marks on photos

[Helenhenn]

I have a Nex-3 and have real problems taking photos with blue or white skies as there always seems to be something on my lens - I clean my lenses regularly and also use a blower - any advice on getting good shots on a bright pale background without the shadown of a piece of fluff!

Thanks

[Mick2011]

Hi Helenhenn, welcome to the Sony Forums

Hard to be certain without seeing an example, but it sounds very much like dust on the sensor chip inside the camera body & is a very common problem.

You can remove the spots from your images using a clone tool in Photoshop or similar. The fact is, there is always a certain amount of dust on your sensor (it's carrying an electrical charge, after all) and most people put up with it to some extent. Becoming adept at using a clone tool will save you frequent and potentially damaging sensor & mirror cleaning.

Ok, that said, if it gets very bad you should get the camera cleaned. For loose dust, this can be a DIY job. A brushless blower is good if you're careful and can manage to use one with the camera opening facing downwards, so the dust doesn't get blown further into the housing. It won't shift anything but loose particles, and I have to say, brushes aren't much better for more stuck-on stuff, which needs liquid solvent, and expert hands. This page illustrates the options well.

Personally I would never physically touch the sensor even with a specialist brush; they're way too easy to mark and very expensive to replace. Using liquid solvent in particular is not for faint-hearted types like me... any decent camera shop will offer a reasonably-price sensor cleaning service and I'd recommend you look at that if you're in any doubt about your ability.

Hope that helps

Mick

[mydearcosmo]

You should try shooting a photo against the sunlight. This way, you can capture the skies clearly.

[gimp69]

Have you cleaned the sensor with your blower?  Might just be a bit of fluff on it.