Dust Problems (Poor Design)?

[carlgt1]

Is it just me or what - I am on my southern Cal vacation and plagued with dust problems with lens changes.

It just seems like a dumb design decision to keep the sensor always "open" to the air. I take care when changing lenses but after perhaps 10 lens swaps the sensor is a mess. And this is something that I think plagues a lot of DSLR & mirrorless cameras. Would it have been a big deal to have a shutter close over the sensor when, say, the lens-switch button is engaged? I mean in the old SLR days there was of course the shutter to block things from the film.

At this point I think I am going to just ditch the NEX-7 system and get a nice "sealed" fixed focal length (like the Fuji X100) or non-interchangeable zoom. Thank god I have a Canon S100 as in the middle of the desert without a sensor cleaning kit I'm stuck with the NEX and 24 megapixels of which 300 pixels are big black dust/sand blobs.....

 

[edwardaneal]

having the shutter closed during lens changes really wouldnt help much. You will still get dust inside the body and when the shutter opens back up and the sensor gets energized it will attract the dust. I have owned several DSLR's and now a NEX-5 and I have not had any more problems with the NEX than I had with the DSLRs. Change lenses with the camera turned off, keep the camera facing down and carry a blower just in case you do need to clean the sensor.

--
My kit - D200, 10.5mm f/2.8D, 35mm f/1.8G, 50mm f/1.4G & 70-300VR
NEX-5 18-55 OSS

Lenses worth mentioning owned and sold 12-24 f/4, 17-55 f/2.8, 35-70 f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8, 20mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4D, 60mm f/2.8D, 85mm f/1.8, 105mm f/2D-DC, 180mm f/2.8, 300mm f/4D-ED

 

[pmow]

Instead of replacing the NEX with a Fuji X100, why don't you leave a prime on it forever? It would accomplish the same thing.

 

[carlgt1]

I don't think so, as even the Sony sensor cleaning video shows, dust can migrate through the lens/body junction, i.e. it's not "hermetically sealed". It's enough of a nuisance for me on this trip that I think I may just stick with a "super travel zoom". And the "cleaning mode" hasn't done a damn thing. So right now my $429 Canon S100 is outperforming my $4K NEX system!

 

[nex5guy]

Is it just me or what - I am on my southern Cal vacation and plagued with dust problems with lens changes.

I think it's just you - or perhaps the way you're changing lenses. I'm in Texas - PLENTY of dust - and I've owned my NEX-5 since late 2010, and I've never had dust problems on the sensor, and have never had to clean the sensor. I switch lenses outdoors often. A few basic pointers:

1. Have everything as ready as possible so that the switch is done quickly. I have the rear cap loose (but still in place) on the lens I'm switching to. When the old lens comes off, the rear cap gets quickly switched over and the new lens is on the camera in a matter of about 2 seconds.

2. Keep the camera facing down so that the sensor is protected/covered while the change takes place.

If you're literally in the middle of the desert changing lenses, maybe take a large plastic bag or something similar and change lenses inside that to reduce dust.

And regarding your S100 outperforming your NEX - ummm, sure it is.

 

[carlgt1]

well I do all that, I keep the NEX7 down, I switch lenses in a few seconds (swap rear lens caps etc). I've been using SLR's for 30+ years and never had such problems. And yes, the S100 is outperforming my NEX-7 right now as it doesn't have black specs of dust all over the place. It just seems like poor design - and not just Sony or the NEX series as I know a lot of interchangeable lens cameras keep the sensor exposed. I wonder if Fuji does this on their new camera that doesn't even have the AA screen for protection.

 

[britho]

Get a $20 sensor cleaning kit. Cleaning the sensor takes less than a minute.

 

[vladimirttt]

I bougt nex 5n and go to shoot on a beach. There were wind. After 10-12 shots (without detaching lens or some thing like this) my sensor were with dust seenable on a photos as dark marks ( the amount of them increased with every 10-12 shots ).

Does my unite defective and I need replace it?

 

[GreenmanToo]

Sorry to say, but your technique for using your Nex 7 is likely at fault.

It's important to realise that everything you touch carries a charge - your skin, the clothes you wear, the car you drive and the camera and lenses you use which means, usually, that we attract dust quite naturally. In combination, dust particles can jump from clothes to camera without you noticing, from the vegetation you touch onto your skin and back and forth. You may even be an unfortunate individual who carries more charge than average...think static. My daughter literally makes my wife's hair stand on end and gives her boyfriend quite severe shocks. In other words, it may not be your cameras fault at all.

At least try some simple techniques to lessen the dust problems. Store camera and lenses separately in lint free cotton bags. Try not to wear man made fibre clothes. Clean every item of camera equipment with an anti-static cloth in a slightly humid room and bag up immediately and do it daily. Vacuum your camera bag - scrupulously. Change lenses less frequently if you can and hold your camera mount side down. Try using a bag to change lenses inside. Use a vacuum system to clean the insides of your camera(without touching anything of course).

