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  5. It's not dust.... Help please

It's not dust.... Help please


5 years 2 months ago #631409 by Khelm
I have noticed three spots on my lens that I do not believe to be dust.  My lens is a fixed lens so there is not dust on the sensor.  The first photo was taken in the last two weeks.  The second was in the last two months and the third was taken last summer.  You can see the center/top is in all three photos.  I was unable to find other examples not taken in the last month with the two spots on the middle left.  If there is something in the area it will generally hide the spots and when the area is flat/empty the spots are visible.  I've noticed if the area is blown out (usually when shooting and having the sky in the frame) you cannot see the top middle one (at all or as much).  I have a cleaning pen with a brush on one end and a soft pad on the other end and I use it.  Any thoughts? are there imperfections with my lens now?  Should I be a little more firm and forceful while cleaning the lens? should I use a liquid... etc etc.  Any help is appreciated.  Thank you all in advance.


Make: FUJIFILM
Model: X100T
ISO: 1000
Aperture: f/11.0
Shutter speed: 1/500 sec
Captured: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 10:47am
Make: FUJIFILM
Model: X100T
ISO: 500
Aperture: f/11.0
Shutter speed: 1/30 sec
Captured: Thu, 3 Jan 2019 18:06pm
Attachments:
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5 years 2 months ago #631412 by NewavaMike
I don't see any dust.  

That first one looks like an interesting place.  It looks ancient even.  Where is that ? 
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5 years 2 months ago #631414 by Stefan-Olsson
Waterstains, or stains on the lens of some kind. Obviously a nice clean lens is great to have, but just in case its super easy to get rid of in post.


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Attachments:
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5 years 2 months ago #631426 by Khelm

Stefan-Olsson wrote: Waterstains, or stains on the lens of some kind. Obviously a nice clean lens is great to have, but just in case its super easy to get rid of in post.


I have been cleaning them in Post... just more of a hassle now since I took photos for a client and had to clone out these spots in many photos.  This particular photo I was going to edit out the electric poles on the mountain left side of the frame so cloning the spots out wasn't a big deal.  But when dealing with 150 photos and having to go in and touch up so many it was a hassle I'd like to remove for the future.

Apart from PP any clues as to how to have a physical solution?
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5 years 2 months ago #631427 by Khelm

NewavaMike wrote: I don't see any dust.  

That first one looks like an interesting place.  It looks ancient even.  Where is that ? 



It is Songpan, China.  The city has a long history of being an outpost in olden days with walls.  It was also heavily bombed by the Japanese during WWII.  On the right side on the mountain you can see the western gate.  From there terraces were constructed so they could farm and have crops even if under siege.  There is a small river running through town giving them water.  I took this while on a hike gaining around 1500 ft in elevation.  At this point maybe I was around the same elevation as the West Gate seen in the photo.  You can also see the earth wall that was constructed up the mountain to the gate.
The following user(s) said Thank You: NewavaMike
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5 years 2 months ago #631450 by Steve Rodriguez
Love the second shot! 
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5 years 2 months ago #631508 by Stefan-Olsson
Have a sensor clean done
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5 years 2 months ago #631516 by GaryA
Looks like sensor dust to me. At smaller apertures the dust will be more readily defined/visible than at larger apertures.  The dust, most likely, is on every image, but just not as visible as it may be incorporated into other objects/elements in the photo and/or you were shooting with a larger aperture giving the dust less definition. While one would think a fixed lens is a cure-all against dust, dust could creep in if the camera isn't completely sealed (in dusty conditions while changing batteries or a card) and it is also possible the dust landed on the sensor during the manufacturing process.
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
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5 years 2 months ago #631517 by garyrhook
Non-interchangeable lens doesn't mean sealed against airflow. +1 on dust.
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5 years 2 months ago #631529 by Shadowfixer1
Looks like water spots from condensation inside the camera body to me. This can happen in very humid or moving from cold to hot conditions. 
www.betterphoto.com/?ramshots
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5 years 2 months ago #631561 by garyrhook

Shadowfixer1 wrote: Looks like water spots from condensation inside the camera body to me. This can happen in very humid or moving from cold to hot conditions. 


Oh, very good. I've never seen that before, but it makes perfects sense given the size of those spots.

You da man.
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5 years 2 months ago #631562 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day Khelm

Firstly - I have had dust bunnies inside a fixed-lens digital camera
Secondly - I agree with others here that it *is* dust bunnies

Try this
1) set Aperture mode then the smallest aperture ... F11 - F16 sort of thing
2) point the camera to an empty piece of sky and take a pic
3) point slightly sideways and take two more pics

Examine all 3 pics to see whether the dark spots are all in the same location inside the 'empty' image

For my money - it's a trip back to Fuji for a "grease & oil change"

Hope this helps
Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/
Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/
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5 years 2 months ago #631581 by Khelm
Thank you all for your thoughts, suggestions, and information.  I would of thought the lens and sensor areas of the camera would of been better protected since it has a fixed lens.  Being in China I'll have to do some research on location and cost for an "Oil change" as Ozzy_traveler put it haha.    I was in a bit of a panic mode as I don't have money for a new camera and was concerned it was something more permanent since I would clean my lens but the spot would remain.  Again thanks everyone.
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5 years 2 months ago #632281 by NewavaMike
this place rocks !!
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5 years 2 months ago #632333 by GaryA
Good Luck Khelm ... and Good Shooting.
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
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