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I have a Sony a6000 mirror less camera, and have before today cleaned the sensor using the swab and fluid kits sucessfully. It had a persistent speck of dust and I cleaned it multiple times with new swabs. There looked like either a hair, or scratch on the sensor, and when taking pictures it now has an intermittent black fade!
Sounds like you may have scratched the sensor. Use your phone to zoom in on the sensor for a better look.
Sounds like you might have damaged the sensor although I wouldn't expect it to be intermittent. Have you got any pictures you can post taken with the camera?
You'll get the black fade if you have efc turned on and shooting at high shutter speeds. Turn that off just to rule it out.
5thElefant - Member
You'll get the black fade if you have efc turned on and shooting at high shutter speeds. Turn that off just to rule it out.POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
EFC?
Some images showing the issue, could this be caused by excessive cleaning fluid?
[img][url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/672/22822981091_2b8cd49036_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/672/22822981091_2b8cd49036_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ALMK8Z ]_DSC0312[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[img][url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/22189045484_03dfcd31b9_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/22189045484_03dfcd31b9_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/zNLEaJ ]_DSC0321[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[img][url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5711/22189040734_fa85800a74_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5711/22189040734_fa85800a74_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/zNLCKQ ]_DSC0345[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[img][url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/765/22190642673_c8d061392f_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/765/22190642673_c8d061392f_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/zNUQXt ]_DSC0346[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
It was also mixing up the portrait/landscape option in the view mode, and turning images upside down!
Yeah, not efc. When you say 'excessive cleaning fluid', you're supposed to put one drop of fluid on a swab, how much did you use?
Well I used about 4 swabs, and with each one dipped each of the two corners into the little bottle so it soaked into the swab. To be fair, I think the scratch and the image fade may be two separate issues. It doesn't happen with every shot, and I have tried with different lines but no idea.
Yeah, I doubt the fade is related to cleaning.
It's worth trying a new memory card. If it's in warranty I'd send it back.
I've tried each of the three memory cards in this today (1 x SanDisk Extreme PLUS 80 MB/S & 2 x SanDisk Extreme PRO 280 MB/S.) I've not been able to replicate the issue. I had heard that there have been some problems with the Extreme PROs, notably when shooting video.
When the issue was occurring there was some latency in writing to the memory card, so on each card I formatted the content, and then proceeded to shoot on each of the setting for multiple shots (Low/Med/High). On one of the cards writing seemed to take a bit longer, but this varied in duration, and there was no issue with the images.
I have also had a fresh look at the sensor and there was what looked like a bristle stuck to the side of the sensor, perhaps in the e-front curtain. I managed to remove this with a lens-pen sensor cleaner. On closer inspection of the glass over the sensor, it may be that what I though was a scratch, could be a smear as a result of using a brush.
[img][url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/624/22414930117_3b9efa8de1_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/624/22414930117_3b9efa8de1_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/A9JnNn ]IMG_3037[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
Look towards the top just right of middle of the sensor, what do you think?
[img][url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5680/22645289300_6862e1db8b_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5680/22645289300_6862e1db8b_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/Av62yq ]IMG_3033[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/54134812@N08/ ]sastrugi1977[/url], on Flickr[/img]
Closer look...
I am going to take it into town to a photography shop to see what they think, aside from that I will return it to Jessops for a check over.
Deny everything.
Leave your sensor alone, how is it getting dirty in the first place?
That's outside of the active part of the sensor, so if you can't move it I doubt it's anything.
I've had a memory card do something very similar, so you may have fixed it already.
Leave your sensor alone, how is it getting dirty in the first place?
It's an interchangible lens camera. Cleaning sensors is a regular chore.
Some cameras have a sensor that is sort of free floating as part of the image stabilization. I think cleaning them is not recommended.
Olympus are the only ones to claim you can't clean their stabilised sensors. Sony don't say this even on their stabilised cameras. The a6000 doesn't have stabilisation anyway.
A sensor is just a chip with some glass infront of it. Assuming you don't squirt cleaning fluid in and use a brillo pad there's not much scope for ballsing it up. Apart from Olympus's delicate stabilisation.
I'm thinking it was the bristle stuck in the e-front curtain (what is it for anyway) that may have been causing the issues. In that when shooting multiple shots at mid speed the curtain wasn't fully retracting each time. A possibility?
Yes. Could be the shutter hanging up. Have a look using a long exposure and you'll see.
But if that is a bristle you'll pick it up with a lens brush. Presumably where it came from in the first place.
Those black areas certainly look like a shutter sync problem, it's too straight, and appears in different places, like the curtain isn't in the correct place for the supposed shutter speed, if that makes sense. A foreign body, catching the shutter curtain as it travels past, delaying it for a fraction of a second could explain it.
Not that I'm very au fait with the latest mirrorless cameras.
Yeah I have one of [url= http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LQQQZQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000LQQQZQ&linkCode=as2&tag=alikgrif-20&linkId=UIYPVYTQEQFZROYK ]these[/url], I think it was a bristle of this or a random piece of detritus. One thing I don't understand though, is why there is the e-front curtain (shutter?) anyway, surely the sensor could just be activated electronically? I thought the new A7Rii had a silent mode like this?
The e front curtain is the electronic front curtain, so is electronic. But this is an option and can't work fast enough at high shutter speeds so you can get the fading, so you need to disable it at high shutter speed or when flickering lights are present.
They still use mechanical shutters at the end of the photo on the a6000, or both front and end if not using the e front curtain. I don't know why the limitation exists, but they can't read from the chip fast enough to do without the mechanical shutter yet. I guess the read the pixels sequentially by row rather than simultaneously.
So is the EFC the shutter or does it have another purpose? Also it makes you wonder why you can't close the EFC when changing lenses to avoid includes of dust.
The efc means it doesn't use the shutter when it starts taking the photo. It emulates a mechanical shutter electronically. There is still a mechanical shutter that is used at the end and optionally can be used at the start.
On dslrs the shutter is closed when you change lenses. Doesn't help. Crap still gets in and works its way onto the sensor.