Dust removal systems...
 

I found this page being discussed in another forum and thought it may be of interest here -> http://pixinfo.com/en/articles/ccd-dust-removal/

To save a bit of reading, conclusion copied below.

Dust removal conclusion


Here is our ranking according to effectiveness:

1. Olympus: good
2. Canon: poor (we are disappointed)
3. Pentax and Sony: useless (we are very disappointed)

If you are looking for a camera, have the dust removal as an expectation only at the end of your list. If sensor cleaning / dust removal is a must, the choices are limited to Olympus and Panasonic cameras.
We guess that theoretically it is possible to get better results with Canon cameras when the CMOS sensor is not charged, but Canon must find a way to discharge the sensor first (if this is really the problem). If the system is so unreliable, the EOS-ICS is not much more than a good marketing name.
In case of Sony, Pentax and Samsung cameras, the dust removal function should be considered as almost non-existent.

The final conclusion: keep your air blower handy, it is still your best tool against dust.

Does anyone have any experience of these systems?

Haven't had any noticeable dust problems on my K10D. This could be either because I haven't had any dust get in, therefore no problem, or it could be the dust removal system is doing its job and nothing has stuck to the sensor.

My *ist DS had no dust removal technology and I used to have to give it a blast with the blower every few months. My habits haven't changed significantly, if anything, I change lenses more often with the K10D than I used to with the DS, so I'd have expected more dust issues.

I had already seen the test report you reference and thought it was a particularly harsh test, far more severe than anything a typical photographer is likely to find themselves facing in day to day usage.

It's impossible for me to say if my lack of dust issues on the K10D are because the sensor shake at power up is removing dust, or if it is just coincidence that no dust has got in during the 14 weeks I've had it. All I know is that I'm no longer cloning out spots on my pictures and getting the rocket blower out every so often.

Duncan

Interesting. And how often do you change lenses on your camera?
I am only rarely experiencing some dust on sensor of my Nikon, but that is probably because I am really trying hard to protect the lens mount during lens swap and also because so far I have not been to real harsh dusty environment.

I am a little suspicious of the article, as the tests were rather artificial.

I had a lot of problems with dust in my D200 early on. When I found the first signs of dust, I gave it a thorough cleaning, including the mirror chamber. I am now more careful about changing lenses and always turn the camera off, do the change quickly, and above all avoid changing lenses in high pollen areas. I don't seem to have too many problems these days though bluebell woods are hell!

Since switching to Olympus I've forgotten about dust problems! Still give the cameras the odd blast with a rocket blower to clear stuff from the mirror or foucussing screen but the dust removal system really seems to work. Don't do a lot of lens changing but it's nice not to worry when Í do.

I need to know more about how the test was conducted before concluding this is another politically incorrect experiment the way we are all personally biased toward our own tools...

You just don't want to hear about sensor cleaning story I have (My own sensor) S%#* ¿Ø%#£ĉΐ ΨΘΩςξπφ

I must say that I'm impressed by the effectiveness of the sensor cleaning system in my new Canon 400D.

I use two cameras: one pretty much always has the 500/4 mounted but still gets dust problems sometimes because I take the 1.4 converter off and on a few times on an average day.

The second camera uses a variety of lenses, anything from 10-22 to 100-400, and it can have a dozen or more lens changes every day.

There is no way I can keep dust out of my systems: I only shoot outdoors, usually miles from the nearest building, and mostly in the very dry and dusty Australian bush. Bottom line: my cameras get dust in them, regularly. It's a pain.

Up until recently, I've had a pair of 20Ds, but I recently started using a 400D as my second unit. To begin with, I had the dust shaker switched off. It got dust spots inside a couple of days' use, same as the 20Ds. Switched the shaker on, and the problem went away immediately.

I still get dust on the 400D sensor, but rarely, and (so far) everytime it is only for a couple of shots or so - the shaker gets rid of it before I have ruined a whole day's shooting.

I don't doubt that the Olympus one is even better. But I have no doubt at all: the 400D Canon system is well worth having, and I don't think I'd ever again buy a camera that didn't have something similar.

Tannin I am motivated to change my XT for a XTi in near future. Of course if I don't go Nik or Pentax.

Just over two years now and numurous lens changes and still have not had dust spots or had to clean the sensor yet and thats good enough for me :)

I did do a sensor test for dust some time ago just after having the Olympus to satisfy my curiosity and see if it was just hype with the Olympus, the results can be seen here

http://www.pbase.com/paulsilkphotography/image/56208127

I have a 350D (XT) and a 400D (XTi), the dust removal in the 400D seems effective, I've yet to have any dust issues (which I do get with the 350D). I can't compare it to other manufacturers systems, but it seems to work well enough to me.

(As an aside, there are numerous other improvements that make the XTi overall a better camera than the excellent XT).

Sorry for the late reply, I've been away on business.

I change lenses probably about once per week, and typically take about 30 shots per week on average. My everyday lens on the K10D is the Tamron 24-135 which has quite a long "trombone" action, certainly much more of a zoom extension than the 18-55 kit lens which was the norm on my DS. This extension, also present on my 16-45 Pentax which I use for wider angle shots, will have the effect of sucking in and blowing out air in the mirror/shutter chamber.

