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Archive 2008 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

omarlyn
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p.1 #1 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

...OK, I finally took the plunge and purchased a 5D. I know a 'new' model is expected soon but I do not believe it'll be in my price range and what I really need is just a 'no-frills' FF camera (I came from film shooting and have been missing the 'look' of FF for the past 5 years) My question is about dust...I certainly have read many threads about dust in the 5D but I don't recall ever reading about WHY this seems to be more of an issue than with other cameras. Is dust in the 5D a 'real' issue or do some people simply have un-realistic expectations abouit digital cameras & dust. If it is real, then why is there a propensity for dust to be such an issue in the 5D and are there any recommended 'tricks' or hints about dealing with the 'dust-issue' Your responses will be most helpful.

Omar

Aug 12, 2008 at 03:56 PM

timnosenzo
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p.1 #2 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I don't know, I don't take any special precautions with my 5D and I don't think I have any extraordinary dust issues. I tend to blow the sensor off with a rocket blower maybe once every two weeks, maybe do a wet clean once every 6 months. I have some dust in the viewfinder, but I hardly notice it and it doesn't effect the pictures, so I don't worry about it.

Enjoy your new camera!

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:04 PM

Sean Mills
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p.1 #3 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

Its no more an issue with the 5D than any other cam. There's jsut more surface area on the sensor, so you get proportionately more dust. Just learn to dry clean it before you go shooting each time, and the occasional wet clean.

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:20 PM

mslifkin
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p.1 #4 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

Hi Omar,

Dust is an issue with all digital cameras, not just the 5D. I've got 2 5Ds that I use for wedding photography, and I check them periodically for sensor dust. If I find some I take a Rocket Blower (a rubber bulb with a plastic nozzle) and blow it out. 5D's might be prone to dust in the viewfinder. It's annoying, but it won't affect your images. The Rocket Blower does a pretty good job with that, too. I'm on my second Rebel XTi (they vibrate the filter in front of the sensor to shake off any dust that might be on it), and both of them had dust on the sensor when I got them. It happens. The way to check for dust on the sensor is to shoot the sky at say f/22. Load the image into Photoshop, and for good measure do an AutoLevel. If you see spots, that's dust. If it's in the upper right hand corner of the image, it will be in the lower left hand corner of the sensor (looking in the lens mount). On the 5D (actually, all the Canon DSLRs) there's a menu item called Sensor Cleaning. This will flip the mirror up and open the shutter so you can go in and (carefully) clean the sensor. MAKE SURE THE BATTERY IS FULLY CHARGED when you do this, and avoid touching the sensor. Turn off the camera when you're done, then shoot the sky again.

Some things you can do to minimize the amount of dust that gets in the camera are to turn the camera off before you change lenses, and to point the body opening down while you're changing lenses. If you're using a zoom lens in a particularly dust environment, by zooming in and out you're drawing air (and dust) into the camera. Always keep a body cover on the camera when there's no lens on it, and always keep back covers on your lenses when they're not on a body. It wouldn't hurt to blow any dust off of the rear element before you mount it on the camera, too. The 5D is a great camera; I'm sure that you'll be very happy with it.

Regards,
Marc

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:23 PM

Don Clary
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p.1 #5 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I've owned a 5D since two weeks after it was first delivered. And I shoot only primes, so it is unlikely that anyone else changes lenses as often as I do.

My question is about dust...Is dust in the 5D a 'real' issue or do some people simply have un-realistic expectations

Let me split that answer into two parts: sensor and viewfinder. I find less dust on my sensor than on my 20D, so sensor dust for me is a non-issue. Viewfinder dust: this viewfinder is worse about dust than any camera I've ever owned. I brush off dust from the near side of the SI plate, and make no more effort to disassemble the viewfinder. Dust in the viewfinder is irritating, but does not show up in the picture.

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:25 PM

Dave Jr
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p.1 #6 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

No, it's not.

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:26 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #7 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

It's way overhyped by over paranoid people with a mild case of OCD.

Aug 12, 2008 at 04:33 PM

itsskin
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p.1 #8 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

No dust problem.
Just don't change the lens for 10 minutes, putting camera open mount up.
Yes, it needs cleaning, but not more often, then others Canons with "Dust removal system". Just prepare your changing lens in advance, find not windy, not dusty place, quickly change the lens (holding camera down) and attach the rear lens cap on the removed lens. Good idea to blow the mount before lens change. Also god idea to put the the lens on the table, or something like this, standing rear end up and put the camera on it. Hard to describe, but I think you got the idea.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:02 PM

Daan B
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p.1 #9 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

You will find dust on your sensor sooner or later... 5D or any other DSLR... Comes with the territory

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:07 PM

abam
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p.1 #10 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

dust will happen more on the 5D. it has a large sensor and no anti-dust system. mine collects more dust (on the sensor) than my 40D.

