Problem with camera

[exhys]

juz got a d50 recently and when i was taking pictures of the sky something wierd appear on the pictures

as it can been seen in the picture, theres a curvy "w" shape on it whereas in the picture below, theres no sight of it.
[EDIT]It seems like the "w" is more obvious with bigger aperture

 

[night86mare]

this is called dust

it is on the camera sensor, and is common in dslr, because the lens can be changed meaning that the body is not sealed up (compared to P&S, the problem can happen in P&S but is not common), so when the sensor is on it generates static electricity which attacts dust to it.

you see it in the earlier pictures probably because there is a LARGER F/STOP being used, which increases depth of field.

in the later picture, obviously a SMALLER F/STOP is being used, so when the depth of field is shallow, your dust is OOF and becomes part of the lens blur area. and will not show up.

to clean it, for such a large piece, go to sensor cleaning mode, place the blower if you have one slightly into the body (talking about tip here), aim at the sensor where the dust should be, and blow.

please note that i am talking about a photographic blower, please do not use your mouth to blow or you will own your sensor.....

 

[night86mare]

i hope you are acquainted with depth of field and aperture terms... if not don't know how else to explain already.

you can google for these terms if you do not understand.

 

[catchlights]

hair or fibre on sensor, read your camera manual for how to clear sensor.

FYI, you are using f22 for distant shot, f5.6 for the phone close up shot, hence dust, dirt or hair on sensor will not show up

 

[garagez]

time for spot healing i guess

cheers

 

[exhys]

Thanks night86mare for the explanation. Will go and get 1 of those blower to clean the sensor.
I think i have one lying around in my house. My dad uses it to blow off dust off his electronics and computer, wonder if i can use them

 

[night86mare]

Thanks night86mare for the explanation. Will go and get 1 of those blower to clean the sensor.
I think i have one lying around in my house. My dad uses it to blow off dust off his electronics and computer, wonder if i can use them

it should look something like this.

be very careful when you are doing it. it is hard to make a serious error but you only need to touch the sensor with your blower hard enough while dreaming to create something which might be permanent. at the same time, don't be too scaredycat.

 

[sinned79]

Thanks night86mare for the explanation. Will go and get 1 of those blower to clean the sensor.
I think i have one lying around in my house. My dad uses it to blow off dust off his electronics and computer, wonder if i can use them

i wun advise u to do that, u may get more dust if you dun know how to do it. Bring to the service center and get them clean for you for a fee.

 

[exhys]

it should look something like this.

be very careful when you are doing it. it is hard to make a serious error but you only need to touch the sensor with your blower hard enough while dreaming to create something which might be permanent. at the same time, don't be too scaredycat.

does it have to have a metal tip? if i remember correctly, the 1 my dad has has a plastic tip instead. if not, any place to buy it?

i wun advise u to do that, u may get more dust if you dun know how to do it. Bring to the service center and get them clean for you for a fee.

thanks for the advice but gonna try night86mare method, on super tight budget after buying the camera.

 

[night86mare]

no need to have metal tip.

just blow it in a clean environment, it should do more good than bad.

of course if you blow it next to aunt jemina's dusty cupboard then you are asking for it....

this piece is quite large, do note that there might be smaller pieces that aren't as visible but are still there. some of these might be WELDED, ie. they hold moisture. the blowing method will not work for these and you will have to use wet cleaning of sorts, which is another animal altogether.

to check properly for dust, find a white (relatively clean) wall, switch to av mode, dial in +1 ev, do f/22, and shoot for whatever period the camera suggests.

then you can check immediately in-cam to look for small specks they should look relatively sharp at f/22.

if you want greater visualisation you can upload to computer and raise the contrast, etc to see it more clearly.

 

[exhys]

av mode? how do i do that? using a nikon d50.

 

[night86mare]

av mode? how do i do that? using a nikon d50.

hrm.

a that you see there.

oh, and i forgot, switch to manual focus, and focus manually to the shortest distance that you can on whatever your lens, and make sure you're nowhere near that distance from the wall.

 

[exhys]

icic, the aperture priority. srry didnt know that is called the av mode.
may i know what do you mean by "make sure you're nowhere near that distance from the wall"?
Will try these when i get the blower. Thanks alot for the help

 

[leowyien]

av mode? how do i do that? using a nikon d50.

Guess you've juz started using a DSLR. Juz like studying, read more and you'll learn.

Love yr phone btw.

 

[ahbian]

icic, the aperture priority. srry didnt know that is called the av mode.
may i know what do you mean by "make sure you're nowhere near that distance from the wall"?
Will try these when i get the blower. Thanks alot for the help

Guess you've juz started using a DSLR. Juz like studying, read more and you'll learn.

Love yr phone btw.

I think its more of unfamiliar as using Nikon. Its known as "Av" for Canon users, for Nikon is "A".

 

[night86mare]

icic, the aperture priority. srry didnt know that is called the av mode.
may i know what do you mean by "make sure you're nowhere near that distance from the wall"?
Will try these when i get the blower. Thanks alot for the help

see ar, your lens should have focus scale

so there is probably some scale in meter/feet, you can gauge using meter since you are more familiar with it being born in singapore.

anyways, say, if the min focusing distance on the lens is 30 cm, then you should make sure you are either closer than 30 cm or further than 30 cm. do you get what i mean?

btw, you don't need metal tip blower.

 

[exhys]

Guess you've juz started using a DSLR. Juz like studying, read more and you'll learn.

Love yr phone btw.

yeah agree with that, trying to absorb as much as i can.

and thx night86mare

 

[sinned79]

thanks for the advice but gonna try night86mare method, on super tight budget after buying the camera.

i dun know how much actually... but for canon its just $21.50

for sensor i dun play play. cos if i scratch it, the cost can buy u a 1/2 or 3/4 new camera!

i tried DIY myself once in the end more dust gets in, so in the end i still had to pay the service center a visit.

 

[exhys]

problem solved =)