Why do I see colored spots after cleaning my sensor on a Nikon D40x?

Asked 4/17/2011

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I cleaned the sensor on my Nikon D40x with sensor swabs and Eclipse solution. The dark dust spots are gone, but in my test image I now see new light-colored circular spots. I repeated the cleaning a few times and they are still there. Are these marks from the cleaning process, or something else? How can I check whether the sensor is actually clean?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

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The dark spots are dust. You managed to clean then. Good job!

The light spots are not dust, they are flare. That is caused because by sunlight entering the lens. Even though it is out of the frame, some stray rays can enter.

First, you can easily confirm this by shooting away from the sun.

Then, you can learn to minimize flare by using a lens hood. Lens hoods are not 100% effective and almost always (there are exceptions) become less effective when you zoom in.

If it fails, you will simply have to point your camera in another direction or wait for the sun to move.

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

15y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Those new light-colored spots are most likely not sensor dust at all. Dust on the sensor shows up as dark spots because it blocks light. Colored circular spots are typically lens flare, caused by bright sunlight or another strong light source hitting the lens at an angle and reflecting inside it.

To confirm, take a test shot away from the sun or other bright light source. If the colored spots disappear, the sensor cleaning was successful and the issue is flare, not dirt.

To reduce flare:

  • use a lens hood
  • avoid aiming near the sun
  • change your shooting angle or wait for the light to move

To properly check sensor cleanliness, photograph a plain bright surface such as a white sheet of paper or blank wall, stopped down to a high f-number like f/22 and slightly out of focus. Any remaining sensor dust or smears will show up there much more reliably than in a sky shot toward the sun.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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