Sensor scratch

[kat]

Has anyone had to get their sensor replaced or fixed? Just wondering what that entails. Noticed marks on my photos today and boom, there is a scratch on the sensor. I'm no fixer... x:wall-an:

[kat]

This is the problem right..lol. It just seems to be in the right spot..and everything else is clean..I'm gonna try some more photos and see here.

[Iguanasan]

Don't want to overlook the obvious. Have you tried changing lenses? Also, it may only be dust on the sensor. Maybe you just need it cleaned? :fingerscr

[kat]

I cleaned out the dust from the inside (best I can). I only have the one lens so I can't see if it's in the lens.

One thing I've noticed. I only see it if the aperture is around the f/11 f/16 mark (f16 being the highest it will go).

Would that sounds like a lens thing. I'm gonna do another clean tomorrow once I got some good daylight and try it again.

[Mad Aussie]

If you take a photo of a blank piece of white paper does this 'scratch' show up? If so, can you show us?
What shows up on your photos? Is it a line? or is it a little 'spot' or 'blob' ?

And also, are you sure you are looking at your sensor? Most people have no idea where it is or how to make it visible. Taking the lens off the camera does not reveal the sensor for instance.

[kat]

I'll get photos up as soon as I get kids settled. I'm looking at the peice that you see after you open up your mirror (mirror lock). It's the peice that is on the bottom when you are looking in.

be back asap

[kat]

Well. Here is a photo (cropped) from last night. There are several of these.

I did some more on white this morning but nothing. I tried different f/stops and focus'. I don't know. Happy in a way but I still can't figure out what would make lines like these?

And should I still be concerened with my scratch on that peice I tried to explain above...(if you understand it).

Thanks for helping out! I know I should know more about this..

:thankyou:

Just reviewed this photo, if it's not clear enough I'll post full in flickr.

[Greg_Nuspel]

I would take it in for cleaning, that looks like a smug of something on the sensor. Cleaning sensors is for the brave and trained.

[Barefoot]

I guess it’s possible that you have a scratch, but I kinda doubt it unless you’ve gone into mirror lock-up to do some cleaning yourself. Something would have to come in contact with the filter or coating over the sensor in order to have created a scratch.


Set your aperture to f/22, open a blank doc with whatever word processor you use, and get about four or five inches from the monitor to get a shot that will really show what kind of problem you might have. Don’t worry about focus. Try it with more than one lens.

Have a look at this link to get an idea if cleaning it yourself is something you might consider:

http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm

[Mad Aussie]

I'll get photos up as soon as I get kids settled. I'm looking at the peice that you see after you open up your mirror (mirror lock). It's the peice that is on the bottom when you are looking in.

Your sensor is behind your shutter curtain. To see that you need to use Mirror Lockup but then also hold down the shutter button when on bulb or on my camera there is a 'manual' sensor cleaning option in the menu which opens the shutter curtain so I can see the sensor.

On the bottom of the camera under the mirror is a black looking rectangle which is not the sensor.

I'm highly doubting you have a scratch on your sensor somehow unless someone got in there and tried to clean it badly. Even then the scratch is on the layers of glass (UV filter) that sits in front of the sensor.

[Mad Aussie]

Looking at your photo above I think that is just dust. A strange pattern indeed. Just above and to the right of your black square is a small dot that is typical of a dust spot on a sensor. I have several on mine at present and need to clean it.

[kat]

Whew. Alright. Sounds like good news.

I get the usual dot ones. Pain in the arse they are, if they are big blobs, first think I look at is the front of the lens - but this was wierd! Heart froze for a second when I went through photos..

[kat]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

[Mad Aussie]

So you weren't physically looking at your sensor then?

[kat]

I had the mirror lockup on by going through the manual and pressing shutter button. I was just looking at the next thing you see. Like a board that changes color in different light. I assumed it was the UV thing...

[kat]

Okay. So I jsut read this for my camera... "This then allows you to raise the mirror and the shutter curtain, and reveal the low-pass filter for cleaning". Now maybe it's this low-pass filter I am seeing???? Gonna do some more looking around but having a hard time. You'd think there would be one photo on the internet on what it looks like inside my camera!!!!

[Greg_Nuspel]

That is the low bypass filter you see. Don't sneeze on it :evil2: I suspect you have a smug of dirt on it.

[Mad Aussie]

Okay. So I jsut read this for my camera... "This then allows you to raise the mirror and the shutter curtain, and reveal the low-pass filter for cleaning". Now maybe it's this low-pass filter I am seeing???? Gonna do some more looking around but having a hard time. You'd think there would be one photo on the internet on what it looks like inside my camera!!!!
For all intents and purposes Kat ... that is the sensor. So you were looking at the right thing.
The sensor has some fine layers of glass over them (the filters they talk about) and the dust gets on those.

[kat]

For all intents and purposes Kat ... that is the sensor. So you were looking at the right thing.
The sensor has some fine layers of glass over them (the filters they talk about) and the dust gets on those.

Okay. I'm quite sure there is a scratch on it. Something must of gotten into it. I usually never open up the mirror unless I know there is something in there and blow it out or use my little static brush. Maybe there was something on my brush!! I don't know..either case, I don't see anything right now on my photos but will keep an eye on it!

I'm thinking coincidence between the scratch on the sensor and dust in my image (for now anyways).

:thankyou:

[tirediron]

Hmmm... This doesn't make sense to me. The low-pass filter is normally made out of something akin to mineral glass; in other words, it's as hard as the hubs of hell. Scratching it should take a LOT of effort. What this looks like to me, at least in that one image is a smear of some sort. I would buy a wet cleaning kit and try that before you do anything drastic.

[kat]

Hmm..I wish I had another camera here to take a photo of what I am seeing! I haven't touched it, too scared too so maybe it is a smear!! Can I do the wet cleaning myself? Is it hard?

[tirediron]

Not difficult at all, and you can do it yourself. Go to your local real camera shop (NOT the Wal-mart photo counter) and get a proper wet-cleaning kit for your camera (Visible Dust products are my favorite) and follow the directions. You'll also find some good 'How to' videos on YouTube.

[kat]

Thank you! I will do that! :)

[jlabel]

YOu wouldnt want to touch the sensor, but what you see there is something smudged onto the lowpass filter, this filter stands between the sensor and the environment, you can use many products to clean it, I have seen tis smudge a lot on Canon 5D models, you must take a lot of care if you are going to clean yourself, best is using good cleaning equipment such as sensor swab and dry clean if possible.

[Barefoot]

Do yourself a big favor, and go read the article by Tom Hogan on cleaning a Nikon.

http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm

"...Recently, Nikon began using filters that have a special additional coating on them (Indium Tin Oxide, or ITO for short). This coating is there to help the filter "shed" dust more easily (it essentially blocks some of the static charge that can build up and attract the dust). As with any coating, it is possible to damage it, and when you do so, the filter essentially needs to be replaced. Here's the list of cameras that do and don't have this coating:

* ITO coating: D40, D40x, D60, D70s, D80, D90, D300, D700, D2xs, D3, D3x
* No coating: D1, D1h, D1x, D2h, D2hs, D2x, D50, D70*, D100, D200

If you have a camera that has the ITO coating, Photographic Solutions says that you need to use a different liquid in cleaning it."

Nikon places a lot of trust in Tom, and you can, too. I followed his instructions to a tee without any problems, and the results were better than I expected.

[kat]

Awesome! Thanks you!!!