I own both a 1D (original) and 1DX and both have an abosutely terrible amount of dust in every picture since the day I got them. I bought the 1D here on FM a couple months ago, and I just got the 1DX from MBP a couple days ago.
I've tried cleaning both with swab kits but it seems to do little for the 1D and nothing at all for the 1DX. Visually inspecting the sensor, it sees like a lot of the dust resides underneath the hot mirror and on top of the actual sensor for the 1dx. I have attached a couple photos demonstrating what I am dealing with. Any advice will be appreciated.
Shots were taken at f16 and with different lenses. Ignore the grid on the photos as I was shooting through a mesh window.
1D when I first got it.
1D now
1DX
1DX with different lens
EDIT: one thing I forgot to mention was that at least for the 1D, the dust was more manageable as long as it wasn't stopped down too much. The dust shows up in every shot for the 1DX even wide open, which makes me further suspect that it resides right on top of the sensor.
It’s oil splatter from the shutter mechanism firing away. From everything I’ve researched and read on forums and Reddit from people, the best cleaning solution for this type of clean is doing a wet clean with Visible Dust Smear Away liquid.
I've tried wet cleaning, albeit not with that specific fluid.
To my eye, it looks like the spots are underneath the hot mirror, because swabbing doesn't even move them around and they seem "below" the glass when using the swab on the glass as a point of reference.
Is the only option dissasembly to the sensor to get at it?
I had this issues on a 5D many years ago, but worse than what I'm seeing here. No amount of wet cleaning would fix it, so I eventually sent it in to Canon service. They were able to clean it as good as new, I can't remember the cost but it was worth it for me over of extra PP cleaning time.
I would rather not send it in to Canon, as it would probably cost more than what I paid for it. Looks like I might have to disassemble it down to the sensor.
In the meantime, any suggestions for eliminating them from photos? The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy shooting wise and I would rather not risk the downtime right now.
awsommv wrote:
I would rather not send it in to Canon, as it would probably cost more than what I paid for it. Looks like I might have to disassemble it down to the sensor.
In the meantime, any suggestions for eliminating them from photos? The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy shooting wise and I would rather not risk the downtime right now.
Before disassembling it you should try the Visible Dust Smear Away just incase they are caked on oil splatter. Like i was saying, I've seen people saying that it was the only wet clean fluid that managed to clean their 1dx/dxii sensor.
I had issues with every 1Series unto my 1Dx, once I got the sensor clean I rarely had to clean it again. If you feel like you've reached your limit, I'd take it to a local shop or rental house and let them clean the sensor. Funny, my 5DIV's have never needed a cleaning and I bought them new in '17.
an_also wrote:
Before disassembling it you should try the Visible Dust Smear Away just incase they are caked on oil splatter. Like i was saying, I've seen people saying that it was the only wet clean fluid that managed to clean their 1dx/dxii sensor.
Hmm, wonder what secret sauce they have in there that would make that the case. I think I might just bring it to a local shop if I'm paying $60+ shipping for the smallest bottle and the swabs they recommend.
tcphoto wrote:
I had issues with every 1Series unto my 1Dx, once I got the sensor clean I rarely had to clean it again. If you feel like you've reached your limit, I'd take it to a local shop or rental house and let them clean the sensor. Funny, my 5DIV's have never needed a cleaning and I bought them new in '17.
Whatever happened to the 1D series built for pros? Maybe I'm just unlucky but I'm two for two with literally the worst sensor dust I've ever seen. I've had a bunch of other Canon stuff and I've never had to clean any of them either.
If Dust Smear fails, the next stop is Residual Oil Remover (ROR). After the ROR loosens the stuff, you typically need a Zeiss wipe or damp (not wet) alcohol swab to get the residue off the sensor (same for tough spots on a lens).
