Camera cleaning

I am not referring to making sure there is no dirt on the camera, but rather that the camera sensor is relatively clean of dust and other particulars. I have a Canon 30D, before they introduced the 'micro shake' of the sensor to have small dust drop off every time the camera is turned on. 

I can tell there is stuff on my sensor when the specs show up in shots. I then turn to this shooting to confirm: on a solid sky in the day, push up the F/ to about 15+, and snap. Today the result was this:


Specs all over the place! On no!


When I first encountered this problem, I wasn't sure what I could do. I thought about canned air, but decided against that.
I read up on the issue, and discovered the Gitzo Air Blower. For a Canon, there was a setting for clean sensor. It would cause the reflector mirror to lock up in place exposing the sensor for cleaning. I would turn the body so the sensor would face down, and be careful not to get the blow any close to the sensor than I had to. Then I would have blower do its thing. At first this was enough for me.


After a few times of doing the blower method, it provided to be not enough to clean it properly. I did more research. Some folks refused to do it themselves, and sent the camera body in to a shop to have it professionally cleaned. Then again, most of those folks either had the money or photography was their livelihood and depended on super clean images. Another crowd recommended doing a more through cleaning by hand. I tracked down one cleaning kit from Copper Hill Images.

 I picked up a kit and got nervous. I read horror stories of people who did something wrong and scratched the surface of the sensor... or whatever. For the Copper Hill kit, there were two levels of cleaning- a brush that worked with static cling, and the other that worked with a lint free cloth and a solution. So combined with my blower, I was up to three levels of cleaning. 

Here is the results of today's cleaning from all three, because they were all needed:

I also try two different lenses on the camera, just to make sure the dirt isn't on the lens. You never know!


Finally, here is what the table looked like when I was done cleaning:

Don't get me wrong, sending it in to get it cleaned professionally is great. I have done that once when I was getting another issue taken care of. However, I know that isn't always the best answer. Between time, money, and effort, I am taking the home cleaning first. If it is something beyond my skills, then I have no problem sending it off. Just realize that the sensor is everything for your camera. It isn't like you can just stick a fresh roll of film in if you mess up!

It's official- Canon 7D

Color me confused! I was honestly thinking this was a clever ruse. I was wrong!

The only thing I can think of is that it is the tweener body- between the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 50D- which means it is targeted at me.
Not sure if I would use the Wireless file transmission, but it is an expensive option- $700.

I do like the artificial horizon overlay. That does rock.
Dual processors for wicked fast processing.
Still has the 1.6x cropped sensor.
ISO up to 3200, or a possible 128000 in H mode.
Still uses CF cards, no SD dual slots.
19 points of AF
weather-sealing
oh, and HD video.
It is something I will be seriously considering when I am going to replace my aging 30D. Now, can a brother spare $1600 for the body- please? I'd be willing to give up my 30D in trade!

(update: one thing I am not sure I like- it uses a new vertical battery grip. Another $300 investment. Grrrrrrr)


Read a hands on review from DPreview.
Read the official Canon press release here.

Canon 7D?

I am thinking this is fake. The 5D Mark II was announced on September 2008. Canon has an 18 month new product cycle, which means the next one for the 5D replacement should be announced in February of 2010. WAY too early for any sort of production information like this in poster format.

The reported stats of this 'new' body really don't jive with the current format. 6400 ISO on the 7D where as the 5D II has the same plus higher as options.

I could do more with the poster from the translations in the forums... but that is not the crux of my post.

My opinion is that this is a fake. There is just no way a Chinese poster version of a new Canon camera comes out months before it should be announced. Just doesn't happen.

This one part of the digital camera age I do like- geeking out about things.

UPDATE:
Found this posted on Engadget this morning... maybe it isn't as fake as I had thought. Still confusing on how it would be placed in the lineup if it is real.
Not a full frame sensor, but 8 frames per second. *ponder*

Camera influence

My buddy Matt wrote to me asking:

Tell me why I should or shouldn't buy the Canon EOS T1i kit for $800 from Costco. The HD video is captivating.

(I also was curious to see how the attached image would be handled by Blogger via an email post- not bad- not bad at all!)

I will be the first to admit, I am a Canon user. I like their products. Why though? It was the make of the first point and shoot I bought, and have stuck with them ever since. I am invested in time, money, and interest now. I like what they produce- simple as that. I am not technical enough to tell you why Nikon or Sony or any other manufacturers as better or worse. I just don't have the time or energy!

Lets get the big elephant out of the room shall we?

HD video.

Canon introduced HD video recording in their digital SLR cameras with the Canon 5D Mark II. (they were the first if I recall) The 5D line is the only Canon which has a full frame sensor, which is fantastic for a more true 35mm film photo taking.

Phil's take: The HD video can be a wonderful thing. However, I am not one for spending a ton of time editing video. That is another beast to me entirely. It took me a long while to understand the value of editing images afterward. (I do love Adobe Lightroom)
If you like taking video, and don't mind the tasks involved in processing it- then I say this is a great feature. I am not patient enough yet to tackle this beast.

Otherwise, the camera itself is a great introduction level camera. I don't know why anyone would need more than 10MP images, but Canon has bumped up the size to 15MP in this version. It has the similar sensor as the 50D. I am going to default to people who review these things full time for a much better in-dept analysis of the camera that I could ever provide. See DPreview's review.

Phil's take: I've found the Rebel line body to be a bit small in my hands. The navigation on the back is a bit hampered by the button layout in my opinion, which hasn't changed since I had my Rebel XT.
It takes SD memory now, which is a switch from what I am used to in the XT days of CF cards. However more and more cameras are going that way. However, memory is so darn cheap I don't think most people care. It is an almost after thought!


So Matt, to answer your question- yes, I could recommend it. It is small enough to pack in a bag and not worry about it. However, you could learn and buy a lens or two and go from there. It is a slippery slope once you start on the DSLR level... The response between button pushed and image taken is highly addicting- and at that price it is a gateway drug.

Why I wouldn't buy it- the time it would take to handle the video on top of the images. I also would want to do more with it- more lenses, more gear. It gets expensive and time consuming. If all you want is video of your kids at holidays I would stick with a purposed video device.

So the question is- do you want to take photography to the next level past just tourist snaps? Or are you challenged by the limitations of your current setup? Or do you just want to do HD video? I throw it back to you- what do you want?