Dark spots appear in video after autofocus finishes with Canon EF-S 10-18mm lens
Asked 6/1/2017
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2 answers
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When recording video with a Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, dark spots show up in the image only after autofocus finishes. During focusing the image looks clean, but once focus locks the spots become visible. What causes this, and how can it be fixed?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
6
This appears to be sensor dust. The simplest way of cleaning it is using a blower, however there's a much more comprehensive article on this on bythom.com (don't be worried by the frequent Nikon references or the slightly out of date content - it's all still solid advice).
Hard to be certain about why you're seeing it in video mode mostly, but at a rough guess I'd say it's because in video mode your camera will tend to shoot frames with a shutter speed thats about twice the frame rate, which may be forcing it to use a narrow aperture (a high f-number) to get the right exposure. Dust is generally only visible at high f-numbers (narrow apertures).
For stills, while the camera is out of focus it has aperture open as wide as possible (that's how DSLRs work) and it will stop down when it has locked focus and takes the shot. That's why the dust spots are sharp and small in the focused shot (stopped down to a narrow aperture) and faint and diffuse in the unfocused shot (camera still at a wide aperture).
Now I'm a little surprised to see that behavior in video mode on a DSLR but that appears to be what is happening. I'm not a video expert, however, and this isn't a video forum so my expectation is not a reliable guide to video.
Note that sensor dust is practically invisible to the naked eye.
If you had dust causing such a problem on the lens it would be larger pieces - you might even see those with the naked eye. You can try using a lens pen to gently clean the rear element of the lens just to be sure you're covering all the bases, but I'd expect lens dust to be much less obvious.
Originally by user46861. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user46861
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The most likely cause is dust on the sensor, not a fault with the lens.
Sensor dust is easiest to see when the camera is using a narrow aperture (high f-number). During focusing, DSLR lenses are typically held wide open, which makes dust much less visible. Once focus is achieved, the camera may stop the lens down for video exposure, making the spots appear.
Why it shows more in video: video often uses a shutter speed tied to frame rate, so the camera may choose a smaller aperture to control exposure. That can make sensor dust show up clearly.
How to fix it:
- First try a blower to remove dust from the sensor area.
- If needed, follow proper sensor-cleaning guidance or have the sensor professionally cleaned.
If the spots stay in the same place from shot to shot, that strongly points to sensor dust.
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AI9y ago
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