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Is the G11 lens still flawed by the G9 dust issue?
- Thread starter Marco Cinnirella
- Start date
Adam-T
Forum Pro
Never had it with the A650, G10 or G11
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Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist
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Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist
I have had my G10 for over a year, and never a dust issue. And I don't treat it well, it goes everywhere with me and sometimes in my jeans pockets without a case or any other protection. Seems to be a hit or miss problem which is kind of odd. I wonder what makes one camera so susceptible and the next one not...
mrsfixit
Senior Member
No, it doesn't look like they have, and yes, it is suffering the same fate.
I have a month old G11 that I've shot 300 pictures with, and it has a big chunk of white dust or lint in between the elements already. This is in addition to the other problems I'm having with this camera, which I won't go into here.
Is the dust issue covered under warranty?
I keep the camera in a bag and have never used it in dusty or dirty conditions. I treat my cameras with kid gloves, that's why they last so long for me.
At this point I am not impressed with the G11. For what it costs, I expected better.
Candice in PA
As were all film problems. And as with film, dust in the lens is very unlikely to affect images. Dust on the sensor is different and the smaller the lens opening, the more noticeable it will be. At 5.6 and wider, you would have to be looking for it to see most dust problems. And even at f8, most won't be noticed. But once you find a dust bunny, you will always look for it and will likely always see it in a blue sky for instance. With film, you used a new sensor for every shot and the film canisters had a brush on the opening to brush off any dust just before you moved the frame behind the lens to expose it. If you have a dslr, try closing the lens down to f16 or 22 and then you will really find the dust spots, but open up to f5.6 to f8 and most almost completely disappear. Very few point and shoots have f16 available though and even if they did diffraction problems would seriously degrade images anyway.
I don't know where you live, but dust comes from everywhere around here. If I were going to avoid using my camera where dust might be a problem I would leave it sealed up in a sealed case with gaskets. But I wouldn't get many pictures that way.
sarlo100
Senior Member
Most of us don't use our cameras in a vacuum. In the real world, there is dust. Lots of it. For whatever reason, these G series cameras tend to suck in far more dust than average. I've had plenty of point and shoots, along with a DSLR. The only camera that I ever encountered dust problems with was the G7. If your search the words dust and G7 or 9, you'll find more hits than a search for the rest of the compact cameras and dust combined on this forum. That's the way it is. Canon designed a beautiful camera, but botched the lens sealing for whatever reason.
sarlo100
Senior Member
Vacuum cleaning method. Literally, extend lens, stick vacuum extension over said lens, turn on at full power, hope suction dislodges or removes dust on the sensor. Note - only use if dust is actually impacting your photos, lens dust is unlikely to cause any problems, only sensor dust will.
Alternate method - extend lens, put front elements in mouth, inhale deeply - hope for same effect. I resorted to both methods, and got most of the crap out of the G7, but not all of it. Got it to the point where I could take pictures without blobs, but video was still impacted.
Alternate method - extend lens, put front elements in mouth, inhale deeply - hope for same effect. I resorted to both methods, and got most of the crap out of the G7, but not all of it. Got it to the point where I could take pictures without blobs, but video was still impacted.
rbull44
Senior Member
No dust on my G11 yet. however, right after I received mine I read a post about this issue. Since then, I have been very aware of the issue and take reasonable precautions.
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Bob
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Bob
CloudyBay43
Senior Member
Good point below + dust spots more visible when shooting full zoom out.. I have 1 clearly visible dust spot towards the upper edge of the front element - seeing it's 'effects' in some shots, BUT if i keep shooting wide (as i mostly do) and wide open and busy subjects - then not an issue really .
Because of this and seeing the camera perform same re sharpness at f2.8 and f3.5, i shoot A prio with the aperture fixed at 2.8. The ISO dial is the only thing i worry about as of recent.
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http://nightlight.zenfolio.com
http://photomoment.bg/user/show/3132
Because of this and seeing the camera perform same re sharpness at f2.8 and f3.5, i shoot A prio with the aperture fixed at 2.8. The ISO dial is the only thing i worry about as of recent.
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ii
http://nightlight.zenfolio.com
http://photomoment.bg/user/show/3132
mrsfixit
Senior Member
I've had the G11 for a month. This piece of lint, dust, whatever is in between the lens elements.
I am very careful when using any camera in windy or dusty conditions. I also carry a lens brush with me and I am always using it to clean dust off the lens barrel because I'm just paranoid about it. But the way these lenses are designed- they suck in the dust.
To me, this is a very large piece of something that should not be there. Could that be contributing to the focus issues I'm having with the camera? I don't know.
