Note: Photo tips are answers to questions asked on our Facebook page. If you would like to submit a question, please click here to submit your question. We will then post them on our Facebook page and let our fans respond to the question. We will then transfer the question over to our blog so we can keep them in an organized way for others to see.
Question from Lesley: “When I take photos with my 18-55mm lens lately I’m seeing both a squiggle (looks like a small hair almost) and a spot in the photos. Everything’s been cleaned multiple times and as far as my eyes can see there appears to be nothing, but it’s still showing up in the photos. Suggestions?”
Caren: dirty camera or lens
Tera: Sorry to say the problem may be deeper than just debris on the lens. It could be within your camera, within the shutter.
Bridget: Try another lens, is it still there? Shoot at a bright area, and vary your aperture so you can see it best. It’s either the lens or the sensor, try to figure out which.
Brian: It’s probably on the sensor. I had the same thing happen to me. Had to take it in to a repair shop to have it cleaned
Colleen: is it just with this one lens? if not…maybe your sensor? If just this lens and you have cleaned both ends (and under any filters), then I would recommend taking it into a photo shop….might be under the glass…
Brian: the best way to check to see if there’s dirt on your sensor is… One find a white wall or a large enough white target that can fill your frame…
Go to full manual mode plus manual focus
Set shutter speed to 5+ seconds or bulb mode
Set your focus to infinity
Then Take a picture, while your shutter is open, slowly shake your camera…
When you look at your picture, the only things in focus or not blurred should be the dirt on your sensor.
Brian: If you identify dirt on your sensor then, you can look into cleaning your sensor. then you can try using a rocket blower on it…
Turn your camera to bulb mode
Turn camera upside down (so sensor is facing the floor)
Hold your shutter open
Blow your rocket blower up
It helps to make sure you’re in an environment where there is no moving air (close all windows, turn off your fans, etc)l
Rosanna: I had the same thing a hair on the mirror
Lesley: Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. It’s only with the 18-55 lens; others are fine. I’ll try suggestions above beginning tomorrow.
Thankfully both are near the very edge of photos, so I can crop them out afterwards (for now) with no problem as long as I account for it before hand… and they only really show if the photo is of the sky or something, not if there’s something happening in that area of the photo.
Feel free to keep responding to this question using our comment section below.