Thu, 20 Jul 2006
It turns out that the problem I had with the spots on my sensor have actually been there from the very first picture I made with the camera. In other words , the camera's been _delivered_ with dust on the sensor , right fresh from the shop.
The only thing I had done before making that first shot was unpack the camera, remove the protective lids on the camera and lens-back and join those two together. The chance of _that_ action alone producing that amount of dust is negligable..
The interesting thing is that I don't seem to be the only one having had this problem; there are reports on the net of other people with spots on their sensor that report that the dust has been there from the start. Also, people complain that there's a chance that if you let Canon clean your sensor for you; you'll get it back with the dust re-distributed, but not removed.
So, €60,- onwards, at least I fixed the problem and have geared myself up so that I can solve further issues by myself, too.. but somehow my sense of justice is forcing my criminal mind to think of ways on how to extort that €60,- back out of Canon for having me go through all these hoops just to get what I paid for; a camera that'll produce spotless pictures (at least that may be expected of a €1000,-+ camera, right ?
Mood: Annoyed at Canon , Grrrrr
Fri, 14 Jul 2006
The scene: two days before I'd be leaving on a trip to Oerol Festival my old camera happened to give out and started producing weirdly distorted images.
To solve that, I hastened myself through what felt like hundreds of online reviews and guides about many different models of digital mirror-reflex (SLR) cameras, though I really already knew what I probably would end up buying.
Enter, Canon 350D or Canon Rebel XT (for those in North America) or even the Canon Kiss (for those in the Nihon region).
Since I'd already acquired a Canon Eos Rebel 2000 earlier from a colleague, for the paltry sum of €75,- , it was ultimately a simple decision to go with another Canon camera since their lenses can be interchanged. That is, my analog lenses would fit the digital body; the reverse is not always true (the EF-S series lenses don't fit the analog bodies).
So, hastily purchasing a Canon 'Photo Kit', I'm not in slight financial trouble but at least I've got a working camera again! As an aside, let me inform you that, in case you're debating buying one of these babies aswell: go for a/the kit. That is to say; there's many kits out there and most shops only stock the 'only camera' or 'camera + lens' kit. Since the lens only adds €20,- to the purchase-price for the kit, it's a good deal. Ontop of that, there's a kit with the following:
. The camera
. The basic 18-55mm EF-S lens (which doesnt fit on analog cameras)
. A 55-200mm EF USM lens (which DOES fit on analog cameras)
. A battery-grip that'll fit two Canon battery-packs OR 6 AA-penlites (HANDY!)
The fact that the battery grip costs $220,- seperately, and the lens was on display for €275,- at the shop I bought the camera at; the extra €300 that I paid for the set was well worth it; especially since the extra lens was of a type that I could use on the 'old' analog camera, too.
Allright, so then it only took about 4 days for me to get all manner of dust and spots on my camera's CCD sensor. Reading up on the subject, I quickly found out that it's basically something that happens to a lot of Digital SLR owners quite early on. 4 days might be a record, but then, I have yet to ascertain wether or not the spots were there when I bought the camera, already, or not.
The 'nicest' way to get rid of the spots is to let Canon clean it (€75), or perhaps a professional in Amsterdam (€45,-), or maybe even a handy photographer not so closeby (€15,-). However, I reckoned that since it only took 4 days for me to get dust on the sensor, it might be better for me to invest in some method of being able to learn to clean it by myself.
Now, since I'm a particularly stupid person; I had to go about messing with the camera to get it off by 'other means', first. The Canon manual states that air is the best (and only!) way to get the dust off in any 'safe' way. I'm sure it is, but since the pressure of the bulb I had wasnt sufficient, I decided blowing into the camera. Ofcourse I made sure to blow my lips dry first, etc. and it all went well for the first 10 times I tried to get a particularly recalcitrant spot off the glossy surface of the sensor. However, it only takes one 'oopsie' and there you are; little particles of moisture on the sensor and a camera owner about to cry.
The option that remains then is to choose between different kinds of Sensor Swab or Sensor Swipe products. The first is a 'real product', that is to say; all parts are actually produced by Photographic Solutions, Inc. But at €50 and up for 10 'swabs' and a bottle of Methyl Alcohol, it aint cheap. Especially not since most sites reviewing 'sensor cleaning methods' informed me that it'll take at least 4 or 5 tries for you to 'get the hang of it'.
The second product (SensorSwipe) is actually just a 'prepackaged and commercially available' continuatin of the idea to use a modified spatula and a Pec*Pad to clean the sensor. The idea being that a silicone-rubber spatula is flexible enough to make sure you don't press too hard on the sensor. The Pec*Pad being a product sold by the formerly mentioned Photographic Solutions Inc. it's an interestingly conflicting product. PSI maintains that the PEC*PAD shouldnt be used for cleaning anyting as delicate as a CCD-sensor and produce their Sensor Swab product in 'Cleanroom Environments' to be sure that no contaminants get mixed in with the fabric.
Since the SensorSwipe product comes with PEC*PAD's enough for '100 uses', I decided to go for that option instead of the 10 Swabs I'd be getting with the SensorSwab product. And, indeed, it took a heart-wrenching and nerve-wrecking 6 tries to get the sensor completely clean; mostly due to the spots left after blowing into the sensor from my mouth.. (don't do this kids!.. I mean it!).
Now, the sensor's clean as a whistle again and I still have 94 PEC*PADs left to clean up after my next fuckup. Phew ! ;)
In the process of looking for online photography resources, I've bumped into a large number of cool DIY projects related to things you can do with/for/by digital photography... I'll be posting a list with some neat resources some time soon.
Keep you posted!