17-55mm dust :(

Hey guys, well today I noticed there were specs coming out on my pictures. My only lens I used for the pics today was the 17-55mm. I notice there are a few specs of dust in it and there isn't really anything on the sensor so I believe it's the lens! I don't feel like fixing all the dots on a picture everytime so I want to get it fixed.. BUT: it seems there are more dots coming up then there are dust specs in the lens as I can see..

Anyone know what I should do to get it fixed?

Cole_S

Uh. Unless your dust particles are GINORMOUS, it is very doubtful they would show up on your images.

Refer to:

http://www.lensrentals​.com …0/front-element-scratches

You'll have to post up some samples, but my money would be sensor dust.

Yeah and they don't look big at all which is weird!
And sure, only pictures I noticed them in were the ones I edited so I'll get some as soon as I wake up tomorrow!

Dust does affect image quality, but it's one part of the image quality that we over look.

The bokeh.
It destroys the bokeh by putting holes in it.

Thats the reason I would never buy this lens until Canon brings out a mark II version and fixes the dust problem.

ConDigital wrote in post #8177388
Thats the reason I would never buy this lens until Canon brings out a mark II version and fixes the dust problem.

I don't consider this a reason not to buy this lens. Mine doesn't have any dust in it, but I also put a UV filter on it the moment I took it out of the box. I had a 100-400L that had some dust in it, I guess that means that lens is no good either?

If spots are showing up on your images I would suggest going to the Copper Hill Images website and read up on cleaning your sensor. If you haven't cleaned it yet there's a very good chance that there is dust or even small amount of shutter grease stuck on the sensor.

The first thing you can try is to use a rocket blower and see if the dust will easily come off, but if it doesn't it needs to be wet cleaned.

The specks you are seeing will most likely be sensor dust and have nothing to do with the 17-55. Try this experiment.
1. Set the camera to Av and set the aperture to f/22 or higher. The higher the aperture the sharper the edges of the sensor dust will be.
2. Take a picture of a uniformly lit surface. A blue sky works great but so does a blank word document on a monitor. Set forcus to manual and unfocus as much as possible. If you taking the sky, focus as close as possible. If your taking your monitor, set focus to infinity and take the pic inches away.
3. While taking the pic, wiggle the camera as well. This will blur everything except for stuff on the sensor. The shot may be pretty long depending on the light available but that's ok, the more blurred, the better.
4. Download the pic and open it in photoshop. Use the "Auto Levels" function and the dust on the sensor will clearly be highlighted. Don't panic when the picture looks horrible, it will, but it will also show every speck of dust on the thing. Only the large ones are worth worrying about. There may be hundreds of small ones.
5. Compare the locations of the larger specks and see if the correspond to the ones in you pictures. I'm guessing that they will.
6. Clean sensor..

For those with dust on the front element of the 17-55 there are two solutions. A UV filter will stop all infiltration as the problem is a poor seal on the front element.

If you already have dust and want to remove it, it's a 5 minute job and all you need is a small screw driver. I've cleaned mine once so far and a friends as well. It really is as easy as the below web site shows.
http://www.pbase.com/l​ightrules/drp

kay188 wrote in post #8176950
Dust does affect image quality, but it's one part of the image quality that we over look.

The bokeh.
It destroys the bokeh by putting holes in it.

I would be interested to see photos where dust destroys the "bokeh." Please enlighten me.

gjl711 wrote in post #8178553
For those with dust on the front element of the 17-55 there are two solutions. A UV filter will stop all infiltration as the problem is a poor seal on the front element.

i've had a UV filter on it since day 1 but dust somehow still managed to get inside...

Yeah I believe it is the sensor because if a picture can come out almost perfect with a shattered lens, I don't think it is the lens I will be checking it out on how to clean it once I get home from golf this evening.. Thanks guys!

A photo would settle whether it is dust in the lens or sensor dust.

kay188 wrote in post #8176950
Dust does affect image quality, but it's one part of the image quality that we over look.

The bokeh.
It destroys the bokeh by putting holes in it.

I would also be interested in seeing a image showing this. I've never heard of this before.

Roljerj wrote in post #8178782
I would also be interested in seeing a image showing this. I've never heard of this before.

Never hear it affecting bokah, but I did have issues with dust on the front element affecting the image. I thought it was on the sensor and clean as I might, just could not get it off. Changed lenses and it was gone. finally narrowed down to dust on the front element. It's what made me clean my 17-55 in the first place. Here is the post along with pics.
https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=542250&high​light=dust

gjl711 wrote in post #8178928
Never hear it affecting bokah, but I did have issues with dust on the front element affecting the image. I thought it was on the sensor and clean as I might, just could not get it off. Changed lenses and it was gone. finally narrowed down to dust on the front element. It's what made me clean my 17-55 in the first place. Here is the post along with pics.
https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=542250&high​light=dust

I don't know why people worry about this problem. It took me about 5 minutes to clean the dust out of my 17-55 f/2.8 IS.

Dust spot on pictures is 99% of the time due to dust on sensor, not in lens. Try to clean your sensor instead.