Sounds like you need a sensor cleaning. A way to verify that is to shoot a even blue sky at f16 and you should see spots. Then shoot it at 2.8 and generally you won't see many.
The in camera sensor cleaning isn't all that effective.
Buy a Sensor Swab with the Eclipse fluid already on it and clean it yourself, it's a lot cheaper and you can do it whenever you want. When I had a 5D I had to clean that puppy once a week.
Creativesifu wrote:
What is a reasonable Cost and expectation? When I shoot pictures on Solid sky or white backgrounds I see spots in the pictures.
Will a $40 cleaning at the camera shop fix this? Or are they just doing the sensor cleaning that the camera already says it is doing?
$30-60 is fairly typical to have a camera store clean a sensor. You can do it yourself for free once you have the tools. Google clean sensor and your camera model.
For years I have been using a rocket blower and a small vacuum held at a small distance(depending on the power of your vacuum). It is free and works like charm.
I do most cleanings myself, but, sometimes after shooting in places like dunes, etc, the sensor can get dirty enough that it's time to have a pro do it. Here in Minneapolis, we have a camera shop that will clean your sensor for a flat $50 no matter how dirty it is or how much time it actually takes them to get it clean. It's well worth it on the rare occasions it's needed.
The $42 fee at my store (Vistek) covers a sensor AND mirror/focus screen clean. And yes, it's a much more thorough cleaning than what the built-in sensor vibration will achieve.
The in camera sensor cleaning isn't all that effective.
On the contrary, there have been several instances where I've had spots on my 7D sensor and running the in-camera sensor cleaning mechanism a few times in a row has solved the problem. When that hasn't worked, a quick cleaning with a rocket blower, as suggested above, has done the job
I haven't had to perform a wet cleaning at all in three years of owning the camera, even though I sometimes remove and/or install an extender while in the field.
To be honest it's not that hard. Taking your camera to the store to have a "pro" do it...the pro being the clerk who isn't doing anything for the next 15 minutes is like taking your car to the car dealer to check the air in your tires.