I have small specks of dust in all my Powershot's, but this is the biggest one yet. I don't know if it's large enough to affect IQ or not.
To the guy who suggested using a vacuum cleaner... was that a serious suggestion? I'm afraid of damaging the camera by doing something like that...
Candice in PA
Marco Cinnirella
Veteran Member
This is EXACTLY what happend to my first G9 - the lint must have been inside the camera at manufacture, so it is pretty annoying that some posters on this thread are more or less saying that it must be down to owners not looking after their camera. In my case I took the 2-week old G9 back to the store, showed it to the salesman and demanded a replacement, armed with hard copies of threads about the G9 issue.
Apparently Canon WILL fix it under warranty but they refuse to call it a "known problem".
Apparently Canon WILL fix it under warranty but they refuse to call it a "known problem".
I've had the G11 for a month. This piece of lint, dust, whatever is in between the lens elements.
I am very careful when using any camera in windy or dusty conditions. I also carry a lens brush with me and I am always using it to clean dust off the lens barrel because I'm just paranoid about it. But the way these lenses are designed- they suck in the dust.
To me, this is a very large piece of something that should not be there. Could that be contributing to the focus issues I'm having with the camera? I don't know.
I have small specks of dust in all my Powershot's, but this is the biggest one yet. I don't know if it's large enough to affect IQ or not.
To the guy who suggested using a vacuum cleaner... was that a serious suggestion? I'm afraid of damaging the camera by doing something like that...
Candice in PA
mrsfixit
Senior Member
Marco, thanks, that's good to know. I'll call Canon and see what they can do. This is unacceptable for a $500 camera.
I almost bought an Oly E-PL1 instead of the G11, but I didn't want to give up the articulating LCD.
I've had several issues with the camera, and it's really frustrating that the general consensus seems to be "user error". At least nobody can deny the big chunk of white lint that's in the lens.
Wish me luck getting Canon to fix this... LOL
Candice in PA
Within 3 month after buying my G7 I had a lint in the lens. I had also dust in the display.
As I went to the canon-service the lint had moved to somewhere so it was not shown anymore.
So they just cleaned the display and said they will not clean under warranty anymore.
In addition DUST IN THE CAMERA IS NOT A FAULT BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS NOT SEALED.
I think this problem is not fixed and will still attend us.
In the meantime I have 3 pretty visible lints and unfortunately the zoom does not retract anymore as well.
The replacement of the lens assembly and main board will make 210 EUR. Naerly the half of what I paid for the cam.
Cheers Michael
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Cheers Michael
http://www.digicamfotos.de/4images/search.php?search_user=tg77
As I went to the canon-service the lint had moved to somewhere so it was not shown anymore.
So they just cleaned the display and said they will not clean under warranty anymore.
In addition DUST IN THE CAMERA IS NOT A FAULT BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS NOT SEALED.
I think this problem is not fixed and will still attend us.
In the meantime I have 3 pretty visible lints and unfortunately the zoom does not retract anymore as well.
The replacement of the lens assembly and main board will make 210 EUR. Naerly the half of what I paid for the cam.
Cheers Michael
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Cheers Michael
http://www.digicamfotos.de/4images/search.php?search_user=tg77
Stephenbw
Senior Member
I've just been out with my G11 and tried to clean off what I thought were lint specks on the lens only to discover that they are in fact inside the lens.
I did a search on here and found this thread which suggests this has happened to other users. I would be interested to know if you got yours cleaned Candice as I rang the retailer I bought it from and, although they aren't aware of this problem they will send it off to Canon for cleaning if I take it in to them.
Unfortunately this means I will be without my beloved G11 for 3-4 weeks; can anyone suggest a support group to help me cope with the withdrawal symptoms
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Stephen
I did a search on here and found this thread which suggests this has happened to other users. I would be interested to know if you got yours cleaned Candice as I rang the retailer I bought it from and, although they aren't aware of this problem they will send it off to Canon for cleaning if I take it in to them.
Unfortunately this means I will be without my beloved G11 for 3-4 weeks; can anyone suggest a support group to help me cope with the withdrawal symptoms
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Stephen
mrsfixit
Senior Member
Stephen, I just never bothered. It doesn't seem to affect the picture quality, and I just didn't want to deal with the aggravation.
I might try the "vacuum cleaner trick" that someone suggested. I'll use the shop-vac, if that doesn't budge the lint nothing will. LOL
I haven't been happy with the G11. As far as IQ- it doesn't hold a candle to my A650. Only at ISO's over 200 does the G11 have an advantage.
I'm just waiting- and hoping- that Photokina brings something I like. I plan on trading the G11 in.
I'm glad you're enjoying yours though.
Candice in PA
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