am going to have to look into getting in cleaned somewhere...is it something that they can do right there, or is it something that takes a while? I work as a sports photographer for the local paper, so I can't be without a camera for long :/

First start off with a rocket blower. That's a piece of cake to use. If that doesn't work, then you can try buying some sensor swabs or other self cleaning kit. You can send it in to Canon if you want, but it's not a big deal.

Lastly, you did shoot at f22. There's rarely a reason to need f22 and that will bring your sensor dust into plain view. Everyone probably will have a few spots at apertures that small, but not like this! (just FYI, camera picked f22 because you were shooting in sunlight at ISO 1600 and 1/1600 shutter speed, You could have been using ISO 100 and f7.1 and you might not even have noticed the dust.

tkbslc wrote in post #14793514
First start off with a rocket blower. That's a piece of cake to use. If that doesn't work, then you can try buying some sensor swabs or other self cleaning kit. You can send it in to Canon if you want, but it's not a big deal.

Lastly, you did shoot at f22. There's rarely a reason to need f22 and that will bring your sensor dust into plain view. Everyone probably will have a few spots at apertures that small, but not like this! (just FYI, camera picked f22 because you were shooting in sunlight at ISO 1600 and 1/1600 shutter speed, You could have been using ISO 100 and f7.1 and you might not even have noticed the dust.

Thank you for these tips. Any recommendations on specific products or where to buy them?

This is a rocket blower. Good to have around for cleaning dust off lenses, too. Don't touch the sensor, though, just blow it from 2 inches away. You'll have to put the camera in manual cleaning mode. http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …03_Rocket_Air_B​lower.html

Here's the sensor swabs if blowing doesn't work, which your might not as it looks so bad. http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ensor_Swab_Plus​_with.html

You can damage your sensor if you do something dumb, so read the instructions. It's not rocket science, though.

Dump, I though there were UFO!

missjenniferrae wrote in post #14793528
Thank you for these tips. Any recommendations on specific products or where to buy them?

it's fairly easy to clean the sensor, do a search on youtube. you can buy the eclipse solution with swabs on amazon for $25

sensors are like underwear... gotta clean them once in a while...

SMP_Homer wrote in post #14794128
sensors are like underwear... gotta clean them once in a while...

Really?

WHY WAS I NOT TOLD?

Master of Defenestration wrote in post #14794161
Really?

WHY WAS I NOT TOLD?

maybe you missed school that day

Try Camera Bar 75 Asylum St. Hartford,CT. 06103. I'm sure they could give it a good cleaning for you!