Spots on image question

[ALScott]

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I was testing a new 150-600 last week and I noticed two spots while looking through the viewfinder and then shot a few shots to see if they would show up in an image and they do.  Look above the tip of the tree top and above that spot to the right.  Wouldn't it mean that these were caused by something on the lens or the 1.4x and not something on the sensor?  I did look at the sensor and unfortunately there are some bits on it but I don't want to clean it although I know I will have to.  This is my first mirrorless camera so all new to me.   

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[Jonathan Levin]

I have a few spots on my sensor and they are easily removed in post (Photoshop/Camera Raw) with healing tool. One click each spot, done in 5 seconds.

I too am afraid to dive to much into cleaning since I have a 10 day project coming up and I could make things worse. After that I’m all in as far as cleaning.

[ALScott]

Just now, Jonathan Levin said:

I have a few spots on my sensor and they are easily removed in post (Photoshop/Camera Raw) with healing tool. One click each spot, done in 5 seconds.

I too am afraid to dive to much into cleaning since I have a 10 day project coming up and I could make things worse. After that I’m all in as far as cleaning.

But if those are due to something on the sensor would I be able to see them through the EVF?  I assumed you wouldn't as this doesn't work like a DSLR i.e. no mirror that you are looking at/through.  Actually I think I just removed one by cleaning off the 1.4x.  Which when I got it brand new from Leica I reached out to them and mentioned dust inside but then let it slide thinking that I was being overly anal about my new gear and it wasn't really there..... oh well.

[Photoworks]

Dust comes and goes, get a Giotto blower and use it when you change lenses.

Dust is more visible when the lens is stopped down, if you need to know where it is on the sensor, take a photo at f22.

[Pieter12]

4 hours ago, Photoworks said:

Dust comes and goes, get a Giotto blower and use it when you change lenses.

Dust is more visible when the lens is stopped down, if you need to know where it is on the sensor, take a photo at f22.

I believe it is the opposite. Dust on the sensor shows no matter the f-stop. Just shoot an out-of-focus, even-tone subject like a clear sky or a wall, preferably wide-open. At f22, you might start to bring into focus things that are on the wall or in the sky and mistake them for dust. The only reason dust might be obvious at f22 is because it is the only thing out of focus, but it is easier to see with the method mentioned above.

[SrMi]

8 minutes ago, Pieter12 said:

I believe it is the opposite. Dust on the sensor shows no matter the f-stop. Just shoot an out-of-focus, even-tone subject like a clear sky or a wall, preferably wide-open. At f22, you might start to bring into focus things that are on the wall or in the sky and mistake them for dust. The only reason dust might be obvious at f22 is because it is the only thing out of focus, but it is easier to see with the method mentioned above.

Most of the time, the dust on the sensor is only visible at f/11 or smaller. When shooting a white surface or sky, ensure it is out of focus so that only dust shows up and not the subject detail. Overexposing also helps.

[Guest]

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Try a different lens and take a few photos. If the spots are in the same place then it’s the sensor. Try using a blower as suggested earlier. That usually does the trick. 

[Jean-Michel]

1- You rarely see dust spots in the viewfinder when taking a photograph. As you compose your image, the lens is wide-open and most of the time the dust is not readily visible.

2- Once taken, you can check your image in the viewfinder or screen at a higher magnification and the spot(s) may be then visible.

3- The smaller the aperture, the more obvious the spots 

4- Most of the time removing spots in LR or PS is an easy and quick job, even a bit annoying.

5- It makes sense to maybe, during a shoot, photograph  a white wall or blue sky at small aperture to do a quick check for really intrusive dust spot. Carrying a blower is not a bad idea. I recently had a situation where a large dust mote appeared in the middle of the frame and would have caused much grief had I not seen it, almost by chance.

6- I have an SL2, and that model does not have a dust hake-off system, which is too bad. My first digital camera was a Canon 5D, that was a dust magnet, my 5D2 had the shake-of feature and that worked quite well. With th eSL2, it requires more care.