You can eliminate about 95% of the dust hazards that follow you around in this way and a regular regime will pay dividends.

The desert doesn't help either and particularly if it's windy. In fact, next to living near the sea, it's the worst place to take optical equipment.

Waveney

 

[ChapelThrill23]

I've found the 5n to be really poor with dust too despite a low volume of lens changes. Much worse than an Alpha DSLR which tends to be pretty dust resistant for me despite the high volume of lens changes.

 

[boardsy]

I bougt nex 5n and go to shoot on a beach. There were wind. After 10-12 shots (without detaching lens or some thing like this) my sensor were with dust seenable on a photos as dark marks ( the amount of them increased with every 10-12 shots ).

Does my unite defective and I need replace it?

Was this really the sensor, or the lens that got sandy/dusty? Very doubtful that sand could blow through the lens directly onto the sensor. Also, the number of shots would have nothing to do with anything, since the sensor is always "open."

 

[pako]

Sorry to say, but your technique for using your Nex 7 is likely at fault.

I don't think the OP is ready to hear a statement like this...

The desert doesn't help either and particularly if it's windy. In fact, next to living near the sea, it's the worst place to take optical equipment.

Apparently, OP never got to deal with this situation on his 30 years of experience"

--
Pako Dominguez
-----------------------
http://www.phototeka.net

 

[pako]

http://www.adorama.com/CPBB.html



voila

--
Pako Dominguez
-----------------------
http://www.phototeka.net

 

[pako]

I bougt nex 5n and go to shoot on a beach. There were wind. After 10-12 shots (without detaching lens or some thing like this) my sensor were with dust seen able on a photos as dark marks ( the amount of them increased with every 10-12 shots ).

Does my unite defective and I need replace it?

I think the dust was already on your lens/body before you arrived to the beach. Push-pull zooms are prone to blow air inside the camera body, and activate dust particles, I believe this is not the case with SEL lenses.
--
Pako Dominguez
-----------------------
http://www.phototeka.net

 

[vladimirttt]

It really was a sensor. clearing lens does not lead to any result. It my first DSLR and I thought it defective sensor. But bluing on sensor cleaned all marks...

In any case, is it only my unit defective? may be?

 

[vladimirttt]

Did you mean that dust were between sensor and lens and shutter moving bring it to the sensor?

because as I mentioned cleaning lens does not help me only bluing on the sensor cleaned the marks...

May be this week end I go to beach one more time and will check it ( if it would be wind )

 

[pako]

Did you mean that dust were between sensor and lens and shutter moving bring it to the sensor?

I mean dust was there before you went to the beach. And for some reason, it mved to the sensor. Or probably it was always there and you just realized because the photographs you took at the beach revealed the dust spots.

May be this week end I go to beach one more time and will check it ( if it would be wind )

If the sensor is now clean, you can do that. You can always got o the beach. Just keep in mind that the Beach (or the desert or any windy-dusty environment) are not camera-friendly. Not in the film-era, not in the digital-era.

--
Pako Dominguez
-----------------------
http://www.phototeka.net

 

[vladimirttt]

I were on the beach today. There were almost no wind. but after about 100 short the sensor once more catched the dust. I do not think it is the inner dust I think it is poor design.
I am very upset by this. This camera is not for shiny outside conditions.

 

[DuncanDovovan]

I think that is pretty much impossible. No wind and still dust gets into the body? No way.

If you have dust, it is probably already there and moves because of the shutter movement.

 

[nex5guy]

I just got back from Florida, where I spent the day on the beach in very windy/dusty conditions. Beach sand was EVERYWHERE - including all over the exterior of my NEX-5 (with 18~55 mounted). When I got back to the hotel, I checked the sensor, and there was not a speck of dust or sand on it. Unless there's something different about the 5N mount from the 5, it's likely something the user(s) are doing.

Is it just me or what - I am on my southern Cal vacation and plagued with dust problems with lens changes.

I think it's just you - or perhaps the way you're changing lenses. I'm in Texas - PLENTY of dust - and I've owned my NEX-5 since late 2010, and I've never had dust problems on the sensor, and have never had to clean the sensor. I switch lenses outdoors often. A few basic pointers:

1. Have everything as ready as possible so that the switch is done quickly. I have the rear cap loose (but still in place) on the lens I'm switching to. When the old lens comes off, the rear cap gets quickly switched over and the new lens is on the camera in a matter of about 2 seconds.

2. Keep the camera facing down so that the sensor is protected/covered while the change takes place.

If you're literally in the middle of the desert changing lenses, maybe take a large plastic bag or something similar and change lenses inside that to reduce dust.

And regarding your S100 outperforming your NEX - ummm, sure it is.