(Oil Sprayed On) D7000 (Sensor) « Nikon Rumors Forum

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(Oil Sprayed On) D7000 (Sensor)

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CassiusRoads

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@casperwb

Yes wet cleaning will remove it and yes it was oil. It is not the higher resolution of the D7000 - it was visible when looking at the sensor - and very clearly oil when all of the "dust" particles smudged exactly where they were as lines of yellowish oil when looking at the sensor. After that was cleaned, it happened again, and without any attempt at cleaning my father took it to the store where he bought it. The employees at the camera store and the technicians at the Nikon service centre all agreed that it was oil. Apparently this is not the first D7000 that had been brought in because of this. There is a very clear difference between dust and oil. I experience dust on my D200's low pass filter. My father had oil on his D7000's low pass filter. I clean my D200 with the exact same techniques. They have worked every time for years - because I have only ever had dust on the D200 sensor.
You may have not have had oil on your D7000, but my father, some Nikon service techs, some camera store employees, and I all agreed that his D7000 had oil on the sensor filter.

Posted 1 year ago #
rbid

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Which wet method do you suggest?
(Add the corresponding disclaimer due to the danger of ruining the camera when applying the wet method incorrectly!)

Posted 1 year ago #
casperwb

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Ribid

I use methanol with a swab.

One pass only on each side of the swab.

The brand I use is Eclipse and you can get it and replacement pecpads and supplies from B&H, Amazon or many of the other suppliers. [Niko please don not delete]

Please remember to use very little methanol, better to use too little than too much.

There are some very nice sites that give you indepth instructions on cleaning the sensor filter. Google "digital camera sensor cleaning"

I use a Gittos blower first, and if that does not work, then the wet method, of course the in camera cleaning is on at start up and shut down all the time.

A tip that might be useful is to keep your camera level on start up and shut down to prevent the dust collecting on the lower left and lower right while the camera is doing its cleaning.

for me the room in the house that I use for cleaning is the bathroom, as it tends to be very clean and has no dust.

good luck, it is not as hard or difficult as people say.

Posted 1 year ago #
rbid

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casperwb said:
Ribid

I use methanol with a swab.

One pass only on each side of the swab.

The brand I use is Eclipse and you can get it and replacement pecpads and supplies from B&H, Amazon or many of the other suppliers. [Niko please don not delete]

Please remember to use very little methanol, better to use too little than too much.

There are some very nice sites that give you indepth instructions on cleaning the sensor filter. Google "digital camera sensor cleaning"

I use a Gittos blower first, and if that does not work, then the wet method, of course the in camera cleaning is on at start up and shut down all the time.

A tip that might be useful is to keep your camera level on start up and shut down to prevent the dust collecting on the lower left and lower right while the camera is doing its cleaning.

for me the room in the house that I use for cleaning is the bathroom, as it tends to be very clean and has no dust.

good luck, it is not as hard or difficult as people say.

I have (had) the Eclipse kit, but it seems that the liquid is already old and I need to replace it (my kid left the bottle open and all the alcohol may have vaporized leaving me with the non-alcoholic liquid that leaves some marks on the sensor). The method I use is the Copper Hill Method. (Just let Google be your friend in finding pages related to "Copperhill Sensor Cleaning Method")

Posted 1 year ago #
Kontharo

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Joined: Sep '10
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I also get oil spray on the sensor. Had the sensor cleaned by Nikon once, but the oil is now back on the sensor.

I never cleaned the sensor myself.

Posted 1 year ago #
tooki

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Joined: Oct '11
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I'm also a bit shocked at the know-it-alls telling people they are wrong, regardless of evidence.

It is oil. Not dust. Why?

On my D7000, I got the spots. Here's the evidence that it's not random dust, sorted from circumstantial evidence to plain confirmation:

1. They didn't look like typical dust spots as I am used to from my D70.
2. The spots appeared in the same area as other D7000 users complaining of the issue.
3. The self-cleaning didn't work.
4. Blowing with a quality blower didn't work at all. In my D70, the blower would remove most dust.
5. Repeated self-cleaning *without taking any photos or otherwise opening the shutter* made the problem significantly worse.
6. Took it to the camera shop, where they performed a cleaning, then found that using the camera immediately caused spots to reappear.
7. Nikon Switzerland not only cleaned the sensor, but also replaced a motor.
8. Nikon Switzerland told me it's a known issue. Sensor cleaning is normally NOT covered under warranty, but because it is a manufacturing defect, it's covered.

To anyone with this issue, call Nikon — they'll fix it for you. A simple sensor cleaning is NOT enough, because the source of the contamination is a camera component.

Posted 1 year ago #
JECSD

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@ tookl - I am new to this forum, and have followed with interest.
My history is much the same as yours and others who have had this problem.
Difference - Nikon Canada, does NOT acknowledge the problem.
After some frustration, similar to your situation, I called them and was told that the D7000 does NOT have oil problems and i might say they were quite rude about it.
I decided to take it to my local store (where i bought it) which is certified by Nikon to clean sensors, to have the sensor cleaned. The technician said it WAS oil, and that they had seen quite a few D7000s with this issue. They also called their Nikon rep who would NOT acknowledge the problem to them either!
The shop (they are a large Canadian- wide vendor, well reputed, sell a lot of nikons….) did a fine job in cleaning. I played it safe and tried using it only in the "quiet" mode, to reduce mirror slap. Yesterday, however, i took a shot on the normal S setting and to my horror several large droplets appeared, visible even on my camera LCD - basically from one shot to the next!
I guess i will have to verify again that it is oil and then send it in to Nikon, which i have been told can be a 6-8 week ordeal!
BUT, i will try to be optimistic! Maybe in the last few weeks things have changed….

Posted 1 year ago #
CaryTheLabelGuy

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JECSD said:
@ tookl - I am new to this forum, and have followed with interest.
My history is much the same as yours and others who have had this problem.
Difference - Nikon Canada, does NOT acknowledge the problem.
After some frustration, similar to your situation, I called them and was told that the D7000 does NOT have oil problems and i might say they were quite rude about it.
I decided to take it to my local store (where i bought it) which is certified by Nikon to clean sensors, to have the sensor cleaned. The technician said it WAS oil, and that they had seen quite a few D7000s with this issue. They also called their Nikon rep who would NOT acknowledge the problem to them either!
The shop (they are a large Canadian- wide vendor, well reputed, sell a lot of nikons….) did a fine job in cleaning. I played it safe and tried using it only in the "quiet" mode, to reduce mirror slap. Yesterday, however, i took a shot on the normal S setting and to my horror several large droplets appeared, visible even on my camera LCD - basically from one shot to the next!
I guess i will have to verify again that it is oil and then send it in to Nikon, which i have been told can be a 6-8 week ordeal!
BUT, i will try to be optimistic! Maybe in the last few weeks things have changed….

I recommend you learn the "Copperhill" method of sensor cleaning. It will save you a ton of hassle. I'm not totally sold on the oil reports, but it's possible. Either way, it can easily be solved by swabbing your sensor using the "Copperhill" method. You'll need the proper sensor swabs and cleaner and will need to carefully use the correct method. Google is your friend.

It sure beats sending your D7000 back to Nikon every time you get some dust on the sensor.

Posted 1 year ago #
ipdouglas

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Joined: May '12
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Those that think this issue with the Nikon D7000 is simply dust and not an oil or grease are mistaken. Under careful loupe examination this debris is clearly opaque to light and creates greasy marks on the sensor.
For me it started (or appeared to start) after using mirror lock-up.
I suspect a rather (too) liberal amount of lubricant or some black coating (antireflective?) or some other contaminant is breaking loose and causing this issue.
It is widely reported and NIKON should sit up and take notice. It looks as though they have even if they are not publically admitting it as newer D7000s seem to suffer less.
The old Nikon corporation would have put there hand up and taken responsibility but I doubt that will happen.
The answer is simple buy a Canon. I know that is sacriledge but this way they will react in future.
Can you be guaranteed that your £2800 on a Nikon D800 body will not have the same problem? No you cant because Nikon refuse to acknowledge it! When they own up and fix it you have that surety........ but not yet.

Posted 1 year ago #
tsitalon1

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Joined: Apr '12
Posts: 38
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ipdouglas said:
Those that think this issue with the Nikon D7000 is simply dust and not an oil or grease are mistaken. Under careful loupe examination this debris is clearly opaque to light and creates greasy marks on the sensor.
For me it started (or appeared to start) after using mirror lock-up.
I suspect a rather (too) liberal amount of lubricant or some black coating (antireflective?) or some other contaminant is breaking loose and causing this issue.
It is widely reported and NIKON should sit up and take notice. It looks as though they have even if they are not publically admitting it as newer D7000s seem to suffer less.
The old Nikon corporation would have put there hand up and taken responsibility but I doubt that will happen.
The answer is simple buy a Canon. I know that is sacriledge but this way they will react in future.
Can you be guaranteed that your £2800 on a Nikon D800 body will not have the same problem? No you cant because Nikon refuse to acknowledge it! When they own up and fix it you have that surety........ but not yet.

This is what bugs me too!

The D7k was my first Nikon experience and that has left a bad taste...

I feel like Nikon never really took responsibility for inconsistent AF, 2/3 of a stop hot metering, slightly off WB, and oil splatter. I have since sold my D7k!

I have decided to give Nikon another chance, but just one more new body chance. I made that decision based on the large following of Nikon owners who love Nikon but also admit the D7k was a flawed design. I'm currently waiting for the D400.

Where is Nikon's sense of honor, responsibility, credibility? When the D800 had AF issues widely reported on the left side, Nikon should of put out a press release stating "due to reports of possible misaligned AF sensors, Nikon is temporarily suspending production of the D800 until a analysis can be made".

Instead it *appears* they halted production and blamed customer demand for the shortage.

Admit there is a production issue, fix it, and move on! This builds trust with your user community.

Posted 1 year ago #
DaveO

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Joined: Mar '11
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I'm waiting for the D 400 too! It's between it and the D 700, even though it is 4 years old in technology, but supposed to be a great camera. Too many problems associated with the D 7000 for that much money!

Posted 1 year ago #
aslightdelay

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Any possibility it's pollen? It's dust, but it'll also "smudge" the way something oily will (one of the posters above mentioned yellowish streaks...)

Posted 1 year ago #
spraynpray

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It isn't pollen or dust.

Yesterday I was talking to a local guy who runs a photo gear business - he sells sensor cleaning gear and also cleans sensors. He is starting to see a few D7000's (seven in the last two weeks) for cleaning and showed me pics he took of the oil on the sensor. The best way to describe it is that it looks like frogspawn - you get a darker spot with the oil creeping out from it creating a lighter 'halo'. Sometimes it is taking him 12 swabs to remove it so he is thinking of putting his prices up.

It seems the problem actually does exist, hopefully Nikon has already changed the out of control process for one that does the job right.

Mine seems OK (so far) but then I haven't put many clicks on it yet.

Posted 1 year ago #
spraynpray

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I spoke too soon - 20 or 30 continuous high bracketed exposures and I have a little dot or two. I will not panic into getting it cleaned too soon, I'll let the excess spray off for a while.... 8-(

You would have thought they would have learned what happens if you use an out of control process by now....

Posted 1 year ago #
aslightdelay

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Mine didn't have "a little dot or two." A couple of my shots looked like a tarantula had wandered into them. Whatever it was, I was able to get it off with a wet swab, though it took a couple of tries.

Posted 12 months ago #
earthsea

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Joined: May '12
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I have just descovered a few spots of oil on the sensor of my D800, not heard of this or experienced it before on any of my previous nikon cameras. My research tells me that the sensors in DSLR camera's can be easily cleaned but care must be taken and done at your own risk. Here is a simple system for the best result. Remember only wipe the sensor once per wiper unit.
http://www.visibledust.com/instructions.php?pid=450

Posted 7 months ago #