I have had my Z8 for less than a month and already have sensor dust spots in my images. I chose to have the sensor cover deploy on camera shutoff which I assume is akin to a mechanical shutter. I have already experienced a fair amount of visible “dust” on the sensor despite having only light use for the camera in clean environments. This is in contrast to my Z5 which has no dust to speak of after a couple years of regular use in similar situations (and many more lens changes). I ask because if I have to mail in the Z8 I will have them clean the sensor but I am also considering returning it if others are experiencing similar issues (which I don’t trust Nikon to tell me). Of note, I may be overly concerned because many years ago I ended up having to trade in my D600 at a loss because of multiple recurrent issues with heavy splattering and I just got tired of the hassle when they (Nikon) refused to acknowledge a recurrent pattern of many spots in the same distribution on the sensor. I never had that issue with my D700. Ultimately, I learned that they admitted to the issue and replaced shutters on the D600 but that did not help me. I don’t want to end up in a similar situation hence the question to the other early adopters. Also, could the shield be causing this and is it best to deploy only when changing lenses (or doing so in a high risk environment)? Thanks.
@ericbowles That's great, Eric. Thanks for the update. We don't have any turtles to try it on here. Although you can see American Pond Sliders in some of the pools in Prague parks.
I have had my Z8 for less than a month and already have sensor dust spots in my images. I chose to have the sensor cover deploy on camera shutoff which I assume is akin to a mechanical shutter. I have already experienced a fair amount of visible “dust” on the sensor despite having only light use for the camera in clean environments. This is in contrast to my Z5 which has no dust to speak of after a couple years of regular use in similar situations (and many more lens changes). I ask because if I have to mail in the Z8 I will have them clean the sensor but I am also considering returning it if others are experiencing similar issues (which I don’t trust Nikon to tell me). Of note, I may be overly concerned because many years ago I ended up having to trade in my D600 at a loss because of multiple recurrent issues with heavy splattering and I just got tired of the hassle when they (Nikon) refused to acknowledge a recurrent pattern of many spots in the same distribution on the sensor. I never had that issue with my D700. Ultimately, I learned that they admitted to the issue and replaced shutters on the D600 but that did not help me. I don’t want to end up in a similar situation hence the question to the other early adopters. Also, could the shield be causing this and is it best to deploy only when changing lenses (or doing so in a high risk environment)? Thanks.
It's very unlikely the sensor shield is causing a problem. You would have heard about that with the Z9.
There is a lot of surface area other than the sensor, and if you have dust on a lens cap, the back of a lens, etc., it can migrate to the sensor.
Are you shooting in a dusty environment?
Have you used a good blower to clean the dust on the sensor?
Are you using small/high apertures?
I have seen no issues of dust on my Z8. I have had a little dust on my Z6, Z50 and Z7ii, but the sensor is nanocoated to prevent dust from sticking so a blower handles it quite well.
Eric Bowles
www.bowlesimages.com
If I recall correctly, the D600 had a problem with oil spatter. This was a defect with the camera's shutter mechanism. I haven't heard of anything similar since.
If the Z8 has a similar problem, it would be related to deploying the sensor curtain. I haven't heard of any complaints about that yet, and I would expect the Z9 to suffer from the same problem since I expect the mechanisms are fully shared between both cameras.
If it's just dust, it has nothing to do with the sensor curtain, and the absence of the curtain would almost certainly lead to more dust.
Can you share
ideal bank settings for macro please?
@ircut Makes sense if they are indeed identical. Just surprising based on my experience with Z5 over last couple years. Time will tell. Maybe just bad luck. I hoped it would be close to dust proof with shield.
Hi,
I know this is an old thread but I'm searching for some help with my Z8.
I've just bought Z8 the colors are washed out.
@spencer
RAW
I'm shooting in a studio. The exposure of the pictures is roughly the same.
@schralp Had the same issue since i constantly do photography outdoors so my camera is always exposed to dusty environments. I use the Digital Survival Kit by Photographic solutions whenever my camera needs cleaning. it comes with wipes and the eclipse solutions which is safe to the camera sensor. Now I don't have any problems using my camera outdoors
I've used several Z cameras extensively (Z9, Z8, Z6ii and Z5), and have personally had less dust on the Z9 and Z8, which I would expect since they have the sensor shield. It's really stange that your Z8 would "attract" more dust than your Z5 in a similar enviorment. I know this thread is old - are you still having this issue?