***DSLR/Photography MegaThread***

Flag image is bangin'...except for one thing: There is a TON of dirt on your sensor, man! Get busy with that dust-off!

And I concur with the "slight green-ness" of the carousel image...from a calibrated screen.
 
The largest specs seem to be about an inch above the top right corner of the blue field of the flag. There's about five of them there. They basically look like round dark blue blobs about 1/8 inch in dia. I lost count at seven of them.
 
FlyBoeingJets said:
The largest specs seem to be about an inch above the top right corner of the blue field of the flag. There's about five of them there. They basically look like round dark blue blobs about 1/8 inch in dia. I lost count at seven of them.
Click to expand...

I see 'em now. I'll have to look out for stuff like that on my own shots.


That brings up a question:

Do you guys clean your own sensors or do you bring the body to a shop for cleaning? If you do clean your own, what process do you use? Products?

Thanks.
 
BleedingPurple said:
That brings up a question:

Do you guys clean your own sensors or do you bring the body to a shop for cleaning? If you do clean your own, what process do you use? Products?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

AS said on the board in so many other places..... THIS.

I'm having problems with that too... spots appear on the image. While I spend a considerable amount of time on photoshop anyway, I'd like to not have to fix the spots in all my images.
 
A bulb is your best weapon, but if you have stuff that is "welded on" that the blower can't get, I use Eclipse II fluid (which is no where near as good as the original Eclipse, but it doesn't damage my particular sensor) and sensor swabs, which are just pec pads wrapped around a stick that is the size of your sensor. The company that makes the stuff stands pretty firmly behind their product in that it won't damage your camera, they in fact will replace your camera if the product does damage it.

Photographic Solutions site here, which will tell you what size swabs and which Eclipse fluid. You can also get it on Amazon. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Visible-Dust-Brite-Sensor-Loupe/dp/B00127ZT74/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229975493&sr=8-2"]A sensor scope[/ame] A sensor scope (which is the link to the left there, amazon with their webby powers wrote over the text I wanted as a link with "Amazon") is also handy so you can actually see if you still have junk on there without having to put the lens back on a shoot a shot to see.

With all that said, it is almost always remedied with a few strong shots from the blower bulb.
 
Last edited:
I've cleaned sensors on all three of my Nikons and had no problems. I've never used fluid swabs, it's always been either a bulb blower or canned air.

Yep. Canned air. If you stand the canned air can on a flat surface like your desk and move your camera body instead of the can (and use short bursts of air), the chance of fluid coming out of the canned air tube is minimal. I used to use the bulb only, but then I had some more stubborn specks and tried it for the first time about a year ago. Since then, I haven't met a dust spec that hasn't been eliminated.
 
When I was at Canon in Irvine, there was a guy dropping his camera off for sensor cleaning. It's free if your camera is under warranty and they told him to pick it up in 2 hours.

Whenever I turn my 50D on or off it says "Cleaning Sensor". I hope it works.
 
Yikes.

That might have been dust on the lens. I'm not sure that my sensor could EVER get dirty since my XTi has that nifty sensor cleaning message that comes up every time I turn the camera on and off. ;)

Plus the fact that I only own one lens, so I'm not sure how dust would have gotten in to begin with.

Either way, I'll see about doing a dust cleaning pass on the flag and throw some color correction on the Merry go Round for y'all.

Regarding the timed exposure of the Merry Go-Round, it was definitely a situation of a low planter holding up the camera and limited ability to frame and shoot before my wife got even more ticked at me for neglecting the family on our trip to the train park. Heh.
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to replace a photo on Flickr without losing any of it's comments or pool affiliations?

I'm not seeing anything in my *cough* non-pro account *cough* settings...

I suppose I could re-up the cleaned up flag and cc'd Merry Go Round, but I'd rather replace them.
 
Setting goals.​

Well, as the year grinds to an end, I have to look back at how far things have come.

My New Years' resolution last January was to take photography seriously. Based on the beliefs of my lovely spouse, I decided to set goals for myself to keep my eye on the prize.

My first goal was to shoot at a Derby Dolls roller derby game. DONE!

After I did that, my goal was to shoot from INSIDE the track where the skaters are. DONE!

I wanted to win a prize in a photo contest. DONE!

I needed to get a gig where I could have a reason for bands/events to let me in as media to concerts or exclusive functions. DONE! (When LAist contacted me through my Flikr account ad asked me to come on board)

I wanted to shoot a big concert by a major arena band. DONE! Nine Inch Nails at the Forum.

I wanted to shoot Kings games. DONE! (Huge goal achieved)

I wanted to be in PRINT. DONE! (People Magazine was the first followed by a few others).

I wanted to be in the District Magazine. (One of my original big goals that I thought was a pipe dream). DONE! (Three pics the Best of Long Beach Issue and my first PAYING gig, including a shot that spanned 1 1/3 pages) This one was a huge goal that I had from the beginning.

I wanted to get paid. DONE! (see above).

HERE ARE SOME GOALS THAT I AM SO VERY CLOSE TO:

I want to be a regular contributor on the District Magazine (Work in progress, I have had a few assignments that fell through but we have big plans for 2009!)

I want to be in Rolling Stone Magazine. It's the pinnacle of music publications. Is this too lofty of a goal? I thought it might be, but a couple of weeks ago they contacted me and wanted to use a photo for their online version. To me, this doesn't count as being in Rolling Stone so I am still working on this one. Featured again in their "2008's Wildest Rock Photographs" this week.

So the reason for this message is not to brag since I feel like I'm just getting started and have so much to learn. It's to confirm what my wife has been preaching for years. SET YOUR GOALS and it gives you something to strive for. By the time you achieve it, you have had a vision of it happening for so long that it just seems right when it finally occurs.

Set your goals!

See you in Rolling Stone Magazine. ;)
 
I'm surprised by your, well, surprise. You shoot a lot of great stuff. Consistently. The only thing that actually surprises me is that this didn't happen a long time ago.

Congrats of the great year, Mike!
 
Blurker said:
Yikes.

That might have been dust on the lens. I'm not sure that my sensor could EVER get dirty since my XTi has that nifty sensor cleaning message that comes up every time I turn the camera on and off. ;)

Plus the fact that I only own one lens, so I'm not sure how dust would have gotten in to begin with.
Click to expand...

If it is on the lens, it is going to be out of focus enough that you won't notice it. Even on the sensor, shooting at low apertures, it will be out of focus enough not to notice. You only really see dust that is on the sensor, and you only really see it when shooting stopped down.

Is your one lens a zoom perchance? That increases the chance of pumping air (and dust) into the mirror box, which has a chance of landing on the sensor. Even if you only have a prime, with every atmospheric change, you are moving air (and whatever else) into and out of the mirror box.

The self cleaning sensors do move some of the "easy" stuff off the sensor, but it isn't a substitute for a good shot from the rocket blower (or if you have huevos of steel like Glenn, a shot from the canned air).
 
That was a fantastic year for you Mike, congrats on both setting and reaching your goals. I certainly could stand to set a few for myself :)
 
Blurker said:
3130046458_5571536ec5_b.jpg



3129217025_f815b58001_b.jpg
Click to expand...

Cleaned up the flag photo and tweaked the color on the Merry go Round.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Now Chirping

  • No one is chatting at the moment.

Share this page

Back
Top