Test on dust removal systems.

On my *istDS I have two or three visible dustspots from f8 onwards in lightly coloured pictures (sky for example).
These spots have been on the sensor from the day I got the camera 15 months ago and it hasn't become worse allthough I change lenses quite frequently. As long as the spot healing brush can handle the task without ruining the picture I am not going to physically clean the sensor.
Something inside tells me that cleaning systems are more marketing then really usefull.
The special coating pentax has developed for the sensor in the K10D is usefull however because it prevents dust from sticking in the first place, or at least makes the dust easy to remove with a blower.

use Aperture for mapping out the dustspots on a "white card" shot then lift and stamp to a batch of images to remove All the spots from a shoot in one step.

On My DL, I got dirt specs on the part of the focussing screen that a user cannot reach i.e. the top part, 2 months into ownership. Not impressed with that at all. I have had stuff on the sensor, but between a blower brush and an Artic Butterfly no problems. However the focussing screen dirt remains, and when look through the viewfinder you see it all.

I have been quoted 200 swiss francs to clean it, but so far I have refused to have it done.

From my point of view this is a design fault and I wonder whether the new K cameras have the same inbuilt fault?

I don't see it as a design fault. All SLR's I have owned ended up with dust/dirt on the focussing screen, on the side you can't access.
It is allmost impossible to design it in a way that dust can't get in. The whole concept of removable focussing screens causes small gaps which will let dust through.

Then I would first have to fork out a lot of money for a Apple I looked at a mac pro but I am ending up with 4000 Euro's which is a little to much for a PC for me. A Imac isn't for me because I don't want a unit which has the PC and monitor integrated.

In 35mm days, I had Canon, Nikon and Leica - never a dirt problem on the focussing screen whatsoever from Canon AE-1 onwards to a Leica M, and if there had been dirt in the focussing area, I would have been back like a shot.

In 35mm days you got a new sensor for every shot! I discovered some 'dust' spots and blew them off only to discover some residue remaining which makes me wonder if the 'dust' might have been pollen or something. Anyway, took heart in hand, and purchased Giotto rocket blower, size 2 Sensor Swabs and Ecipse E2 cleaning fluid (according to the seller, different makes require differerent foprmulations). Worked a treat after inserting fresh batteries. Haven't seen this mentioned here before but the DS announced that there wasn't enough battery life remaining to clean the sensor.

http://www.photosol.com/index.htm

the Leica M is a rangefinder, it doesn't have a focusing screen

Yes I know it is a rangefinder, the point was that I have owned several cameras from relatively cheap to expensive over a number of decades and not one of them as ever shown up a problem of dirt on the focussing screen that I cannot get to clean without returning to the manufacturer for "repair". This is why I stick by what I said, in my mind this is clearly a manufacturing fault. Further this is something that will make me be cautious when replacing the DL for another Pentax - even though I love the rest of camera, the feel of it, the way it works and so on. I would be very annoyed indeed if I sold my DL , bought the K10 or K100, only to get the same dust problem on the focussing screen.

Perhaps you have dust inside the pentamirror...

The K10D (*ist-D, *ist-Ds) have pentaprisms which you can't get dust inside. I've had no issues with these three - each of them also has a removable focus screen.

Matt

Hi Matt,

I have come to a conclusion to part-ex DL for the K10D, so thank you for that valuable information, also it is good to see the focussing screen can be changed.

The LL-80 AF Cross-Lined Matte Focusing Screen, would be for me. I was not aware of these optional screens.

So thanks for the info.

Cheers Steve