5D dust problem

Hey guys, so I received my 5D last night. I took some shots and I noticed there were dust in the pictures. So I took out my large rocket blower and set the camera to sensor clean, shot at least 10 times at the sensor. Put the lens back on and the dust was still there.

I used the rocket blower on the lens (front & back) to make sure that it's not the lens. I even looked thru the view finder without the lens to make sure it's the camera. I blew at least 20 more shots into the sensor and the dust is still there!

At this point I freak out a bit, so I took out my lens pen (sensor clear) and cleaned the sensor carefully and the dust is STILL there !!

Is there something I'm missing? Please help

Are you saying the dust is visible in the viewfinder, on the images or both?

I forgot to lock the mirror the first time I blew the dust...

Show us an example...that always helps.

gofer wrote in post #4670883
Are you saying the dust is visible in the viewfinder, on the images or both?

Oops, I just took some test shots again and the dust is only visible in the viewfinder, not the images. The 1st picture is shot at a white paper, 2nd picture is the same but upped the contrast in photoshop that shows no dust.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

In that case the dust is probably on the focusing screen and not the sensor. Viewfinder dust is fairly common on the 5D and not always easy (or even possible) to remove. The focusing screen can be removed and any dust that got trapped above can be blown out, but the problem with the 5D is that it has no dust sealing whatsoever and dust can and does get into the pentaprism area.

So I have to remove the focus screen to remove the dust? That sounds difficult. Are there any write-ups on how to remove the focus screen for the 5D? If I do remove it completely, will it just collect dust again easily?

The dust hurts nothing....time to take pictures and quit worrying about stuff that doesn't matter a lick.

Woolburr wrote in post #4671124
The dust hurts nothing....time to take pictures and quit worrying about stuff that doesn't matter a lick.

It just makes the camera less enjoyable. Paying for this camera, I'd expect it to be dust-less at least! my 30D never had any dust problems..

Hi,

I've been there and I feel your pain.

I have tried many solutions and I found the blower the absolute worst thing you can do.

I like Dust Aid which removes almost everything. For smears like oil you normally need something like sensor swabs.

Make your lens changes as quickly as possible and keep the rear of the lens and the rear lens cap as clean as possible.

Best of luck,

Ian

This is weird. When I first noticed the dust, there was only a spec of it. Then I noticed there was another spec, now I found another spec! What the heck!? Is there a dust magnet in the camera or something?

vincewchan wrote in post #4671204
It just makes the camera less enjoyable. Paying for this camera, I'd expect it to be dust-less at least! my 30D never had any dust problems..

Tell me you are kidding...Unless you have a dust bunny that obscures your whole viewfinder, I think you are being a bit overly dramatic about the whole thing. Cameras have attracted dust since the very first one was introduced. If it is that bad...box it up and ship it back to Canon...it doesn't have any effect on image quality, nor does it hinder your ability to take a picture, so I don't expect that they will do much about it.

vincewchan wrote in post #4671084
So I have to remove the focus screen to remove the dust? That sounds difficult. Are there any write-ups on how to remove the focus screen for the 5D? If I do remove it completely, will it just collect dust again easily?

Actually it's a doddle to remove the screen but you do need to take extreme care not to touch or scratch the screen. It is very possible that the dust is on the upper side of the focusing screen and that you would be able to remove it with the screen removed. There is a good chance however that the dust is higher up in the camera's works than that. It would seem it's not beyond the realms of possibility that the dust you're seeing is actually in the pentaprism area and therefore not removable without dis-assembly of the camera.

vincewchan wrote in post #4671204
It just makes the camera less enjoyable. Paying for this camera, I'd expect it to be dust-less at least! my 30D never had any dust problems..

I agree. I was very aggrieved when dust appeared in my viewfinder especially given the fact that at that time the lens had never been removed. I've now learnt to live with it however and just glow at the quality of the images the 5D can produce.

vincewchan wrote in post #4671289
This is weird. When I first noticed the dust, there was only a spec of it. Then I noticed there was another spec, now I found another spec! What the heck!? Is there a dust magnet in the camera or something?

This is exact what happened to me. If it's any consolation, some of the dust debris has also disappeared all by itself! Also, having taken my focusing screen out and thoroughly cleaned the area it and the screen itself, the same dust is still there so I'm fairly sure all the dust I see in the viewfinder is in the pentaprism area.

vincewchan wrote in post #4670839
Hey guys, so I received my 5D last night. I took some shots and I noticed there were dust in the pictures. So I took out my large rocket blower and set the camera to sensor clean, shot at least 10 times at the sensor. Put the lens back on and the dust was still there.

I used the rocket blower on the lens (front & back) to make sure that it's not the lens. I even looked thru the view finder without the lens to make sure it's the camera. I blew at least 20 more shots into the sensor and the dust is still there!

At this point I freak out a bit, so I took out my lens pen (sensor clear) and cleaned the sensor carefully and the dust is STILL there !!

Is there something I'm missing? Please help

Vince - did you see dust in the images on your computer? If so, that has nothing to do with the viewfinder.

If the dust is something you DO NOT see in the images but only in the viewfinder, this is of course something totally different.

The first thing you need to do is determine what your problem is in the first place before going after the wrong thing.

Your test shots cannot possibly show dust on the sensor (except for huge chunks) because you used f/2.8 as the aperture setting. To see dust on the sensor, you need to close the aperture down to the smallest opening possible (f/22 or so). Put your camera into Av mode, dial the aperture to f/22, and take a photo of a clear blue sky or an evenly lit blank wall. It won't matter if you need a long shutter speed, as you're looking for images of dust particles on the sensor that don't move.

Once you figure out for sure what the problem is, then we can logically talk about steps to resolve it.

You are going to make all that effort to clean out your VF, then a few weeks later you are going to have them again.

It's a fact of DSLR life.

Go out, shoot, and enjoy!