Hey

I've owned many Nikons - D70, D3x, D200, (2) D300s and now a D800 ...

My D800 has several spots - and I am unable to remove them with clean air, self-cleaning, or eclipse sensor swabs. I assume that they are the dreaded oil spots.

Since the camera is only a few months old, I want to think that Nikon should clean and repair it .... under warranty.

Where do I send it ????

This is not a good sign ....

Dick

Hi Dick,

Be glad you don’t have the D600 as it is a lot worse than the D800. You might as well get used to cleaning your sensor and become an expert on these new cameras as they all seem to get spots on them. The older cameras went a lot longer without cleaning them, and I mean a lot longer. I hope you did a wet swab cleaning, but it should have taken the spots off. You might want to run through these Video’s at this link. http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=tutorials I hope this helps you get the spots off. You can call Nikon but I don’t think they will do anything and it will cost you $$$ for the shipping. I hope this helps you out.

Good Luck,
Bill

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I agree with Bill, it will come up again and again over your DSLR life, and it is easiest to just give up and learn how. Once you do it 2-3 times, once you mess it up once and smear it up and make it worse (this will happen at least once, then you just start over and clean that up), you will think of it as just an occasional nuisance.

But that said, I know many a DSLR owner who never wants to tackle it. Personally I'd take it to a reputable shop who will do cleaning rather than wait the weeks turnaround at Nikon is likely to take, and especially risk shipment. A lot of local places (and not talking Best Buy here!) will do cleaning. Talk to some local camera clubs or read on the internet for references, and see if that's a viable choice. Big cities like Chicago it's easy, smaller ones -- well, you might be down to a choice between DIY or Nikon.

Even if Nikon would do it for free (and stories differ on that), shipment is not free, or without risk, and turnaround is slow.

PEK Pads and Eclipse and a plastic spatula I bought somewhere (I can't recall) work great for me.

Oh... often not mentioned, the newer cameras have a sticky border around the sensor where the auto-clean dust collects. Don't touch it with the pad as, well, it's sticky and makes a hard-to-remove mess if you drag it onto the sensor. If you accidentally do, lift the bad/swab up and throw it away.


Linwood

Comments welcomed on pictures: Http://captivephotons.com

OK - thanks for the advise. I have used the Sensor Swabs and Eclipse (methanol) solution in the past - starting with a huge digital sensor for a Hasselblad.

I did a mirror-up and then used Bulb to hold the shutter open on the D800 --

I've managed to remove a few spots - and make one smear along the way - so I guess I just have to keep working at it.

I was hoping for a different answer... but I know what I need to do now.

Dick

>I did a mirror-up and then used Bulb to hold the shutter open
>on the D800 --

Use the menu option for sensor cleaning. It will lock the mirror up. Using Bulb relies on something to be holding the exposure down, sounds more risky. It holds it open until you turn the camera off. Note for safety it won't even work if your battery is not reasonably fully charged.


Linwood

Comments welcomed on pictures: Http://captivephotons.com

>
>>I did a mirror-up and then used Bulb to hold the shutter
>open
>>on the D800 --
>
>Use the menu option for sensor cleaning. It will lock the
>mirror up. Using Bulb relies on something to be holding the
>exposure down, sounds more risky. It holds it open until you
>turn the camera off. Note for safety it won't even work if
>your battery is not reasonably fully charged.
>
>
>Linwood
>
>Comments welcomed on pictures: Http://captivephotons.com


Today I learned something useful .... Many thanks.

Dick

We have two shops in Raleigh that have a policy of free sensor cleaning, something you might ask for. It takes some learning to get where you can do it well yourself.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

There is a product made by VisibleDust that is spefically targetted to remove oil and other stubborn stains called Smear Away - they have two others for lesser problems such as dust. I have not used it, so I can't speak from personal experience, like you I have only used Eclipse, but this is a very good company that makes quality stuff.
http://visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=303

I can vouch for their new Quasar Sensor Loupe - it works amazingly well. I got it about a week ago to use on my first D800 sensor cleaning. I found a lot more dust on the sensor with the loupe than I thought I had from test images. I went through 5 Sensor Swabs with Eclipse before I could see that it was litterally spotless. And I could immediately see whether the last swab had completely cleaned the sensor or not. The first swab made things worse, but the next four got progressively better. It's more expensive than some other loupes out there, but I can tell you this one delivers as advertised.
http://visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=602

------

Dave Badger
Blacksburg, VA
www.AlternateViewsPhotography.com

"You don't quit playing because you grow old; you grow old because you quit playing." (And now a grandson to share my toys!)

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

My D800 had the same issue, oil spots on the sensor (I have a very early copy, and this has been the only issue thru about 4k clicks). The spots were so incredibly tiny it made it very difficult to clean myself….in fact I seemed to be making it worse, so I sent it in to Nikon Service.

The Nikon USA service was absolutely outstanding. Go to the website, fill out the requested service. They give you a UPS account bar code for discounted shipping. They checked and cleaned it, all inside of a week and overnight shipped it back. All of this happened so fast; in fact I got the mail copy to approve the zero cost charge of services the day after the camera came back!


Rick Teremi

>My D800 had the same issue, oil spots on the sensor (I have a
>very early copy, and this has been the only issue thru about
>4k clicks). The spots were so incredibly tiny it made it very
>difficult to clean myself….in fact I seemed to be making it
>worse, so I sent it in to Nikon Service.
>
>The Nikon USA service was absolutely outstanding. Go to the
>website, fill out the requested service. They give you a UPS
>account bar code for discounted shipping. They checked and
>cleaned it, all inside of a week and overnight shipped it
>back. All of this happened so fast; in fact I got the mail
>copy to approve the zero cost charge of services the day after
>the camera came back!
>
>
>Rick Teremi
>


WOW !!!

That is great service. I'll keep that as plan B after I try the wider Sensor Swabs I just ordered.

Dick

Looks like my sensor also needs cleaning...

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frame4zoom for Nikonians

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

>Looks like my sensor also needs cleaning...
>
>
>
>
>


Yup. Sure does.

Dick