In my last post I showed you how to remove spots using the spot removal tool in Lightroom and Camera Raw. After I made the video, it occurred to me that I didn’t show you my most horrifying example of dust on the camera sensor. I took this image in 2004 shortly after I got my first digital SLR. (Click on the image to see it larger — there is much more dust than you can see in this small version!)
Dust on the Camera Sensor
I didn’t realize back then that it is a very bad idea to change lenses without turning the camera off — the camera has a charge that draws in dust. So learn from my mistake on this one! I was able to clean up the image, but it took hours. These days I turn off the camera, and also turn the camera downwards as I replace the lens so that no dust inadvertently falls into it.
Yeah, dust is an evil enemy of all DSLR photography. Turning the camera off is always a good idea to remove potential chance of dust on the sensor. There are lots of ways to clean shots up after the fact, but best to avoid the problem in the first place.
I wrote up about some dust removal techniques and other ways of compensating for dust on the sensor that you may find useful here: http://blogs.adamparkerphotography.com/blog/Ive-got-sensor-dust-what-should-I-do/13/
Thanks for the post and advice, very solid.