Howdy folks, I’ve been going through some photos to see what I’d like to edit next and I’m noticing spots on the images. Now, I’m fairly certain these are a defect of some sort, but can’t quite figure out if it’s a fungus or a haze.
Now, the thing I’ve noticed while looking at the images is that the spots are really only present when I haven’t zoomed at all. When I’ve got the lens anywhere in zoom range the spots aren’t visible.
Anyone have an issue like this before? I’d like to confirm before I start taking my lens apart.
Sensor dust. There’s dust on the sensor. It casts shadows on the image in consistent locations, and gets darker when you stop down. Get sensor swabs.
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Ok, I’ve been meaning to get some swabs for my kit. Now’s as good a time as any.
But why don’t I see the spots on other images with other lenses?
Try one of the other lenses, stop it down as much as possible, take a shot (smooth wall, sky). You may want to switch to manual focus to make sure the image is blurry.
If you see spots, those would come from the sensor. If not, only with the suspect lens, it’s the lens.
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It could be a dirty sensor, it could be splashes of something on the front element, or something else. Visually check the lens by taking it off the camera and examining it. Also a couple of days ago I went from a cool environment to a warm humid environment and my lens partially fogged up.
To test for sensor spots you could photograph a clear blue sky or plain wall and take a few images. Moving the camera a little or zooming will not alter the position of the spots. If they move after zooming then it is more likely a lens or front filter issue.
Do you have an example?
What happens if you use another lens?
If you look through the lens, do you see anything inside?
If you don’t want wild guesses, we need some details, but as @CarVac says, it’s most likely dust or other spots on the sensor. For dirt in or on the lens to affect the image in a noticeable way, there needs to be a lot of it.
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Before doing wet cleaning you can try less invasive ways: