Is this a dirty sensor?

Hi guys,

I am pretty sure that my sensor is dirty (very), but I wanted to check as I haven't noticed this before. I was out taking a few shots today at a local airfield, and I noticed the following:

In this image, the sky is full of horizontal lines that are very VERY visible (it's not a good shot, obviously, but there are others like this). This was taken at f/32:

IMAGE LINK: http://i876.photobucke​t.com …/IMG_1396_zps7h​lm5l1s.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://i876.photobucke​t.com …/IMG_1673_zps28​swcui6.jpg

Yeah, looks like your swab skill need some work there mate.

Or just don't shoot at f32.

Yup, looks dirty from dried fluid on the sensor.

Very best,

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #18143050
Yeah, looks like your swab skill need some work there mate.

Can't argue with you there. I'll try it again.

I wasn't intending to shoot at f/32, I just had it in "Shutter Priority" mode for some ground shots, and forgot to switch it back. It was pretty bright up there, so the camera just decided to whack it up to f/32. Although I'm glad it did as I wouldn't have noticed this otherwise!

Cheers!

Set the camera to not go higher than f22 (or 16) in auto modes.

You might not have done such a bad job. We didn't see what it looked like before Sensor cleaning is pretty easy. It won't take you more than a few times to get the hang of it. Some particles really bond to the low pass filter and can be quite tough to remove. I recently picked up a box of relatively inexpensive VSGO swabs and I found their cleaning solution worked better than eclipse. I usually swab once and go after any remaining particles with a sensor pen.

Here is a link that you might find useful.

http://www.cleaningdig​italcameras.com

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #18143121
Set the camera to not go higher than f22 (or 16) in auto modes.

Pretty sure the 70D can't do that.

When you get lines like that, it's a indication that you are using too much fluid or the wrong type of fluid. When wet cleaning the swab should be barely damp.

Bummer, really?

I will say this, your shutter speed in the first shot was far more appropriate for the subject than the one used in the second shot. When photographing aircraft with propellers, such as with this Spitfire I won't go above 1/160s to ensure a decent amount of prop blur, frozen props make the plane look like it is about to fall out of the sky. I notice you had ISO 200, but even ISO 100 would still only get you f/22, moving to 1/160 would then just get you 1/3 stop more on the aperture, which will still not produce great results, and with the sky as a background is likely to show up every spot of dirt on your sensor. If you are likely to be shooting in these sorts of conditions a lot I would suggest investing in some good quality ND filters. I would think that a 1 and 3 stop, or even 2 and 4 stop pair of filters would give the perfect options. I really couldn't care too much about ISO 1 Million, but having native base ISO of 25 would be great. 25 to 6400 would suit me pretty much as a speed range.

Alan