7- In all my years of work, I rarely changed lenses on my cameras, I simply carried two or more cameras with different lenses and/or film. Today, I still tend not to change lenses very often and that does minimizes the chance of dust appearing on the sensor, but on minimize the chance, dust will happen!

[Jean-Michel]

14 minutes ago, TwentyEighthParallel said:

Try a different lens and take a few photos. If the spots are in the same place then it’s the sensor. Try using a blower as suggested earlier. That usually does the trick. 

Hi,

Dust on or in lenses will no show up as spots. A dirty lens may veil or lose contrast, but will not image the dust on or in the lens.

[Jean-Michel]

5 hours ago, ALScott said:

I was testing a new 150-600 last week and I noticed two spots while looking through the viewfinder and then shot a few shots to see if they would show up in an image and they do.  Look above the tip of the tree top and above that spot to the right.  Wouldn't it mean that these were caused by something on the lens or the 1.4x and not something on the sensor?  I did look at the sensor and unfortunately there are some bits on it but I don't want to clean it although I know I will have to.  This is my first mirrorless camera so all new to me.   

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Hi again,

Cleaning the sensor is not a difficult task. There are probably threads on this subject in this forum or elsewhere on line. A good quality blower is you first line of defence, then there are brushes and swabs. A high quality system is the one from Visible Dust, check them out, or your dealer.

Note: probably best turn off the IBIS if doing more than just blowing.

[ALScott]

I could see the spots when looking through the viewfinder, that's how I lined them up above the treetop so I could check the files later when I imported them.  So, would you see those if it's something on the sensor?  As you look through the EVF are you looking at an image that is reflected/viewed/created by the sensor itself?

[SrMi]

1 hour ago, Jean-Michel said:

Hi,

Dust on or in lenses will no show up as spots. A dirty lens may veil or lose contrast, but will not image the dust on or in the lens.

Dust on lens (camera side) can show like smudges. Spent time once wet cleaning the sensor only to realize it was on the lens 🤣.

[SrMi]

2 minutes ago, ALScott said:

I could see the spots when looking through the viewfinder, that's how I lined them up above the treetop so I could check the files later when I imported them.  So, would you see those if it's something on the sensor?  As you look through the EVF are you looking at an image that is reflected/viewed/created by the sensor itself?

Check lens for dirt first (glass facing the sensor).

[jaapv]

2 hours ago, Pieter12 said:

I believe it is the opposite. Dust on the sensor shows no matter the f-stop. Just shoot an out-of-focus, even-tone subject like a clear sky or a wall, preferably wide-open. At f22, you might start to bring into focus things that are on the wall or in the sky and mistake them for dust. The only reason dust might be obvious at f22 is because it is the only thing out of focus, but it is easier to see with the method mentioned above.

Dust is most clearly visible at small apertures. Move the camera around when exposing to avoid the effect you mention.

[jaapv]

Oh dear, nothing out of the ordinary here.
That is sensor dust, clear and simple. First give it a puff with a blower. If it is still there, just clean your sensor. Less than two minutes work. There are tutorials all over YouTube and even in the M FAQ on this forum. If you don’t trust yourself initially practice on a filter. The sensor coating is just as robust as the filter one. 
You need to be able to do so - Otherwise what are you going to do when you are on holiday with not a sensor cleaning service within 500 km and a dozen of ugly blobs? I have even used the tail of my T shirt and a few drops of spectacle cleaning fluid once -not recommended but it worked flawlessly.
 

The sensor will also pick up haze over a period of time, depending on the cleanliness of the armospere in which the camera is used. I give it a wet clean every few months regardless as I often have it in my car. Diesel fumes etc. I tend to time it by the accumulation of haze on the inside of my windscreen. That reminds me-windscreen and sensors of my camera should have a wipe coming week. 

