In the meantime...

Something I forgot to mention, but I got my sensor cleaned, before the trip to Cambodia.

And for people who don't know what I'm talking about, see this post and this post.

I flashed Tha Professional card in their (Canon Malaysia Headquarters) faces and that got me a 'please sit down and wait 15 minutes', whilst other less fortunate people could pick up their camera the next day. I'm not one for special treatment, but in this case I felt I payed Canon enough to deserve it.

A bit apprehensive I tested the camera at home. Afraid they might have made it worse. The hair I already removed myself, but in that process I messed up the sensor even more, so I was really hoping for an improvement. And indeed there was. Almost spotless, not enough spots left to be bothered about, you'd never see them on a regular picture. They really cleaned up the mess I made of it.

I also ordered two new focusing screens. Turned out that replacing those, although technically easy, isn't that simple, because no shop has them in stock. Even Canon Malaysia didn't, they had to order them in Japan. Guess the model camera isn't that popular here, which is not a total surprise if you look at the price of the thing.

And for people wondering, a focusing screen is a small piece of glass that hangs directly under the viewfinder inside the camera. It disperses the light and you really cannot do without. I tried the camera without it, but apart from a very distorted image in the viewfinder, exposure gets all mixed up. Sensors in the camera clearly expect this thing to be there. Apparently ít's engraved with laser, not just an ordinary piece of glass.

And the final issue, the 70-200mm lens making some shaky noises after a small drop on the tiles of my apartment turned out to be normal. Something I suspected, but wasn't sure of, cause I didn't know if the sound had always been there when shaking the thing. It's the image stabilizer rattling around a bit. Wasn't too concerned about that anyway, cause the lens worked fine after the drop, but it's nice to know for sure.

So, all issues surrounding the camera resolved, waiting now for a phone call on the arrival of the focusing screens. I ordered two, the regular one, to replace the present scratched one, and an extra, with a grid on it. I tend to make shifted pictures sometimes, where the verticals or the horizontals are not completely straight, and the screen with the grid on it is supposed to help you prevent that. It's easily corrected in any editing software, but it saves time if the photos don't have the problem to begin with.

About that sunrise...

Well, these are the best I could make of it...

In the meantime the sensor drama continues. I managed to remove the hair. As I suspected it was actually not on the sensor, but sort of hanging in front of it. Standing actually, stuck somewhere at the bottom. I forgot that the picture on the sensor is flipped, so for a while I was looking in the wrong corner.

But during the nerve wrecking process I managed to dirty the sensor itself even more. Less visible on lower apertures, but still not very satisfying. This week probably the Canon Service Center, to have it cleaned by professionals...

I'm awaiting 'professional status' at Canon, which is sort of a perk if you buy at least a camera and one L-lens (which I have). It means they handle you like a business class passenger. Once that status is approved, the whole process of servicing should be swift...

Added to the photographic misery was a drop of the L-lens on the tiles of my apartment. Not from high, it sort of rolled off the camera bag, which was on the floor, and it dropped probably about 10cm. But it made a nasty smack. The lens still works, but there's a weird sound now when you gently shake it, and I don't know if that was there before or not. L-lenses are built to withstand some abuse. There's a story on the Internet of someone who dropped a similar lens from an elephant onto cobble stones, and the lens still worked fine. But as to not suddenly end up with a dead lens on a holiday, I'll include it in the service check... Apparently with 'professional status' they look at that for free...

Welcome to my hobby... :-)

Sunrise over Chempedak Beach...

Click on the photos for a bigger version...

Dust II

And at the off change that some people think 'he's whining about dust on his sensor, how bad can it be, dust...' here's a photo which shows how bad it can be.

Now note that I would normally not show this picture, even without dust, because it's nothing special. Just to demonstrate this is a serious issue...

Dust in almost the middle of the picture, just above the horizon... I'm not even sure if you can call that dust or that it's perhaps a full blown grain of sand... it looks huge...

And for people who couldn't discover it on this small photo, here's a blow up. Note also the three pieces in the sea within the yellow circle...

Decided not to burn myself by cleaning the sensor myself, besides, these big pieces are gone, the internal dust shaker worked for those. And with the vacuum cleaner held close to the camera (don't try that at home kids, you might suck out the mirror) I think I was able to get rid of most of these big chuncks completely. But to remove the hair I'll probably visit the Canon service center somewhere next week and let them do it. The machine was simply too expensive to fool around with myself...

Dust

Well, the sunrise was a bit of a bummer. Too cloudy. Did manage to take some nice shots, but then, when I reviewed the pictures, I spotted dust... ON THE SENSOR! One big piece is really spoiling most pictures, so before I show any they have to go through Photoshop to remove it.

Dust on the sensor is not uncommon, but the big problem is: how to get rid of it. I also discovered a piece of a hair, and it's totally stuck. The sensor on a DSLR is extremely sensitive, and replacing it if you scratch it will cost you the price of the camera. Canon can service it, but the testimonials from people who went through that aren't positive. They usually get it back with even more dust. Furthermore you loose the camera for about 2 to 3 weeks, not a nice prospect.

In fact, when messing around trying to clean it, I already damaged the focusing screen. It's scratched by a cloth that wasn't the right one, or from a grain of sand slipping through. That's not really a big issue, because it's just a piece of glass that can be replaced. They sell them new for a few dollars. But it shows how careful one needs to be with this equipment.

Reviewing photos from Beijing showed that the piece of hair was already on there. It only becomes visible at higher apertures, starting with F8 or so, and I don't take many shots that high. But knowing it's there already bothers me. It's also in a nasty position, at the top right, so it will show very easily when taking pictures with a piece of clear sky in it.

So now I'll start looking for the right cleaning kit, to do it myself... Also not a nice prospect, when you know that one wrong move will turn you suicidal...

In the meantime, whilst I sweat to somehow get my sensor cleaned, enjoy the photo I took before I spotted the dust... yes, a monkey again :-)

Click on the photo for a bigger version...