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Need help: BIG smudge in the pic..sensor or lens?


leicaforlife

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Hi guys. I just got my used m8 and i brought the camera to local camerashop for sensor cleaning. I took some photos before heading to the shop and I was little bit worried about sensor being in bad condition because I saw a lot of dusts and a small white dot in the middle of the sensor. I brought the camera to the shop, and after the cleaning, the camera technician told me there a smudge near the center of the photo before& after the test shots being taken for proper sensor cleaning. I asked the technician if it might be due to the dirty lens, and he told me maybe but probably the sensor. I will be getting new lens in few days (only have one used elmarit to test it for now). If anyone had similar experience, please let me know. Also, if anyone had to send their camera to leica, please tell me how much it costed you. Thanks.

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Actually I don't think it is dust but oil residue on the sensor cover glass/filter. I've had spots like that and they've turned out to be due to a particle of oily skin debris. You can blow off the particle but the oil that's diffused out and been left behind forms a dark circular patch. Needs wet cleaning with a solvent such as eclipse. People do say that the shutter etc. sometimes sheds oil but I've never experienced that.

 

ETA: The way to check if it's dust or oil is to take a picture of the sky with the lens stopped down to it's smallest aperture f16 or f22 say. If the appearance of the mark reduces in size to a very small dark spot with sharp edges then it's dust. If it remains the same size and brightness then it's oil or other liquid contamination that has spread outwards. It's always easier to see dust on the sensor with the lens stopped down.

 

Bob.

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Don't shops use wet cleaning? I was thinking about sending this camera to leica for sensor replacement or something because i thought it was damaged...

 

btw, I don't like to clean my own sensor because my hands have vast records of tendency of demolishing stuffs..:rolleyes:

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Welcome to the forum!

 

I agree with Bob about the spot. Definitely something on the sensor. It looks like the kind of thing that usually takes me two or three swipes to remove.

 

What worries me is that it's a smudge the guy at the camera shop couldn't remove. It would probably be a good idea to call the shop and ask whether they wet-clean. I agree with you that that's likely to be the case.

 

If the shop can't get it clean, Leica may be your only resource. If you send it in, they'll check it and send you an estimate.

 

I hope you don't need sensor replacement. I don't know what the charge would be, but I think neither you nor I want to know. ;)

 

Keep us posted.

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I will calll the camera shop on monday if they did the wetcleaning or not. If they did wet cleaning, I will just taking it to NJ leica since I will be heading to ny this week. I will let you guys know and ask the leica technician about the sensor replacement if I make a visit:D I hope it's just a oily particle on the sensor.

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You should learn to do it yourself. I know some guys go to their dealership if their car needs a wash, but most of us find it easier and cheaper to do it ourselves... It is just routine owner-maintenance.

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I will let you guys know and ask the leica technician about the sensor replacement if I make a visit...

 

No need for a replacement, it's just something on the sensor. Every digital camera with removable lenses that I've owned has shown identical spots over time. Its normal.

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Dust on the sensor. Not oil because that is much smaller and darker and clearly defined not fuzzy.

I did have a similar type of spot but much larger which I could not get off by cleaning the sensor, and it turned out to be a small particle on the rear element of a wide angle lens and disappeared whenI cleaned the rear element

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leicaforlife, I am certain your sensor glass needs a good wet clean. A dry clean, much used by non-specialist camera shops, will not remove sticky residue. The M8 was well-known for showing such marks in early days of ownership, although many owners were oblivious of the fact. The size of evidence shown is much bigger than dust specks. They will not yield to air blasting from a 'puffer' brush or other wands which depend on static charge.

 

If you intend to keep the camera for any length of time, it is worth searching this forum for previous threads on the subject.; and mastering cleaning yourself. I find thereafter that taking care during lens changes reduces the need for regular sensor glass cleaning. (Note, it is the glass covering that you are cleaning not the actual sensor).

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