Artifact in SL2 Sensor

[mdb1974]

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I purchased a "like new" SL2 from BH photo. I've been very happy with it. However, after 6 months of shooting the sensor had become fairly dusty. So I gave it a proper cleaning and in my blue sky f22 test it became apparent there were two spots that would not go away. I've concluded with a pretty high level of certainty that the artifacts are in, not on top of the sensor. Some may question this but the camera has been professionally cleaned as well and the spots remain (they are also visible on the sensor and when a swab is held next to them you can tell by the parallax effect that it's below the surface.

So my question is should I pursue repair or will Leica or whoever does BH purchased warranty repairs say that this is an acceptable level of defect if there is such a thing? It rarely impacts images but knowing it's there is aggravating my OCD brain. What I don't want to do is spend 6-10 weeks without a camera and potentially not get a satisfactory resolution. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

Attached is Lightroom spot finder at f8. 

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[Stuart Richardson]

Those look more like stuck pixels to me than dust spots…they are quite well defined. Have you tried the pixel mapping function? 

If it is dust, it is generally not covered under warranty by Leica, but they will clean it. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Stuart Richardson

[Guest]

I had experienced something like this last year. After 8 or so months of using my SL2, I noticed weird artifacts as well. I thought my sensor somehow became scratched from the last cleaning that was done, but I didn't see anything on the sensor that would indicate scratches or anything like that. Also, like your issue, they were specks, and didn't look like scratch lines. I contacted Leica and they asked me to send them raw images of the issue. I did, and was then told to send it in, which I also did. They asked to provide them with an SD card or thumb drive with a few more RAW files that had the issue when sending in the camera. Turned out the sensor was faulty, and the artifacts were a result. They replaced the sensor, and the warranty covered it all. You should absolutely contact Leica since there is no level of acceptable artifacts in a sensor that Leica quality assurance would knowingly allow. And those dots are definitely not scratches, as you stated.

Also, Leica will provide you with a loaner while your camera is being fixed. The only thing is, they often don't have SL2's available. So, you may end up with an SL, Q, or Q2. I have that same OCD, so I definitely feel your pain. If it were me, I'd just get it done. You don't want to think about that everytime you go out shooting. You should just be enjoying it. Even if someone else thinks it's not a big deal, if fixing it is what helps ease your mind, you should do it.

[jaapv]

The shop should have it repaired under warranty. There is no way that this is acceptable.

[lldd]

I bought an SL2 not long after they came out.  I noticed the same sort of thing pretty quickly in the images from the camera.  I took it to a professional to have the sensor cleaned, and after a short while he came out and said that whatever it is, it is under the sensor glass.  Because I was also having weird issues with the 24-90, I returned both for a refund.