[ALScott]

I know I will have to clean it but would like to keep that to a minimum.  I have been looking for a good kit and started with Leica Miami but their Eyelead stock is all sold out.  I don't even know if that is a good one but I figured it would be safe if they were selling it.  I can't find that brand kit anywhere.  

Main question here is if what I saw when looking through the viewfinder could even be something on the sensor.  I do not know how the image gets to the EVF.  Is the sensor even a part of that chain?  If not, that would mean no matter what is on the sensor would not be seen when looking through the viewfinder.  I saw these spots when taking pics to test my new 150-600.    I will try different lenses to see if I can still see them but I would like to know how that works, I.e. where does the viewfinder image come from, how is it produced?

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, ALScott said:

 

Main question here is if what I saw when looking through the viewfinder could even be something on the sensor.  I do not know how the image gets to the EVF.  Is the sensor even a part of that chain?  If not, that would mean no matter what is on the sensor would not be seen when looking through the viewfinder.

The EVF is showing you what the sensor sees. If there is dust on the sensor it will show up in the viewfinder and obviously in the final image. Dust inside the viewfinder itself doesn’t affect final image. 

[Pieter12]

31 minutes ago, ALScott said:

I know I will have to clean it but would like to keep that to a minimum.  I have been looking for a good kit and started with Leica Miami but their Eyelead stock is all sold out.  I don't even know if that is a good one but I figured it would be safe if they were selling it.  I can't find that brand kit anywhere.  

Main question here is if what I saw when looking through the viewfinder could even be something on the sensor.  I do not know how the image gets to the EVF.  Is the sensor even a part of that chain?  If not, that would mean no matter what is on the sensor would not be seen when looking through the viewfinder.  I saw these spots when taking pics to test my new 150-600.    I will try different lenses to see if I can still see them but I would like to know how that works, I.e. where does the viewfinder image come from, how is it produced?

How else would the image get to the EVF? Of course, you are seeing the sensor image, as is the rear screen. There is only one sensor that receives the image from the lens. It is not the lens. Dust on the lens would have to be quite big and obvious to show up as a spot in the image. Try this. Take a fiber you don't care about and put a bug, fat, clear fingerprint on it. See if a fingerprint shows up through the EVF or on a photo. Rather, it will be a blurry smear. The lens can't focus that close. And the rear element is too far from the sensor for it to register clearly or even as a soft spot. As far as this hoo-ha about f-stops affecting the ability of the sensor to record dust, the f-stop affects the image coming through the lens, it has nothing to do with the sensor's susceptibility to record surface dust. Of course, the sharper the photo, the easier it is to see where sensor dust is present in the image.

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[SrMi]

58 minutes ago, ALScott said:

I know I will have to clean it but would like to keep that to a minimum.  I have been looking for a good kit and started with Leica Miami but their Eyelead stock is all sold out.  I don't even know if that is a good one but I figured it would be safe if they were selling it.  I can't find that brand kit anywhere.  

Main question here is if what I saw when looking through the viewfinder could even be something on the sensor.  I do not know how the image gets to the EVF.  Is the sensor even a part of that chain?  If not, that would mean no matter what is on the sensor would not be seen when looking through the viewfinder.  I saw these spots when taking pics to test my new 150-600.    I will try different lenses to see if I can still see them but I would like to know how that works, I.e. where does the viewfinder image come from, how is it produced?

Try first the touchless method using a blower.

 

[jaapv]

And if you use a gel stick - use the proper technique. I do use them (Eyelead for Sony, no other one!!) but I always feel slghty uncomfortable for the force applied to the cover glass.  Using it correctly  is very important: never pull it straight off the sensor, always wobble.
I feel that the safest and most effective cleaning method is still the wet clean. Blow the sensor first to remove loose dust and the hypothetical grain of sand.
Or use the Green Clean vacuum cleaner and wet-dry swabs - think that is the safest method of all. .