New 1DX Mark II Owner - Is This Dirty Sensor Normal?

[KfirGuy]

Good day everyone,

I was hoping I could get some input/insight from the group. Several months back, I had the good fortune of stumbling across an Open Box 1DX Mark II being sold at ridiculous markdown by a local retailer. It had been their Display Unit, and as Canon had discontinued the model, I was able to pick it up for about $800USD - a deal which I thought was a steal for a 1DX Mark II with fewer than 1,000 actuations.

To avoid making this story too lengthy, what has blown me away about this 1DX Mark II so far has been how absolutely dirty the sensor is. At first, I assumed that as it was open box, that it must have been left without a cover in a high dust environment. No worries, off to Canon it goes for a free cleaning as a CPS member. It comes back - first shot afterwards, the sensor was still absolutely dirty. Emails with Canon result in them asking me to send it back in - no problem, maybe the folks in Newport News forgot to clean it somehow.

So this past weekend I have it back after a second cleaning at Canon, and this is what all of the images I took that day look like. Obviously this has been equalized, but the sheer volume of spots just stuns me. Is this normal for 1DX series bodies? I have seen some mention of oil spatter, with some folks saying it is worse than others, but the degree of dirtiness that I am encountering with this sensor is not anything that I am used to whatsoever. I shot for 7+ years with the old 100-400mm push pull "dust pump" and never even needed to spring for cleaning of my 7D. I know how to take care of my gear and not introduce dust etc. to the sensor when swapping lenses. Are these sample images below normal?

Airplanes and birds are my two biggest subjects photography-wise, dust spots of this magnitude are absolutely brutal against a blue sky background. I already have some PTSD from the few that I have tried to go and remove all of the individual spots from.

Is this just what life will look like with a 1DX series body? I am trying to resist the temptation to start using it as a paperweight on my desk while the 6DII goes back into the bag



NKP_3860 by Nicholas Peterman, on Flickr

 

[privatebydesign]

This is entirely normal on 1 series cameras. It takes seconds to clean so get used to doing it yourself.

 

[john1970]

I wonder why this is the case with the 1D series? I used to use the 1Dx Mk2 as my go to cameras until I purchased a R5 and am patiently waiting for a R1.

 

[Del Paso]

Despite the dirt spots, great picture of a great plane!

 

[koenkooi]

[..]

Airplanes and birds are my two biggest subjects photography-wise, dust spots of this magnitude are absolutely brutal against a blue sky background. I already have some PTSD from the few that I have tried to go and remove all of the individual spots from.
[..]

I rented an 1dx3 last year and after coming back from the bog filled with dragonflies I noticed that the sensor was very dirty. What I did was use the 'spot detect' feature in Lightroom (see this article on how to enable that) and then synced the edits to all the pictures. You might need to switch between a few pictures to get all the spots (add, sync, switch, repeat).
With all the spots tagged and brushed I went through the pictures again to check if the healing brush didn't destroy detail or edges. I had to delete a few of the brushes where they made things worse, but that was on 10 out of 400+ pictures.

Solid out-of-focus backgrounds are as bad as a clear sky for showing spots, all hail the healing brush:



Before heading out I used a sensor brush to get rid of the really big spots, ones that show up at f/3.5, but I hadn't checked for tiny, sticky spots that show up at f/11.

 

[LSXPhotog]

Unfortunately, yes. This is par for the course with the 1DX Mark II and I believe the original 1DX as well. I would send mine in at the end of each race season for a free Canon cleaning and get it taken care of. It only became an issue for me after about 2 years of use, but then I would routinely have to send it into Canon for a yearly TLC “spa treatment.”

 

[Larsskv]

This seems worse than what I am used to, but it is hard to compare, as the spots are enhanced in editing, and the image is probably shot at a small aperture. Shooting at larger apertures will rarely reveal the spots. In every day use, I am not bothered much by a dirty 1D sensor. But yes, it requires more cleaning than most other cameras.

 

[Canonite]

The Mark II which I owned before switching to the R5 had a filthy sensor right out of the box.
First 1D series body that came with a dirty sensor from new. Too much lubricant on the shutter, and not easy to clean.
Buy yourself a sensor gel stick and swabs. The Mark II is an excellent camera, and will take some time to keep it clean sensor wise.

 

[R1-7D]

All the 1DX series camera have this problem. I used to send both my 1DX and 1DX Mark II in multiple times a year for cleaning. If you're a general shooter who uses the camera for landscape and/or macro work with the lens aperture stopped down, you will absolutely notice the oil splatter from these cameras.

The oil splatter used to infuriate me. I got rid of my last 1D camera when the R5 came out and haven't looked back.