It...Broke... =(

The short but not so sweet version of what happened: I was shooting with my Nikon D-60 was on my new tripod and the head of the tripod fell off taking the camera and lens with it. The starter kit lens that was on it broke right off the camera when it hit the (carpeted) floor. Little flimsy plastic black things that help screw on the lens to the camera body broke off making the lens unable to screw on again. Now the camera was laying on the floor without a lens on it face up for a few seconds which worries me (not like the other stuff doesn't...). Now I do have another lens, the 55-200mm VR, which I tried using with my camera after it fell. Now it does power up and everything, but in one of my pictures there seems to be some sort of particle and I'm worried it might be dust on the sensor. I tried finding it in other pictures I took to test out my camera but I'm not sure if that's what it really is. Also, when the camera was laying face up, the view finder now has something resembling a black dot(s) and most likely a little string from the carpet in it. I tried cleaning it with the brush from the lens cleaner kit but it didn't really work out to well. I don't know if this dot thing is inside the camera or what, which worries me a lot since I don't feel confident in my cleaning skills at all to dive inside the camera. Now that I think about it, my camera has been slower to switch the lcd screen from vertical position back to landscape position too (you know, when you tilt the camera on its side, the lcd screen switches). Now that I think about it, I was taking a picture of a stereo speaker and the camera wouldn't focus at all...it gave me a completely blurry image. What kills me the most is that I just got this camera too and I was so careful with it the whole time! =(

Ahhhhhh, I don't know what to do. I have no idea how much it will cost to fix the lens (it is possible right?) or if my camera needs to get looked at or how to clean the viewfinder on my camera or anything else regarding this matter.

Please help. Your insight into this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance too.

With my great displeasure, here is the picture with the spots in it near the bottom center (there are some to the right of that too I believe).

1- the lens, whils a bummer the broken lens mount may have saved you from worse damage to the body, yes they are fixable depending on the level of damage, you can even buy the mount and replace it yourself but that is not recommended if you do not know what you are doing, put it into the repair centre and get a quote.

2- yes it looks very much like sensor dust, but the size and location will mean you rarely will notice it, I would not worry for now, clean later when it is worse. It will only show in clear consistent colours with the lens stopped down more, which will be rare in this part of the frame (ie sky at bottom). If it really bothers you either get it cleaned or learn to do it yourself with a wet clean kit (or try your brush again carefully)

3- the viewfinder is hard to clean, but won't affect images, all up to how much it annoys, but likely the shop will do it better than you.

You could take your medicine and get a quote for all three and then decide, but if it were me I'd just fix the lens mount (or buy another lens if kaput) and not worry about the other two for now.

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

'There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.' - Steven Wright

indeed!

The dots: cleaning is possible, if you don't do it yourself you can have it done through a shop... (but not very cheap).

My canon has an option to 'record' these dots and take them into account next photos, for few and tiny dots that's an option. I guess your camera might have a simular option.

Alternately you can photograph a white paper (over exposing a bit so the white is white) and use this as a layer (in PS) to exclude the dots. But you'll have to do that on every photo you process, so I would do this only as a last resort.

As for the stereo speaker... keep in mind that the AF focuses on contrast. So if you aim at a speaker which is black on black (probably) the AF sensor won't find any contrast and can't focus. This is normal. So focus on the side of the speaker (or a logo or something) and recompose.
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All in my humble opionion of course!

(I might get a preposition wrong -or any other word for that matter-. English is a nice language, but it's not mine)

Any dust speckles visible in your viewfinder are definitely NOT on the sensor! They are on the underside of the focusing screen, which forms the ceiling of the camera chamber. This surface is accessible by taking the lens off and leaving the mirror DOWN....

...... and presumably that's how the dust got in there in the first place, when the lens was sheared off and the dust-laden air above the carpet was suddenly sucked inside.

Any dust actually on the sensor only shows in pictures (or in live view if your camera has that facility) and yes, some might have got on the sensor at the time of accident. You can confirm sensor dust by shooting against a plain background at small apertures (high f/numbers, around f/16, say). Dust will be more distinct than when shot at wider apertures.

Use your own preferred method for removing dust from sensor.... and don't panic about it. You were going to have to learn how to do it eventually....

To remove dust from underside of focusing screen...

1) try blowing it away with a rocket type blower

2) if that doesn't work, follow up with a sweeping with soft lens brush, or squirrel hair watercolour artist's brush.... (longer, gets in easier)

3) if that doesn't work, use a little tiny blob of brand-new "Blu-Tack" adhesive on the other end of a probe like the water colour brush. Go in there and very gently dab away any last specks with the sticky pad .. [Make sure the Blu-Tack really is clean and new, meaning not sullied by the finger grease that accumulates from kneading.]

I am sorry this happened to you. Any idea what it was that went wrong with the tripod head?
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Regards,
Baz

Barrie Davis said:

Use your own preferred method for removing dust from sensor.... and don't panic about it. You were going to have to learn how to do it eventually....

Click to expand...

Yes. There will always be dust in there eventually even if you don't change lenses; it can get sucked in by the action of a zoom. So you might as well learn how to do this. If you don;t have the manual you can download one free here:

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D60_ennoprint.pdf

... and follow the instructions on page 160 to 163. It looks as though the camera has a cleaning function built in (probably it will vibrate the sensor to shake dust off), otherwise go to the next section and use an air blower as described on page 162.

You will have to remove the lens, find the menu option that flips up the mirror without activating the sensor, and then puff air in from a bulb blower. I have a rubber blower-bush that the brush comes off (cost about £3), so that when you squeeze it sharply a puff of air comes out through a narrow nozzle. So far (3 years) that has always worked to get dust off the sensor. It's trivial.

Re. the damaged kit lens: these are often cheap on ebay. As people upgrade, the first thing they replace and sell off is the kit lens, so you might be able to get a replacement cheaply.

I know how you feel... but really it as not as bad as it seems, the kit lenses are cheap and easily available and the dust spot on the sensor is easy to fix.

Best wishes
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Mike

Just wondering: what kind of tripod were you using, how is it possible the head fell off...???

As for the lens: since it's the kit lens that was smashed, I wouldn't bother getting a quote for any repairs. The cost will almost certainly be (much) higher than the cost of getting a new (or good used) copy.

I would have the camera checked, better to be safe than sorry with that.

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'We are only immortal for a limited time'

Sorry bout the time it took me to reply. Just been a little busy lately.

The tripod I just purchased was a Proline by Dolica if that helps. The head thing apparently swivels off. Awesome. Fantastic. (ITS GREAT TO HAVE TO FIGURE THAT PART OUT FROM FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE.) Anyway, It's probably my fault for not noticing it, but it was my first tripod and I wasn't expecting that part to come off. It wasn't even listed that it does so in the not so detailed one page manual or description page thing.

Yeah, so I was looking around online and I was wondering what would be the best kind of blower or cleaning kit to get to get all that sensor dust off. Any suggestions?

A lot of people suggest Rocket Blowers. I have not used one, as my camera has not had any dust on it, and if I did, i'd rather get it professionally done, as I'd rather not damage the part that stops my camera becoming an expensive paperweight.

Proline by Dolica..., sorry to say so but that just made the reason this happened to you very clear. None of these (very) cheap tripods work as well and are as well built and reliable to operate as for instance a Manfrotto or Gitzo piece. Parts function in a less than logical way, the quality of the materials is, well, at best mediocre and these thins will in the end surprise you with an unexpected collapse, action, desintegration, or whatever. I would simply not trust my gear on a tripod like those ever, ever again.

As for blowers, the rocket blowers and the likes work well. So do many special brushes.

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'We are only immortal for a limited time'