07-28-2010, 04:24 PM
[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1280249785' post='1341']
A perennial subject!
I just read in another thread a suggestion to change lenses in a plastic bag. This is certainly sound and sensible advice, but I'm wondering what the real consequences are if you don't.
I've used a couple of DSLRs and never once cleaned the sensor except for the occasional blast with a rubber bellows. On my current 5D, I'm changing (most prime) lenses all the time, in all types of situations, and I haven't noticed any image degradation over the last year. Being more of a hands-on photographer, I don't have the time or patience to treat a camera like a museum exhibit - I just want to use the darned thing! <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' />
So the questions are: Does dust really inhibit image quality, or is it just visible to pixel-peepers? What are the long-term effects of dust, and will these problems realistically occur within the useful life of the camera?
[/quote]
Dust will eventually show up, but between anti-dust systems and some gentle blows, you can keep it to non-problematic levels for quite a while. It has taken me 5 years to get a dust spot I can't blow away even without anti-dust.
In low to moderately dusty areas, it's a good idea to turn the camera off when changing lenses, as that reduces the static electricity of the sensor, plus that's when anti-dust systems normally kick in. That's really the only time I turn off my camera[1]. I would only use plastic bags in very dusty places, like in a desert, near salt water spray, or in dirty industrial areas.
-Lars
[1] I've had my camera turned on for months at a time, it apparently doesn't draw any power when in sleep mode. Curiously, I had my first case of it being out of power after just hanging around - but it was turned off when that happened!
A perennial subject!
I just read in another thread a suggestion to change lenses in a plastic bag. This is certainly sound and sensible advice, but I'm wondering what the real consequences are if you don't.
I've used a couple of DSLRs and never once cleaned the sensor except for the occasional blast with a rubber bellows. On my current 5D, I'm changing (most prime) lenses all the time, in all types of situations, and I haven't noticed any image degradation over the last year. Being more of a hands-on photographer, I don't have the time or patience to treat a camera like a museum exhibit - I just want to use the darned thing! <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> So the questions are: Does dust really inhibit image quality, or is it just visible to pixel-peepers? What are the long-term effects of dust, and will these problems realistically occur within the useful life of the camera?
[/quote]
Dust will eventually show up, but between anti-dust systems and some gentle blows, you can keep it to non-problematic levels for quite a while. It has taken me 5 years to get a dust spot I can't blow away even without anti-dust.
In low to moderately dusty areas, it's a good idea to turn the camera off when changing lenses, as that reduces the static electricity of the sensor, plus that's when anti-dust systems normally kick in. That's really the only time I turn off my camera[1]. I would only use plastic bags in very dusty places, like in a desert, near salt water spray, or in dirty industrial areas.
-Lars
[1] I've had my camera turned on for months at a time, it apparently doesn't draw any power when in sleep mode. Curiously, I had my first case of it being out of power after just hanging around - but it was turned off when that happened!