DUST: Does this rule out buying DSLR's?

I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's site
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real DSLR
like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the potential DUST
problem that has put me off DSLRs.

The advantage of the Sony DSC-R1 is that it has DSLR quality 10MP photos and
a fixed lense, so I guess this pretty well eliminates the dust problem? One
site that discusses the dust problem is he

http://photography.about.com/library.../aa122903a.htm

I know of only one DSLR that advertises that it has "solved" the dust
problem. This is the Olympus E-300 DSLR, which has an innovative way of
preventing dust entering an SLR when swapping lenses, etc. Apparently, a
supersonic wave filter generates very high speed vibrations to remove the
dust from the CCD. The dust is captured on a special adhesive panel inside
the body. This function operates fully automatically at start-up, but it is
also possible to activate it manually.

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust problem
is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for a fixed
lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also, does the dust
system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it does, would the E-300
be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned about the dust problem?

Thanks for your advice

Jim F B

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 19:16:05 +1300, "Jim F B" wrote:

I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's site
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real DSLR
like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the potential DUST
problem that has put me off DSLRs.

The advantage of the Sony DSC-R1 is that it has DSLR quality 10MP photos and
a fixed lense, so I guess this pretty well eliminates the dust problem? One
site that discusses the dust problem is he

http://photography.about.com/library.../aa122903a.htm

I know of only one DSLR that advertises that it has "solved" the dust
problem. This is the Olympus E-300 DSLR, which has an innovative way of
preventing dust entering an SLR when swapping lenses, etc. Apparently, a
supersonic wave filter generates very high speed vibrations to remove the
dust from the CCD. The dust is captured on a special adhesive panel inside
the body. This function operates fully automatically at start-up, but it is
also possible to activate it manually.

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust problem
is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for a fixed
lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also, does the dust
system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it does, would the E-300
be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned about the dust problem?

Thanks for your advice

Jim F B




Lots of people have bought DSLRs and seem to use them. The old film
kind also had dust problems, I've scratched a few rolls of film.
Nothing's perfect, if you wait until it is, then you'll wait a long
time.

In article , says...

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust problem
is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for a fixed
lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also, does the dust
system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it does, would the E-300
be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned about the dust problem?

It's actually all Olympus DSLRs (E300, E330, E500, E1) which have this
dust shake off mechanism. How good is it ? Well, you never hear an
Olympus DSLR owner complain about dust, but you do hear owners of other
DLSR brands.
--

Alfred Molon
------------------------------
Olympus 50X0, 7070, 8080, E300, E330 and E500 forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MyOlympus/
Olympus E500 resource - http://myolympus.org/E500/

Jim F B wrote:

: I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust
: problem is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for
: a fixed lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also,
: does the dust system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it
: does, would the E-300 be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned
: about the dust problem?

If you are regularly using your camera in dust laden conditions and will
be frequently changing lenses in those conditions, yes this could be a
problem. But the same problem existed with SLR film cameras. But if you
are like the majority of "hobbyist" photographers you will rarely (if
ever) have to change lenses in a dust laden atmosphere. Most of the time
dust will be a non issue. If you are concerned that your camera may have
come in contact with dust to the point that some may be lurking in
crevices on the exterior, you may want to carry a can of compressed air to
clear the exterior seams and then place the camera in a closed environment
(like a large ziplock bag) where the lens change can be performed without
any "windborn" particles being propelled into the open camera body.

On the other hand I have never gone this far and have yet to have any dust
particles on the sensor. I have had a few settle on the mirror, but that
is much easier to clean. I just try to get out of the direct wind (in some
cases just turning my back to the breeze and sheltering the lens change
with my body). Unless you are changing lenses in a sand storm, a drafty
haunted house (with loads of dust swirling in the air), or a wood shop
next to the belt sander, you probably will do fine.

True, a P&S camera is much more resistant to exterior contaminants but the
reason many of us gravitate towards SLRs is the flexability that is
afforded with replaceable lenses. Where are you going to find a P&S camera
with 100+x optical zoom which I have with my array of lenses. Also since
the SLR tends to attract the higher end user the range of manual and
semi-manual functions available on an SLR camera body tends to be more
extensive than any single P&S camera. So if that flexability (lens and
settings) is important, SLR is the way to go. If not, you may be perfectly
happy with a P&S. The decision is up to you.

BTW, I used "SLR" in the above to refer to both film SLRs and Digital SLRs
equally (when practical) as most issues effect both formats equally.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL

Jim F B wrote:
I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's site
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real DSLR
like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the potential DUST
problem that has put me off DSLRs.

The advantage of the Sony DSC-R1 is that it has DSLR quality 10MP photos and
a fixed lense, so I guess this pretty well eliminates the dust problem? One
site that discusses the dust problem is he

http://photography.about.com/library.../aa122903a.htm

I know of only one DSLR that advertises that it has "solved" the dust
problem. This is the Olympus E-300 DSLR, which has an innovative way of
preventing dust entering an SLR when swapping lenses, etc. Apparently, a
supersonic wave filter generates very high speed vibrations to remove the
dust from the CCD. The dust is captured on a special adhesive panel inside
the body. This function operates fully automatically at start-up, but it is
also possible to activate it manually.

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust problem
is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for a fixed
lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also, does the dust
system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it does, would the E-300
be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned about the dust problem?