Anyone know what happens when the magical sticky pad the dust gets shaken to is 'full' ?
Still early days I guess....will be interesting to find out what's happening in a few years time

I bought Olympus because of all the worries about sensor dust. My E-300 has never had a single dust spot since I bought it in September 2005. Whatever else is said about the Olympus E-system the dust removal works. Maybe I will have to pay for a service in 3 or 4 years to clean the sticky pad, small price I say. Partisan i am not, I have just bought a Fuji s9600 to supplement my equipment.

I think some sensors must attract dust more than others. I finally got round to looking at Craftysnappers dust test :eek: and am more convinced than ever now.

In the nearly a year that I have had my D2X I have used the blower less than half a dozen times. While I limit lens changes on dusty rally fields, I am not too bothered otherwise. On a day out I may take 12-24, 55 macro, 105, 400 and converter, and will do several lens changes in the course of the day. After a trip to the coast I usually have to vac the sand out my bag, so those lens changes are not in still air conditions. Foxy would kill me for saying this but I quite often forget to turn power off - electronic cameras still getting my head round them. :rolleyes: ( edit ) Ooops just done it again to check the macro lens for this post. :D

I think another factor also plays a significant part in the desireability of built in dust removal and it effectiveness and that is lens choice. My zooms are all short, so the barrel extension on maximum zoom ranges from 0 to 25mm. Most used is 12-24 at 0 ( environmentaly sealed behind the uv filter ) the 28-105 has 25mm full extension, I rarely zoom quickly anyway. All other lenses used are old fixed focal with the 55 macro having the greatest movement of elements. But as that requires turning the focus ring through around 300 deg, its not exactly quick. Certainly none of these could be described as mirror box dust pumps. Looking at some of the lens review pics on Photozone some 10x zooms seem to have a significant extension when zoomed out. So racking these in and out is bound to have a greater effect on any dust that may be in the mirror box.

Don

Carman, I am with you on the Olympus E system. I've only come into contact with a couple, but I have nothing but praise for the E-400 we still got in at the mo. A very compact unit, great control layout and nice sharp lenses. (some of the sharpest in the biz)
I think some major critisism have been levied against Olympus in the last decade or so.....Olympus have certainly appeared to move toward the direction of where companies like Leica are, and less so mainstream...I think that all started when production numbers got cut dramatically, back in the days of the OM4 etc Olympus started getting all 'exclusive' prices shot up over night, in some cases doubling.
My only personal critisism of Olympus E-series cameras is they really missed a trick by not retaining the OM mount design....The small but very dedicated band of Olympus fans were gutted about that one too.

Although they changed the mount it's perfectly possible to use older Olympus lenses - and other fittings too - with a simple adaptor. I believe they provided one free for early E-1 buyers. Unlike some other systems you keep metering in AP and M. There is a certain 'feel' to Olympus DSLRs - I just hope the new top of the range model is'nt too expensive and aimed at the pro Canon/Nikon market, as that would seem to be a wasted effort. What we need is something to match the D200/Fuji S5 sector. The new E-510 looks interesting though.

It does. I'm not holding my breath for a 'reasonable' price tho.
It is slightly difficult to understand why Olympus have pitched the prices of their E-system cameras and lenses where they are....all too frequently I've heard people saying they'd consider "if it were £50,60 or 70 cheaper"...which would certainly re-aline them with the likes of Canon,Nikon,Pentax and all. Some of the olympus kit is similar in price league to the Leitz kit.
If I'd found the OM1 comfortable I'd certainly be going with the E-system....especially if I'd gotten one of those expensive olympus adapters for free

In the five years of owning DSLRs (all Canons) I've never found dust to be anything but a minor problem. Far less of a problem that when I run my own darkroom.
My method of cleaning is the Pec-Pad/ Eclipse route. Simple, effective and takes just a couple of minutes. I have 3 DSLRs, all used very frequently with continuous lens changing. This year I have cleaned the sensor on two of them.

As for the blower method, well I tried it once and finished up with a bit of dirt in the viewfinder of my 300D, This happened at about the same time that Sue (Greypoint) had a similar experience. Have not used a blower since

I absolutely agrees about the OM mount. There were no AF connections to worry about so why change? Anyway water under the bridge.

I used to have quite a lot of trouble with dust, but after cleaning the sensor AND the mirror chamber, I don't seem to see much if any. I suspect that quite a lot of so called dust is debris and dirt from the manufacturing of the camera, including oil on the mirror and shutter mechanisms.

I suspect Don is right about some lenses being worse than others. My lenses tend to be internal focussing designs, or primes with little extension.

I feel it is a bit idotic thing to ask,-I think I need to clean my D-70's ccd, can somebody plz, help me, how to do it ?? B'coz I am resideing in a small town where having a dslr is a big thing, so forget about going to service center.There is no sevice center even in nearby big city, And the so called camera repairer are actully are novice trying to sound big ,No confidance on them. PLZ HELP ME..

The method is described on

http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=Tutorials

In UK you can get a kit from

http://www.cameraclean.co.uk/acatalog/index.php

there may be other kit suppliers but these guys are 24 hour service

I personally agree entirely with copper hill to forget blowers and vacuums etc, so don't spend money on them.

Thanks daedal for reponse