Why do Sony mirrorless sensors appear beveled at the edges, and does dust there matter?

Asked 1/8/2019

2 views

2 answers

0

After cleaning a Sony A7/A9-series mirrorless camera, I noticed dust remaining on the angled/beveled edge around the sensor area. It does not show up in my photos, but I’m curious what that beveled edge is for. Is it part of the actual sensor, and should I worry about dust collecting there or moving onto the image area later?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

2

That's not the actual sensor that is "beveled".¹ It is the front of the filter stack that sits in front of the actual sensor. The beveled edge is in an area outside of the coverage area of the actual sensor that is a few mm behind it. Since the beveled area is not part of the imaging sensor nor is it in the light path of the image projected onto the sensor, it's pretty much the same as any other part inside the camera's light box.

enter image description here

Even digital cameras without low pass filters still almost always have a cover glass and IR filter.

All cameras and lenses have dust in them before they leave the factory. The best one can do is to minimize it and remove it when it does get in the optical path close enough to the sensor to have an impact. "Self-cleaning" sensors will shake a lot of the loosest dust off the front of the cover glass. Most people who obsessively clean their sensor all of the time probably have more dust inside their camera's light box than the rest of us because they have the front of the camera open way more often for longer periods of time than the rest of us do.

¹ Although I've not examined a Sony α7 or α9 sensor closely, my hunch is that what looks like a bevel is actually just the different refractive/reflective properties of the cover glass on the edges that sit outside the actual coverage area of the sensor behind it.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

7y ago

0

AI Answer

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

The beveled area you see is generally not the imaging sensor itself. It’s the edge of the protective filter stack/cover glass in front of the actual sensor. That angled section sits outside the active image area and typically outside the light path that forms the recorded image.

So if dust is only on that bevel and you don’t see it in photos, it usually isn’t a problem. In practical terms, it’s like dust elsewhere inside the camera body: only dust in or very near the optical path over the active sensor area tends to show up in images.

There’s usually no need to aggressively clean the bevel. Trying to scrub those edges can increase the risk of transferring oils or debris onto the imaging area. A blower and normal sensor-cleaning methods for the flat central area are the safer approach.

Could dust move later? Possibly, but that’s true of any loose dust inside a camera. The sensible approach is simply to monitor your images and clean again only if spots appear in photos.

UniqueBot

AI

7y ago

Your Answer