Any advice what happened to my D600?

[BRuhling]

I was out with my wife yesterday taking pictures with my D600 using my Nikon 24-70mm. The camera was on my tripod. I took this picture at f/2.8:

I then adjusted the aperture to f/22 and took this picture without changing anything else or moving the camera:

Notice the black spots? I decided to see if it was the lens, so this morning I set up the tripod and took the following series changing only the lens. All are shot at f/9:


24-70 w/ B+H Filter:

24-70 w/o B+H Filter:

50mm Nikon prime:

60mm Nikon Micro:

I know this last series of the three lenses is overprocessed, I did it to highlight the issue I'm seeing. Is this a sign that somehow something got on the sensor? If so, how could it happen without removing the lens or moving the camera at all? Any help would be appreciated, especially because only Nikon can service the D600 and I don't really want to ship my brand new camera out for an extended period...

 

[djh]

It looks like you are well overdue for a sensor clean Bill. The dust spots are obviously there in your first shot but not noticeable because of your large aperture. As soon as you shoot with a small aperture and point your camera towards a plain surface, they come into view. I'm not sure if your D600 might have a function whereby the sensor is automatically cleaned when the camera is turned on?

 

[BRuhling]

It does have that feature. Between yesterday and today, I actually used the sensor clean function. I checked my settings and it is set to clean at turn on and turn off. Should I keep it set that way?

Is cleaning it something I can do myself, or should I take it to a shop?

 

[djh]

For some reason when I received my D700, that function was turned off (not sure if that may have been the default factory setting) and it was only after I discovered a couple of dust spots that I searched for the function and enabled it.

Cleaning is definitely something that you can do yourself if you have the gear- it might be worthwhile to check youtube for a tutorial. If you are in doubt, best to see your local camera store.

 

[Hards80]

buy some sensor swabs and eclipse solution. then read a few tutorials and watch a few youtube videos.

its a bit intimidating before you start since you have to touch your sensor, but after you do it, its really nothing difficult. and learning to do it yourself saves you trips to the camera shop or sending in your camera to be cleaned.

 

[rajagra]

The best test is to manually set focus as close as possible, stop down as much as possible, and take a photo of a white wall or similar. Don't worry if the exposure time is long, if anything that helps the test - moving the camera ensures the 'real' image is totally blurred, and anything sharp that appears in the photo is from dirt.

A simple cleaning can be done with a blower bulb. Take off the lens, lock the shutter open (if camera allows - if not take a 30s shot), point the camera downwards, and blow into the camera body. DO NOT use canned air to do this, it can damage the shutter. Start with gentle puffs, use more pressure if necessary.

Don't try wiping the sensor without proper equipment. I've had good results with a Visible Dust brush. You can see details and before/after shots here. To repeat, that canned air is NOT used on the camera. It is used to blow on the brush to charge it up with static.

 

[BRuhling]

Thank you for the advice. Given the fact that my camera is less than one month old, and I fear scratching the sensor filter, I am going to have it done by a professional this time. I've located a reputable shop here that says they can do it for what I consider relatively reasonable ($60), so I'll go that route this time...

 

[Blooze]

I finally bought one of the copperhill kits a while back because the dust spots had gotten bad enough that it was becoming a pain to clone them out in PS. Took me a few nervous tries, but both my cameras are clean as a whistle now. The bulb thing works well sometimes. Get a Giottos rocket blower if you're going to do it though and keep it stored in a sealed ziplock to make sure it stays as dust free as possible. On my D40 the blower actually made things worse and that's why I had to buy the Copperhill stuff, FWIW.

As a side note, I know that the D7000 owners had a bit of trouble with the shutter mechanism throwing oil on the sensor. Hopefully that is not an issue with the D600.

 

[lu20vt]

Bill. That is easily solved,Search the camera menu mirror lock, and isopropyl alcohol to clean the ears stick..with great care and very little wet cotton tip .. f22 photo to heaven to see if it has been properly cleaned.

 

[xillion]

Bill,

Your camera is so new that Nikon may clean the sensor for free.

There is some info in the dpreview thread below.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50013657

Also, here is a post regarding D600 dust and oil issues.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3277688#forum-post-50010907

 

[rajagra]

You could always try taking the lens off, pointing the camera down, and firing off a few shots. Hopefully dust will be dislodged and fall out, and there's no risk involved.
Or do the sensor clean function in the same way.
Won't help if it's oil spots as mentioned in those earlier links though.

 

[cdrross]

Looks like the issue that they ha with the D7000 - oil.
Nikon had over-lubed the mirror assembly and folks started to notice oil in their shots. I believe when you increase the DoF, it would be a bit more prevalent. You want to be sure that it didn't get to the lens.

 

[Lesmore]

I'm thinking...the D600 just came out....your's must be one of the first ones...check out your first photos...did the sensor come that way from the factory ? I would call Nikon USA and talk to them about it....maybe there are some bad sensors. Stuff happens with every make of camera, particularly early production numbers.

Be careful of what is done, or who works on your camera. You don't want to effect the warranty of a brand new expensive piece of photo equipment.

When I first read your post and looked at the photo's I thought you were concerned about the metering. Some of the pics seemed to have exposure problems. Compare the first pix of your wife to the 2nd photo of your wife. #1 seems not exposed well...# 2 of your wife seems to be perfect exposure wise. BTW, she makes a very pretty model.

 

[blary54]

This is a great product that you can throw into your camera bag. I use it to blow off the sensor and anything else that may acquire dust.

http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-AA190...&qid=1350263589&sr=8-5&keywords=camera+duster

 

[Legion]

This is a great product that you can throw into your camera bag. I use it to blow off the sensor and anything else that may acquire dust.

http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-AA190...&qid=1350263589&sr=8-5&keywords=camera+duster

+1. They are about the best blower I have found.

As for cleaning the sensor with a swab, I advise getting a pro to do it. Make sure they are an authorised Nikon service agent or you might void your warranty.

What are the chances that one of those spots would be shaped just like an aeroplane? Weird.

 

[Blooze]

Agreed about talking to Nikon. Looks like oil spots to me. Unless you have the proper stuff to clean the sensor you'll just smear it around and make the situation worse. I've had bad dust spots but even at f/22 they never looked that "defined". I have a good friend who is deep into digital photography that always used a swab and some ethanol to clean his sensor, till he screwed it up. He now almost 99% can get the dust with one of the Artic Butterfly brushes.

 

[Go Forth]

Did you apply border effects or exposure/contrast processing? It would be good to see the original images without processing or cropping. If the darkness on top of the image is not intended, then there is a serious problem.

 

[BRuhling]

It was a dirty sensor. I bought some sensor swabs and it is good as new!

 

[Go Forth]

It was a dirty sensor. I bought some sensor swabs and it is good as new!

Great. However, if they were oil droplets, then there is a shutter problem. If they recur, you may want to contact Nikon and do a search for others with the same issue.

 

[celestino]

It was a dirty sensor. I bought some sensor swabs and it is good as new!

* Bill, great to hear that you have resolved the problem.