What is this on the sensor?

I just received my used camera. The store ( will go unnamed) has been contacted, they sound like they want to make it right. I am just wondering if you folks can confirm what I think this is. Looks to me like a fungus growth.

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Whoah... looks like fungus growth or cracks to me though I'm no expert.. what kind of camera is it?

That is where somebody cleaned the sensor with canned air,
the tin was turned upside down and the air froze on the sensor,
im 80% sure.

Wow, that stuff on the upper right is scary - my first reaction was crazing (as in shallow surface cracking); concrete does this if it isn't moist cured properly - nahh, that's not it.

Then I considered cracking (which would extend right through the glass AF filter) - but the whole thing would likely be cracked, so it's not that.

Fungus I never thought of until I saw your location - deep in the heart of humidity!!

That's likely it. It will likely come off, but if there is some here, what do the shutter curtains look like? They may be worse because they are rubberized cloth or something else that fungus can grow on (and eat).

The single spots are commonly referred to as "dust" (we don't seem to actually know what constitutes dust, it's just an easy word to pronounce and spell).

Work hard on getting satisfaction from the seller.

Comment to those of us that live in relatively dry climates - "silical gel packs DO have a reason for being".

Incidentally, I've had some recent experience with "dust": I only own one lens (a 24 - 105L), so I don't take my "lenses" off too frequently.

In the past two weeks, I have developed some dust spots (which required wet cleaning). Blowing didn't touch them.

SO, the theories about dust coming from lens changes seems to be weakened somewhat (although not disproven). The jury is still out perhaps.

Have you tried cleaning your sensor? It looks like left over residue from a past cleaning to me. As far as it being fungus...I've never heard of that happening on a camera sensor but anything is possible I guess.

madpup wrote in post #2343569
That is where somebody cleaned the sensor with canned air,
the tin was turned upside down and the air froze on the sensor,
im 80% sure.

Frozen gas of any kind wouldn't likely stay for more than a few moments would it?

It should evaporate before there was time to take a picture.

Considering the tiny size of a sensor, gas residue might well cover the whole thing, rather than just one corner.

Like I already said, if it's fungus, and it's growing on glass, where else is it?

Take it back.

Glenn NK wrote in post #2343592
Frozen gas of any kind wouldn't likely stay for more than a few moments would it?

It should evaporate before there was time to take a picture.

That canned air stuff can leave a residue that will stay on the sensor until it's cleaned off.

I think it's a picture of a wall.

Well as stated I just bought the camera so where I live has no bearing on the camera itself. I was just wondering what folks would think it was.... I am not going to try to clean it because I can just exchange it with the store. The camera is a D60.

By the way, I know what sensor dust looks like...LOL

reewik wrote in post #2343659
Well as stated I just bought the camera so where I live has no bearing on the camera itself. I was just wondering what folks would think it was.... I am not going to try to clean it because I can just exchange it with the store. The camera is a D60.

By the way, I know what sensor dust looks like...LOL

Forgive me for the lecture - many don't know what dust is - it's a very frequent question here.

As to location, it seemed that if you live in TN, then the camera may well have come from nearby, and that would put its lifespan in a climate where humidity is a concern. I thought that the climate in the states in and around TN was frequently quite high.

It's a tree in the the right hand corner, thats all

It looks exactly like the pattern made by fungus growing on a lens element (which I have seen personally FWIW), the strands are called hyphae. If you are able to clean it off, it will without doubt come back. You should return the camera for a refund, accept nothing less, as it is unusable. A reputable store should have no problem doing this.