Why do grey circular spots appear in my photos, especially against the sky?
Asked 10/5/2023
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2 answers
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I’m seeing soft grey circular spots in all of my photos, most noticeably on bright, plain backgrounds like the sky. I’ve been removing them with the healing tool in Lightroom, but I’d like to understand what causes this and whether it’s related to the camera body or the lens. Camera: Nikon Z5. Lens: Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
2y ago
2 Answers
1
The most probable cause is dust on your sensor or less probable on the rear element of the lens.
You can visually inspect the sensor by removing the lens and using a good light to see if there is dust. If yes, hold your camera with sensor downwards and use a rocket blower to blow the dust out.
If that is not sufficient, you can also use a speck-grabber (some sort of plastic stick with a sticky jelly at the end) or use a wet cleaning kit or find a dealer that offers sensor cleaning.
In my experience, sensor cleaning is no magic and can easily done at home.
Afterwards take a photograph of a bright even colored surface (cloudless sky works, too) with the aperture closed. You should now have no specks left in the image.
Originally by user88965. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user88965
2y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
These spots are most likely dust on the camera sensor, and less commonly dirt on the rear lens element. Sensor dust often shows up as soft grey circles or spots, especially on bright, even backgrounds and at smaller apertures.
What to do:
- Remove the lens and inspect the sensor carefully in good light.
- Hold the camera face down and use a rocket blower to remove loose dust.
- If that doesn’t work, use a proper sensor-cleaning method such as a sensor swab/wet cleaning kit, a sensor cleaning tool, or have a camera shop clean it.
- Also check and clean the rear lens element.
To confirm the issue, photograph a bright plain surface (like a clear sky or blank wall) at a stopped-down aperture. If the spots stay in the same place from shot to shot, sensor dust is the likely cause.
Front-element scratches or smudges are a less likely cause for this kind of defined spotting.
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