I've owned just about every model in the 1D-series, and the 1DX was definitely not a step down in reliability or cleanability.
awsommv wrote:
Whatever happened to the 1D series built for pros? Maybe I'm just unlucky but I'm two for two with literally the worst sensor dust I've ever seen. I've had a bunch of other Canon stuff and I've never had to clean any of them either.
What environments do you shoot in? Do you leave the sensor exposed in dusty or high static places? I remember my 1DsIII was particularly sensitive to dust and I had to use a lot of wipes to get it clean but the 1Dx is much better. Do you turn the camera off when swapping lenses? I read somewhere that if your don't turn it off when changing lenses, the sensor is charged and will attract particles and dust to it.
tcphoto wrote:
What environments do you shoot in? Do you leave the sensor exposed in dusty or high static places? I remember my 1DsIII was particularly sensitive to dust and I had to use a lot of wipes to get it clean but the 1Dx is much better. Do you turn the camera off when swapping lenses? I read somewhere that if your don't turn it off when changing lenses, the sensor is charged and will attract particles and dust to it.
Thing is, they both came to me like this. I've had tons of other cameras where dust was never an issue.
I can understand how dust can be attracted to a mirrorless sensor while changing lenses but the only time the sensor should be exposed on a dslr would be when the shutter fires, or when live view is enabled but I don't know why you would do that.
Canon no longer services the 1DX, IIRC, and this would likely also be the case for basic sensor cleaning. If indeed the dust is under the sensor stack, that would imply the sensor stack may have been third-party serviced/replaced. When Canon services the sensor, they replace the whole thing. If it's not outside the return window, I'd return it if indeed the dust spots appear even when shooting wide open.
Yes, the 1DX can spray a lot of oil from the mirror mechanism, but that's usually not visible at wider apertures. I mean, I had a 1DX and 1DXII, both with over 1M actuations, and oil spots were only visible stopped down. Also, oil spots became less problematic the more the cameras were used and excess oil had already been 'dispersed.'
rscheffler wrote:
Canon no longer services the 1DX, IIRC, and this would likely also be the case for basic sensor cleaning. If indeed the dust is under the sensor stack, that would imply the sensor stack may have been third-party serviced/replaced. When Canon services the sensor, they replace the whole thing. If it's not outside the return window, I'd return it if indeed the dust spots appear even when shooting wide open.
Yes, the 1DX can spray a lot of oil from the mirror mechanism, but that's usually not visible at wider apertures. I mean, I had a 1DX and 1DXII, both with over 1M actuations, and oil spots were only visible stopped down. Also, oil spots became less problematic the more the cameras were used and excess oil had already been 'dispersed.' ...Show more →
The main thing that makes me suspect that the issue is on the actual sensor is that they appear the same from 1.2 all the way to 22.
I feel the logical step at this point is to just return it like you said, but I paid a really good price and I'm afraid I've fallen in love with the camera already... Not to mention I've already planned to use it on a lot of shoots over the next month...
rscheffler wrote:
Yes, the 1DX can spray a lot of oil from the mirror mechanism, but that's usually not visible at wider apertures. I mean, I had a 1DX and 1DXII, both with over 1M actuations, and oil spots were only visible stopped down. Also, oil spots became less problematic the more the cameras were used and excess oil had already been 'dispersed.'
I’m curious if you had your cameras serviced in the middle of your 1M actuations? I’ve read that canon usually lubes the shutter mechanism with oil every service and there is more oil
Spray after again.
an_also wrote:
I’m curious if you had your cameras serviced in the middle of your 1M actuations? I’ve read that canon usually lubes the shutter mechanism with oil every service and there is more oil
Spray after again.
Yes, I had at least a couple shutter replacements and one mirror box replacement (1DXII). The mirror box was within the one year warranty period, so pretty early in the camera's life cycle. I don't recall if the oil spatter problem worsened after the shutter replacements as I mostly used lenses at or near wide open with these cameras and therefore rarely noticed sensor spots. I did wet clean the sensors every so often, usually ahead of anything where I'd be shooting stopped down a lot.
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