I think the dust "issue" is way over-hyped. I've noticed it maybe twice
in the almost-two-years I've had my 300D, and only as off-color blotches
on otherwise solid blue sky (quite easily fixable with most better
photo-retouching tools) when shooting airplanes. A quick once-over with
a lens brush does the trick every time. Yes, it can happen... but I
wouldn't consider the possibility a major influence for your buying
decision unless you plan to shoot a lot in sand storms and dust devils.


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I hope you never wasted money on a film SLR as they get dust in them
too. Or if you did, I hope you never used any film which is a dust magnet -
quite literally. It has to do with water impurities, negative ions and
gravity plus some other things you obviously never thought about until you
read something written by a hack writer who has obviously given the matter
no more thought than you have.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"Jim F B" wrote in message ...
I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's site
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real DSLR
like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the potential
DUST
problem that has put me off DSLRs.

The advantage of the Sony DSC-R1 is that it has DSLR quality 10MP photos
and
a fixed lense, so I guess this pretty well eliminates the dust problem?
One
site that discusses the dust problem is he

http://photography.about.com/library.../aa122903a.htm

I know of only one DSLR that advertises that it has "solved" the dust
problem. This is the Olympus E-300 DSLR, which has an innovative way of
preventing dust entering an SLR when swapping lenses, etc. Apparently, a
supersonic wave filter generates very high speed vibrations to remove the
dust from the CCD. The dust is captured on a special adhesive panel inside
the body. This function operates fully automatically at start-up, but it
is
also possible to activate it manually.

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust problem
is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go for a fixed
lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead? Also, does the
dust
system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well? If it does, would the
E-300
be the best bet in DSLRs if you are concerned about the dust problem?

Thanks for your advice

Jim F B

But the same problem existed with SLR film cameras.

Well, not exactly. Every time you wound the film on, you had a fresh
'sensor'. I do shoot in dusty environments, and I have never, I repeat
never had a problem with dust on film *at the time of imaging* in all
my old SLR's. Later, yes...!

That's one reason why I am waiting patiently with my prosumer, until a
decent no-dust design arrives with a good low-noise sensor of at least
8, preferably 12 Mp.

The Olympus cameras are almost there, but not quite...

Jim F B wrote:
I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's
site http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real
DSLR like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the
potential DUST problem that has put me off DSLRs.

The advantage of the Sony DSC-R1 is that it has DSLR quality 10MP
photos and a fixed lense, so I guess this pretty well eliminates the
dust problem? One site that discusses the dust problem is he

http://photography.about.com/library.../aa122903a.htm

I know of only one DSLR that advertises that it has "solved" the dust
problem. This is the Olympus E-300 DSLR, which has an innovative way
of preventing dust entering an SLR when swapping lenses, etc.
Apparently, a supersonic wave filter generates very high speed
vibrations to remove the dust from the CCD. The dust is captured on a
special adhesive panel inside the body. This function operates fully
automatically at start-up, but it is also possible to activate it
manually.

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust
problem is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go
for a fixed lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead?
Also, does the dust system employed on the Olympus E-300 work well?
If it does, would the E-300 be the best bet in DSLRs if you are
concerned about the dust problem?

Thanks for your advice

Jim F B

You could lock the new camera in a dust-free, vacuum case, with 1/2-inch
thick glass walls, and just look at it, or you could do what the rest of us
do, use it and clean the damn thing now and again.

This reminds me of the many laptop owners who complain about grotty screens,
not realising that it is their own grot!

Jim F B wrote:
I have been reading the review of the Sony DSC-R1 on Ken Rockwell's site
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/dsc-r1.htm

and I see that the conclusion is that you are better off with a real DSLR
like the Canons or the Nikon D50. But it has always been the potential DUST
problem that has put me off DSLRs.


Dust is actually less of a problem on a DSLR than it was in film SLRs.
Film cameras would get dust on the pressure plate which would leave
huge scratches on the film. The DSLR does not even have a film plate.

I and my Nikon D70 currently live in the tropics. We have weathered
typhoons, dust storms, high humidity, and very hot weather. I change
lenses constantly and I take few precautions to protect the interior of
the camera from dust.

You know what? I sometimes get dust specks on my pictures. You know
what else? I get fewer of them than I did when the camera was new and I
babied it constantly. I have learned that dust specks will sometimes
show up, that they are only visible against a solid color background
and therefore easily edited out, and that they rarely stay on the
sensor for more than a few shots. I don't even bother to clean the
sensor any more.

Jim F B writes ...

I wondered if any users of DSLRs could comment on whether the dust
problem is significant enough to rule out buying a DSLR and thus go
for a fixed lense 10MP quality camera like the Sony DSC-R1 instead?

If you see dust on your images you can clone it out pretty easily.
You'll need to learn to clean the sensor but once you've learned this
it seems no more complicated than cleaning a lens. I was just in
Africa on a 2 week photo trip and at one place the dust was so thick
that I'm getting a surgeon's mask before I go back (seriously, my wife
coughed up dust for 2 weeks after we got back ... it coated
everything). So we got dust on the sensor almost daily at this place,
but it only took a few minutes each night to clean two cameras. On the
other hand I've spent two weeks in Alaska and never had to clean the
sensors a single time.

To me, bottom line is that dust is a nuisance but definitely NOT a
reason to pass on a dSLR. You can clone out most dust spots pretty
easily and you can clean the sensor in a few minutes when that becomes
necessary.

Bill