Help. Is my sensor scratched?

[CareBear]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi

I’ve been reading here silently for a while and wanted to join this community anyway but now I have problem. 
 

I just bought a used M8 in pretty much mint condition. I’m completely over the moon with it but I noticed some streaks in my pictures. 
 

I’ve included a shot where it is actually visible in normal use and a crop of that image. 
There seem to be atleast two streaks and my trusty rocket blower didn’t help with it. 
I’ve ordered swaps to clean the sensor further but until then I hoped you guys and girls could give me some peace of mind. 
 

Thanks in advance!

 

CareBear

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[69xchange]

Was this shot at high f stop?

Shoot a plain white wall at home or ceiling at f16 with a slow shutter speed. dont worry about motion blur or using a tripod because the dust/oil will be on the same spot on the sensor and wont go anywhere (you'll probably see a lot of small black dots which are dust).

I dont know what a scratch looks like on a sensor but I would definitely give it a wet clean first once your swabs arrive. also have you tried looking into the sensor? Is there a visible/ obvious scratch?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[CareBear]

2 hours ago, 69xchange said:

Was this shot at high f stop?

Shoot a plain white wall at home or ceiling at f16 with a slow shutter speed. dont worry about motion blur or using a tripod because the dust/oil will be on the same spot on the sensor and wont go anywhere (you'll probably see a lot of small black dots which are dust).

I dont know what a scratch looks like on a sensor but I would definitely give it a wet clean first once your swabs arrive. also have you tried looking into the sensor? Is there a visible/ obvious scratch?

Hi. 
 

Thanks for the quick reply. 
I failed to mention that these streaks appear very slightly at f8 and are more and more noticeable going up from there. I’ll upload another file with a shot from the sky at f22. 
 

I feel like it’s too obvious to be a scratch as I would think that small scratches would appear finer. 
 

The marks are barely visible to the eye and only in certain lighting conditions. I’ll have a look with my loupe as soon as I’m back home.
 

 

Regards,

CareBear 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[pippy]

Hi and welcome.

It's hard to tell without inspecting the camera in person (obviously) but it looks like it might just be some muck on the sensor.

Please keep us posted and best of good fortune in the Cleaning Stakes when the swabs arrive; it's not rocket-science but do take care.

P.

[rpsawin]

Consider having the camera cleaned by a Leica specialist.

[farnz]

WOW!  I'd be really worried by the huge, white, oval scratch in the second picture!!

Just kidding.   To me it all just looks like gunk that needs cleaning off and if your swabs don't manage it then, as Bob advised, have it cleaned by a Leica specialist.  I had similar marks when I bought my first M8 new and the cause was a little surplus lubricant in the shutter being flung around during activation. I had it cleaned by the dealer under Passport Warranty a couple of times and it didn't occur again so I presume that any surplus lubricant that was going to move had moved and been cleaned off.

Pete.

[lct]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

4 hours ago, farnz said:

To me it all just looks like gunk that needs cleaning off

+1

[CareBear]

Thanks for all the input!

I think the lubricant theory makes a lot of sense since those streaks are oriented in the same direction the shutter moves. 
 

 I used 3 cleaning swaps so far with little luck though. I will try again once I have a little bit more time and if that still fails I will probably ignore it until the camera needs further maintenance. 
I assume cleaning by a Leica professional is not going to be cheap and the camera plus a lens blew my budget quite a bit. Those marks aren’t that big of a deal in real world shooting as they only show up after f11 and only on rather evenly lit areas, where I could easily remove them in post. 
 

I will contact the seller however and hope to get a little bit of my money back since this is not really mint condition as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t get the original battery and the two aftermarket ones are kinda bad as well. 
The camera indicates them as being empty or having one bar max but they still work for a day with around 100 shots. Weird but all in all I’m completely in love with this camera and I finally get the Leica hype. 
 

I’ll keep you updated!

 

Marcel 

[farnz]

It's just a sensor clean that you're looking for and not a full CLA (Clean, Lubricate and Adjust) so I wouldn't expect it to cost very much and it should only take a few minutes.

As regards your after market batteries I understand that they need 'calibrating' so that the M8 knows how much charge they've got and the meter can then display this.  I don't have after market batteries so I haven't done the calibration but as far as I remember it's about completely draining the battery before recharging so that the battery's chip knows where 'zero charge' is and can tell work out roughly how much charge it has left and relay this to the M8 more accurately.  There are a few threads that describe what to do or someone on this thread might be used to doing it.

Pete.

[Viv]

It looks like an oil streak, not a scratch.

Any serious photo shop will clean the sensor, for a fee.

I have no experience of aftermarket batteries.

[CareBear]

Thanks for the tip with the batteries Pete! I‘ll give it a shot for sure. 
 

Regarding the cleaning process I’m happy to hear that it won’t cost me too much. I will search for a shop close to me if I can’t get rid of the streaks myself. 
 

Thanks for all the feedback. It feels great to find a community who’s willing to help newcomers with weird problems like mine. 
 

Marcel

[Ernstk]

Welcome to the forum.

I use only aftermarket batteries in my M8 (Cameron Sino brand). I have had zero issues with them in 18 months of use. I fully discharge them a couple of times in the camera to start with and when I charge them, I use a Nitecore charger which has a  more sophisticated charging cycle than the standard M8 charger.

Ernst

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171921632338?epid=22002469622&hash=item280753ec52:g:3E8AAOSwLVZV63xj&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4GO0cnOhin9U9psQ1mTq2QvG3KA85YUWPQUQQdPRXDhMfhVJAFBXWHT5jBOlKqURPfI0nxd6qhKPvQyMAbu92FL%2B3lpk2JmrOceQTcFbynyJU28WUAru4O31ykD67Ft7SdSrp5mveDYOCEjKMAHBRyQaDOsOl0JGlUV59tuTmVKYTgeX3ngiNUGhDk1mDuxEi9K6d%2BWQsKtIwkhCY5DXqErAp%2BvrL2xOBHC6EBRtWlV%2BtwJGzZbnlwzYsnOpp2OE87eYhRW6P9WOOOSEJRu1cykEE7%2B0NphpKKWNAO6VlKhZ|tkp%3ABFBMnKCvlJ5g

Edited May 23, 2022 by Ernstk

[mort linder]

On 5/21/2022 at 9:04 AM, farnz said:

It's just a sensor clean that you're looking for and not a full CLA (Clean, Lubricate and Adjust) so I wouldn't expect it to cost very much and it should only take a few minutes.

As regards your after market batteries I understand that they need 'calibrating' so that the M8 knows how much charge they've got and the meter can then display this.  I don't have after market batteries so I haven't done the calibration but as far as I remember it's about completely draining the battery before recharging so that the battery's chip knows where 'zero charge' is and can tell work out roughly how much charge it has left and relay this to the M8 more accurately.  There are a few threads that describe what to do or someone on this thread might be used to doing it.

Pete.

some after marker batteries must be fully discharged before recharging to record charge on the camera . i will just turn the camera on over night to discharge .

[lct]

9 minutes ago, mort linder said:

some after marker batteries must be fully discharged before recharging

In my experience, all after market batteries must be fully discharged before recharging to avoid false charging readings but i have not tried the Nitecore changer referred to above.