Scratched Sensor

[bjd]

Hi,
my weekend was slightly ruined on Saturday. Canon does free Cleaning and Checking at a local Wildlife Photo Annual Meeting, and as usual I handed in my 5D MK3 to be cleaned. When I got it back I was told it had not been cleaned as the sensor is scratched. Putting fluid on it could make the damage worse. Apparently its a straight line across parallel to the top edge of the sensor. When asked how that could happen the tech thought some dirt may have been on the curtain.
I have never cleaned the sensor myself, only Canon has been near it. Does the explanation sound plausible?

I guess the Camera will go to Canon to let them have a look at it.

Up till now I can't see a problem in my pictures thought.

Cheers Brian

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

Scratches on the image sensor are more noticeable when shooting in aperture F16 or F22.

To produce a parallel risk to the upper edge, it would have to be something moving sideways, and I do not think the curtain makes such a move. Although the extremely fast speed prevents me to determine the exact direction in which the curtain moves.

 

[neuroanatomist]

To produce a parallel risk to the upper edge, it would have to be something moving sideways, and I do not think the curtain makes such a move. Although the extremely fast speed prevents me to determine the exact direction in which the curtain moves.

It moves 'down' the sensor, and you are correct that 'dirt on the shutter' would not likely produce a scratch parallel to the top edge of the sensor.

@bjd try the suggesting of taking a shot at the narrowest aperture possible (shoot a flat, evenly lit, defocused subject like a bright white wall). You can also examine the sensor directly by initiating a manual clean then removing the lens and viewing with a flashlight and magnifying glass (or a loupe if you have one).

 

[East Wind Photography]

Hi,
my weekend was slightly ruined on Saturday. Canon does free Cleaning and Checking at a local Wildlife Photo Annual Meeting, and as usual I handed in my 5D MK3 to be cleaned. When I got it back I was told it had not been cleaned as the sensor is scratched. Putting fluid on it could make the damage worse. Apparently its a straight line across parallel to the top edge of the sensor. When asked how that could happen the tech thought some dirt may have been on the curtain.
I have never cleaned the sensor myself, only Canon has been near it. Does the explanation sound plausible?

I guess the Camera will go to Canon to let them have a look at it.

Up till now I can't see a problem in my pictures thought.

Cheers Brian

Was he sure it was a scratch and not a crack? Could be the low pass filter is cracked. So this will play out in one of three ways. Either you will pay to have the sensor replaced, live with it and use the dust delete feature to minimize impact to your image, or you can send it off to have the low pass filter removed thus extending the life of the camera a bit more with an added "benefit" of not having an anti aliasing filter anymore. Once the filter is removed, you may not want to have the sensor cleaned again as i dont believe there is much more to protect the micro lenses. I could be wrong and might be model dependent.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I think your plan to send it to Canon is best. The person doing the cleaning is just examining the sensor for damage before cleaning it, but likely does not know much in depth about causes. Its entirely possible that with better viewing equipment that it will turn out to be minor.

 

[Aglet]

..Does the explanation sound plausible?

nope, shutter moves vertically, described scratch would have to be made by horizontal motion unless described incorrectly.

Can you see the scratch if you look at it in cleaning mode?

It's typically not that hard to replace the scratched filter assembly, it's not an actual damaged sensor, just the filter stack in front of it. Lots of shops do it, it may cost 2 to 3 hundred $usd

 

[bjd]

Hi, thanks for the various answers. Good to know that the shutter moves vertically before I send it in.

The Tech let me look in with his magnifying glass, I couldn't see any scratch.

I'll have a go at a narrow aperture shot see if I can see anything then.

Cheers everyone.

 

[bjd]

So this is one of a few narrow aperture shots I took, all look the same. A dusk speck in the lower middle
and what looks like a scratch about half-way between the dust speck and the top left corner.

Also there are about 5-6 very small darkish specks, are they dead cells on the sensor, I assume
they are too small to be dirt on the sensor.

Cheers Brian

 

[zim]

All looks like dust and dirt to me, the 'splodge' lower middle is that not more like oil?

 

[neuroanatomist]

All looks like dust and dirt to me, the 'splodge' lower middle is that not more like oil?

So I'm not the only one who doesn't see a scratch? I assumed it was iPhone viewing.

 

[meywd]

Yeah I don't think it's a scratch, the one on the right is a smudge(oil?) and I guess the one on the left is dirt!

 

[niels123]

The large spots usually come from dust that is on the back of you lens, not from dust on the sensor. Try cleaning the back of you lens with a blower or do some test shots with a different lens to see if the spots disappear.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

There are far more spots on my screen than on your sensor. It needs a good cleaning.

You can change lenses and try again to see if the large spot is lens dirt. If its still there with a different lens, then its on the sensor. However, its such a huge spot that its likely on the rear of the lens.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Folks.
Thanks to all for their knowledge, I'm unable to contribute anything of use to this thread but I am learning from it, you guys rock.

Cheers, Graham.

 

[Aglet]

That doesn't look like what I'd expect for a typical scratch either. Might be a tiny metal shard stuck to the sensor? I've found some of those inside a few lenses over the years, often tiny flakes of solder from internal electronics.

If you can't blow it off or wet-clean it off then you can decide whether it's enough of an issue to deal with replacing the filter stack.
I.E. What aperture does it start to show up with your longer lenses?
And... you can use a software fix for that in PP but yes, it's an annoyance if it's showing up at larger apertures.

 

[tpatana]

And... you can use a software fix for that in PP but yes, it's an annoyance if it's showing up at larger apertures.

But you know it's there...

 

[sanj]

All looks like dust and dirt to me, the 'splodge' lower middle is that not more like oil?

So I'm not the only one who doesn't see a scratch? I assumed it was iPhone viewing.

I dont see any scratch either.

 

[YuengLinger]

Any chance the Canon rep was cleaning so many cameras that yours got mixed up with somebody who actually did have a scratch?

If I had a cracked filter, I'd be concerned about stuff getting in under that crack over time, but a scratch that doesn't show up in any real life photos wouldn't be worth a trip to CPS if nothing else were wrong. Just me.

 

[bjd]

Any chance the Canon rep was cleaning so many cameras that yours got mixed up with somebody who actually did have a scratch?

If I had a cracked filter, I'd be concerned about stuff getting in under that crack over time, but a scratch that doesn't show up in any real life photos wouldn't be worth a trip to CPS if nothing else were wrong. Just me.

Hi, I went to another event today and just gave it in for cleaning. When I got it back "Scratch on the sensor" was noted. The tech last week had refused to clean the sensor as he feared putting liquid on it could make the problem worse. So, if I do nothing, then I cannot have the sensor wet cleaned. Whether it is a scratch or crack, they could not say.

I'll do some more tests with different lenses tomorrow and compare the results. I think I may try to get an appointment at CPS (about 60 miles away) and take it to them and ask for their opinion what is broke, how it could have happened, and concerning whether it could get worse with time.

I guess I can always get it done if the scratch starts to become visible. Hey, maybe a newer sensor will be better than this >3 year old one........

Attached is a pic showing the approx location of the scratch.

Cheers Brian,

and thanks for all the competent opinions and suggestions. They are much appreciated.

 

[turbo1168]

Am I wrong in thinking that the sensor data is taken upside down and reversed as the light comes through the lens? If so, a scratch on the top of the sensor would actually show up on the bottom of the image. Not that I can see anything in the picture that you showed.