Sailorlite Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 A fuzzy round spot now appears in the same position on every picture. I thought is was due to a spec of dirt on the lens, but after cleaning the lens the spot's still there. Is this nevertheless probably due to dirt on the outside of the lens? If not, how would I clean the inside of the lens? Or the sensor? Will I probably need to take this to the pro photo shop? This camera is a compact point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 and gets plenty of abuse - such as a dust storm in Death Valley last week. It takes great shots and works well in my gloved left hand while underway - so I'd like to make a reasonable attempt to repair it. Link to comment
Twisties Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Good chance it is on the sensor. Not sure what to say about cleaning it. If you want to take a chance on getting inside the camera I can tell you that dSLR sensors (which are accessible without disassembly) may be cleaned with: Sensor Swabs and Eclipse Solvent . You have to get the right size swab (or you may have to cut one down to size for your camera). Moisten enough to clean the sensor, but not let any solvent run off at all. Solvent should not soak the sensor, or flow on it at all. Again, that's for dSLRs, which get a lot more dirt since the lenses are always off and on. What will happen on your P&S if you try this I can't say. It is possible that you might ruin the camera. I think I would take it to a shop and see what they have to say about it, then decide if you can live with it, want them to clean it, or want to take a chance on a go at it yourself. If it were on the lens you should be able to see it. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 There's a video on YouTube for exactly this, he just blows the sensor with a bulb to clean it. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Jan and Bob are on it. I had the same problem for about a year with my point-and-shoot cam, with all my photos having a big black blob in the lower-left corner: Nothing obvious on the outside of the lens. Jan pointed to the problem, and I was able to disassemble the camera and find the spec of dust on the sensor. Once the sensor was exposed I managed to blow the dust out of there without making physical contact, which seems like the best bet if possible. Link to comment
CoarsegoldKid Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Wow, something useful on U-tube. This fellow must not own a BMW motorcycle because he didn't use a torque wrench upon assembly. Link to comment
Twisties Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Great Video! Super find Bob. I agree, if blowing will do the trick, then go with that. dSLRs, because the sensor is somewhat exposed, can get stuff that won't blow off, but in that point and shoot it's hard to see how anything like that would get in there. Also, to save your current images, most software will do this: pretty easily. Link to comment
Jerry Johnston Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Looks like he did all that with the battery in place. I would have removed it just in case I dropped the screw driver onto the exposed circuit board. Link to comment
johnlt Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Looks like he did all that with the battery in place. I would have removed it just in case I dropped the screw driver onto the exposed circuit board. Probably even more important is to ground yourself because of potential electrostatic discharge. It can be a killer to electronic components. Link to comment
Sailorlite Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 I very much appreciate all the suggestions here, and following Bob's YouTube link I've just completed the sensor cleaning. Thanks, Bob. That seems to have solved the problem and the camera's ready for the next event. I'm amazed once again at what help can be found on the internet. This camera's over two years old now which in digital terms is rather elderly. I've been looking at the "tough" (dust proof) cameras as a possible replacement but would like to retain the slider-type on/off switch - which seems to be available only on conventional (un-tough) cameras. Also, I like my present Panasonic's wide angle lens (25mm). As long as I can open it up and clean the sensor I guess I should keep using it until something worse happens. FWIW, I did remove the battery but did not think to ground myself (static discharge isn't much of a problem here however). Link to comment
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