Sensor dirt, DA 12-24, and Kx
I don't know if the zoom action of the (12-24) lens was blowing it back onto the sensor each day though.
The higher the F-stop, the more "in focus" the dirt was, if that helps indicate where the problem is? I will be able to show example photos tomorrow, as copying 10GB over wireless network is unsurprisingly taking a while...
You'll have to buy....the incredible...."Arctic butterfly!"...
How will that help dirt that gets worse during the day though, when I haven't changed the lens....
Some sample images would be helpful.
I change lenses almost 2 to 3 times a day and only clean my sensor every couple of months. but I do use a rocket blower and the Arctic butterfly.
K7, K20D, istDS, Optio SV, ME
Most used glass
50mm f1.4, 60-250mm, 28-80mm,
Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro & Bertha 50-500
John - see pic linked in post next to yours.
Please don't use a lens pen on your sensor any more. Either invest in an Arctic Butterfly or have it cleaned professionally occasionally.
I haven't yet cleaned the sensor on My K20D. It will need doing soon as there are a couple of blotches showing, but whilst I can heal them easily I am not too bothered. I will use my Butterfly for it.
EDIT : CURSES - have just found marks on a few of the pictures taken on the Sigma too. Although nothing like as bad.
Looks like Artic Butterfly called for...
Ken
Lets just say, I'm now horribly familiar with the Clone/Heal tool in Lightroom........ !... !!!...!!!!!!
A tip for next time it happens.
You can save the action of cleaning the dirt and apply it to all photos after it if off course the dirt doesn't move around.
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848 posts
14 years
Twickenham
I cleaned the sensor every morning and evening with a Lenspen (didn't get the chance to get a fancier cleaner), did test shots against white wall & sky, no dirt ...then... I take the 12-24 for another day's walk, no lens changes, CPL & Hood on, even putting the lens cap on/off quite a lot - camera mostly handheld for about 3-4 hours walking across hills/forests. And I can see on successive shots more and more dirt getting onto the sensor as the day goes by!
Lets just say, I'm now horribly familiar with the Clone/Heal tool in Lightroom........ !... !!!...!!!!!!
By the end of the week, I got fed up with spending an hour on the laptop just doing crude touch-ups (I'd have had to delete almost every photograph otherwise, as I took a LOT of wide landscapes and it really shows-up on the blue sky) - and experimented with the Sigma 30mm on instead. And guess what. Not a SINGLE bit of dirt on the sensor after two days.
So - is this a design fault with the DA 12-24 (the rear element has a certain "dust pump" look to it as it is moved back and forth...), the lack of weather sealing on the Kx (I missed the infamous £150 K7's by minutes!), or should I just bang my head on the table with frustration?