whatev. great camera.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:10 PM

ward1066
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p.1 #11 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I have found with a new body that dust is a lot of times generated when breaking in the camera. It must be from the shutter or something. I avoid blowing air in the camera because it seems to get dust in the viewfinder. If I see a little dust in the viewfinder I take out the focus screen and blow it off. After a couple thousand shutter actuations I will givethe camera a wet (copperhill) cleaning or send it in to canon under warranty. The 5D was the dustiest camera of all that I have owned.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:13 PM

Steve Torelli
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p.1 #12 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

Some people think " I own camera XXX and flugistat went bad in the first two weeks, ergo, it must be a design flaw."
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong for somebody, just not for everybody. There's currently another thread about the 5d's mirror falling out. Somebody had a 5D and their mirror fell out. So they bitch about it in a forum. The next thing you know there are people asking about the the "mirror falling out problem that all 5Ds have".
Same thing with dust. I've had two 5Ds, one since a month after they came out, with no problem. Think about it, what could be different about a 5D that would attract dust to the sensor more so than any other DSLR ?

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:15 PM

Chuck Fry
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p.1 #13 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I frequently find noticeable dust in photos shot with my 5D. However, most of the time, a simple squeeze blower gets rid of it.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:47 PM

Braeden Rogers
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p.1 #14 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I have never had a problem with it.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:53 PM

Gochugogi
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p.1 #15 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I bought a 5D 4/2006 and it camera with pre-installed dust, sorta a factory option: tiny black particles in the mirror chamber (flocking overspray?) and hundreds of while lint from the packaging. The CMOS and VF were covered from day one. I thought about sending it back, but decided to clean the mirror chamber, VF & CMOS. That was 4/2006 and I've never needed to clean it again. The VF and CMOS are spotless.

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:59 PM

David Israel
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p.1 #16 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I may have been the one who scared Omar about the dust, with an inadvertant comment (part of an unrelated topic we discussed privately).

Out of four digital cameras (2 40D's, 1 Mark III and 1 5D), my 5D collected noticeably more dust than my other cameras (taking the same precautions with each camera). This should not be misintrepreted as complaining (as I agree with Daan B that dust "comes with the territory"); it is merely a statement of fact about the cameras that "I own or have owned." Others here have stated that they have had similar experience.

IMO, it would be a mistake to see this as some kind of flaw in the camera itself (as Steve Torelli pointed out). The real issue is how to minimize the amount of dust collecting on the sensor and in the viewfinder and how to deal with the dust when it is there. And to these two questions, I think really great advice has already been presented above.

For the record, I loved my 5D and can't wait for it's successor to become available (hopefully soon!).

Dave I.

Edited on Aug 12, 2008 at 06:01 PM

Aug 12, 2008 at 05:59 PM

pthompson
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p.1 #17 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

Steve Torelli wrote:
I've had two 5Ds, one since a month after they came out, with no problem. Think about it, what could be different about a 5D that would attract dust to the sensor more so than any other DSLR ?

I also purchased one of the first 5D's out...and my cam arrived with a bucketfull of crap on the sensor and in the viewfinder. After repeated cleaning for a couple of months, there was no longer any unusual problem. The only difference is, the clearance between the sensor and the inside walls of the case is so tight that it does require more care when wet cleaning than does my 10D...

It certainly should not be a consideration for anyone who wants to buy a great camera.

Aug 12, 2008 at 06:12 PM

RyanFlynn
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p.1 #18 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I have two, and they've gone a lot of places and taken a lot of images. It's an overblown issue by people with nothing better to do. It's not any worse than any other DSLR.

Aug 12, 2008 at 06:24 PM

matt4626
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p.1 #19 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

Early 5D's had a view finder dust problem. Canon cleaned mine at no charge and had it back to me in less than a week. As far as dust on the sensor..my 5D is the cleanest DSLR I've owned.
No Problems

Aug 12, 2008 at 06:28 PM

dst.zero
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p.1 #20 · 5D & Dust...Is this a real issue?

I can almost guarantee that you will have dust in the VF especially after the first time you use a rocket blower. It was annoying but I got over it pretty quickly since it is fairly easy to ignore after I got used to it and it doesnt affect the pictures. I just picked up my dads old AE-1 and the VF on that thing is filled with dust but it never was a problem when using it. Dust on the sensor is easier to deal with than the VF and I have yet to have any that was visible below ~f/12. I bought a rocket blower and the copperhill kit to handle any sensor dust. If you really look for dust on the sensor then you will probably find some but I stopped going out of my way to look for it and will only address it when it shows up in my normal images (but I dont stop down >f/8 much).

Edited on Aug 12, 2008 at 06:33 PM

Aug 12, 2008 at 06:29 PM

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