HOLY CRAP! The dust shaker actually works!

im no expert but that looks like flare to me..

Run auto-levels on both the OP's before and after shots and, to my eye at least, they both have the exact same twenty-some dust-bunnies in the exact same locations. No change whatsoever.

Nicholas

chaosbunny wrote in post #4089642
im no expert but that looks like flare to me..

Well, i don't believe it to be flare, because i shot into the sky before "cleaning" and then at a white target as well and the spot was still there. Cleaned a few times and it seemed to have disappeared.

I take my bodies up to Irvine to have them cleaned at the canon service center, but i never thought that the "dust shaker" function actually did anything. So using auto-levels and analyzing again, does this mean that it really DOESN'T do anything?

...and it's not a bird

Jimmy,
Others swear that it does remove a certain percentage of dust, but there have been studies that say it is minimally effective at best:
http://www.pixinfo.com​/en/articles/ccd-dust-removal/
Don't let it get you down, you could probably blow away half of those buggers with a Rocket blower. Go out and enjoy your camera and maybe consider a more thorough cleaning somewhere down the road.
Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.c​om

Nicholas,

Thanks for the insight. Not worried about it at all, I blow off the sensor with ultra high purity nitrogen in the lab every once in a while

I was just mostly amazed that the shaker actually did something (or so i thought).

The dust shaker is never going to work for the lubricant blobs on the sensor of new cameras.

All I know my 40D sensor is clean and has stayed clean after like 7k shots, is still clean, and 5k ish of those shots have been with a 100-400L, and I change my lenses quite a lot, so for me it works pretty well,, especially after owning a 30D

chaosbunny wrote in post #4089642
im no expert but that looks like flare to me..

Uh ......... he's talking about the big black booger, not the light spots -- might be dark flair.

I noticed a bunch of real faint spots that were not affected -- the biggest is about midway left to right and about 45% up from the bottom. My suspicion is that new cameras have a bunch of these really faint "spots" and I suspect that its origin may be stuff picked up during the manufacturing and assembly process. My sensor actually seems to be much better now than when it was new about 10 months ago. I have cleaned my XTi about five times since new using Sensor Swabs and E2 fluid.

A huge fur ball appeared on my sensor yesterday -- I don't know where it came from other than from somewhere inside the camera, but it appeared after the camera rolled off the seat and onto the floorboard while driving down the highway. The ultrasonic cleaner took care of it. BTW, there is a big sticky tar pit at the bottom of the sensor where dust bunnies are supposed to get trapped. It requires replacement every few years ... if you believe that having it replaced is worth the effort.

crackaonrice wrote in post #4089784
I take my bodies up to Irvine to have them cleaned at the canon service center...

I'm headed there soon.

How do they treat you and how long do you have to wait?

My first thought was that the black spot was a bird, glad you cleared that up.

I'm on my second 40D body and still having some issues, hence my trip to Irvine.

I live in San Diego too!

PM me if you would like to get in touch.

Best regards,

Michael

Jon_Doh wrote in post #4089163
It shakes it off the sensor, but where does the dust go?

i wonder the same thing. I've got a 1D3 (same sensor cleaning system i believe) and when i tried to use pecpads and eclipse fluid to clean my sensor for the first time after a few months, I ended up making it dirtier...and no, this wasn't my first time cleaning a sensor. There were some times when while cleaning I would notice visible specks fall onto the camera from who know's where. I've been shooting in some pretty harsh conditions lately, so i wonder if my sticky strip is no longer sticky or something, or if it just cant hold all the dust particles.

M24 wrote in post #4091617
I'm headed there soon.

How do they treat you and how long do you have to wait?

My first thought was that the black spot was a bird, glad you cleared that up.

I'm on my second 40D body and still having some issues, hence my trip to Irvine.

I live in San Diego too!

PM me if you would like to get in touch.

Best regards,

Michael

The canon factory service center is awesome. Get there early, at like 8AM...drop your stuff off, go to Spectrum Center for some coffee nearby, come back after an hour and you're all set!

What part of SD are you iN?

i wonder where that dust particle went? it HAD to have gone somewhere IN the camera since theres no way it came out if u had a lens mounted on it.

jkoc wrote in post #4092889
i wonder where that dust particle went? it HAD to have gone somewhere IN the camera since theres no way it came out if u had a lens mounted on it.

This question was asked and answered many times.
There is a sticky tape at the bottom of the sensor chamber which could be replaced if necessary..

I've had my XTi since March this year, and I've never cleaned the sensor. I rarely use higher F-numbers, but I did about a week ago (f/32) on a blue sky...and nothing! I was expecting at least some dust to be seen, but it was flawless. And I also have changed lens on windy days in dusty places...I was rather surprised at the efficiency of the "dust-shaker". Very happy with it...