| Photo: AB Ferguson |
We are all there: you draw pictures that you just took on your computer or phone, only to notice dark drops at the same place on every image. If you are unfamiliar with them, it can be misleading and worrying. Fortunately, those spots usually have nothing to be worried. They are also an indispensable part of photography. What should you know here?
What is the reason for those spots?
 |
|
See those small white glasses on the sensor? They are pieces of dust that are stuck, creating sensor spots. Photo: AB Ferguson |
While your first idea may be that a spot on the lens caused the spot, it is not so. The spot on the front or rear element does not clearly appear as dark spots defined. Instead, those dots or squigcles you see are sensor spots.
The sensor spots are caused by the landing of hair, faj, grease, dust or other debris on your camera sensor. The dust takes the form of black circle, while hair and other fibers appear as dark squigles. If you use a interchangeable lens camera, you expose your sensor to dust and debris every time you change the lens. This is especially true if you change lenses out or dusty rooms.
There are ways to reduce the ability of sensor spots while changing lenses (which you can Learn in a different article), But no matter, you will probably end with the sensor spot at some point.
Even compact cameras with fixed lenses can get spots. There is a way to work in places in dust. So if you notice this type of spot on images taken with compact, it does not mean that your camera is broken.
How to identify sensor spot
 |
| Taking a picture of a white desk or plain blue sky can help you recognize how dirty your sensor is. In this case, the sensor is in dire need of cleaning. |
If you suspect that you have a sensor spot, then an easy way to confirm what you are looking at, and it was not just a bug flying past. You just need to take a picture of a cloudless sky or flat, white surface. Anything that is equally bright with low texture.
To clear any sensor spots clearly, close your aperture to a large aperture value, such as F16 or F22, and adjust shutter speed And ISO so that you get roughly correct exposure (Messally not a very dark image). If you use a perfectly smooth subject like the sky, or use a little defocus to lubricate the background when working indoors, switch to the manual focus and pay attention to infinity.
You can see the photo on your camera display, although it is helpful in transferring the image to the computer to get a good photo of what is going on. If you identify the spot on your images, there is no need to panic. You can clean your sensor, provided you use the right tool and follow the right steps. We will share more on it soon, so be sure to stay.
