Bottom line on dust?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Though pretty happy with my 5060 and accesory converters I have a drawer
full of fine Pentax lenses and am starting to think DSLR. One concern is
dust. I do some of my photography around construction sites. So, from
practical experience, is this something I should be concerned about.
Should I wait until Pentax has an electronic cleaner? Or should I just
forget my K mount lenses (assuming there are no adapters for them) and
head back to Oly?

Thanks.

/ron

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Ron wrote:
> Though pretty happy with my 5060 and accesory converters I have a
> drawer full of fine Pentax lenses and am starting to think DSLR. One
> concern is dust. I do some of my photography around construction
> sites. So, from practical experience, is this something I should be
> concerned about. Should I wait until Pentax has an electronic
> cleaner? Or should I just forget my K mount lenses (assuming there
> are no adapters for them) and head back to Oly?
> Thanks.
> /ron

I got my Pentax *ist because I've got 3 Pentax film lenses. They all work
perfectly. As for the dust dilemma, I've used my *ist in all sorts of
conditions and knock on wood, never had a problem. When I do change lenses
I just take extra care but I'm very prompt.

What I keep in my camera bag is a "clear" plastic garbage bag to change
lenses if the environment gets to dusty or wet. With a clear plastic bag
you can see what your doing, easily pack it away without sacrificing much
space until needed and they're very inexpensive if you need to replace it.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Sorry, Dumb question here, but,
why is dust in a digital camera worse than on a film camera?



"Jimmy Smith" <nospam@pleaseno.more> wrote in message
news2UDd.2767$7j.1608@bignews4.bellsouth.net...
> Bottom line is under the absolute best conditions you will shortly have
> dust
> on your sensor. You can change lenses quickly, in a bag, or with the
> mount
> faced down. It makes no difference. You will get dust. If you work
> around
> a construction site you will really get a lot of dust.
>
> I notice another poster mentioned swabs that are recommended by some
> manufacturer, but , are they recommended by YOUR manufacturer. You must
> expect dust, hope you can clean it and realize this is a weak point with
> digital SLRs. I wouldn't wait around for an "electronic" cleaner. It's
> not
> on the horizon.
>
>
> Jimmy
> "Ron" <rgood@netzero.com> wrote in message
> news:91TDd.52889$_%3.28885@fe05.lga...
>> Though pretty happy with my 5060 and accesory converters I have a drawer
>> full of fine Pentax lenses and am starting to think DSLR. One concern is
>> dust. I do some of my photography around construction sites. So, from
>> practical experience, is this something I should be concerned about.
>> Should I wait until Pentax has an electronic cleaner? Or should I just
>> forget my K mount lenses (assuming there are no adapters for them) and
>> head back to Oly?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> /ron
>>
>
>

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Jimmy Smith wrote:

> I wouldn't wait around for an "electronic" cleaner. It's
> not on the horizon.
>


Well olympus already has them on their cameras. And I have seen various e
mount lens adapters avalible, can't recall if there was a K mount but I saw
a screw mount, nikon etc.

--

Stacey

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

JohnR66 responds:
>"Ron" <rgood@netzero.com> wrote in message
>news:91TDd.52889$_%3.28885@fe05.lga...
>> Though pretty happy with my 5060 and accesory converters I have a drawer
>> full of fine Pentax lenses and am starting to think DSLR. One concern is
>> dust. I do some of my photography around construction sites. So, from
>> practical experience, is this something I should be concerned about.
>> Should I wait until Pentax has an electronic cleaner? Or should I just
>> forget my K mount lenses (assuming there are no adapters for them) and
>> head back to Oly?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> /ron
>>
>If you have a zoom, use it to avoid changing lenses at the site. We use
>cheap cameras at job sites. We bought a couple Fuji A330 $150 cameras. Keep
>the good camera clean for serious photography work. What is so interesting
>that you would need all the resolution for construction pictures? We often
>just shoot in 1mp mode.

Well, what is interesting around construction sites is what an editor will pay
for, just as it is in the environment I do a lot of shooting in, a woodworking
shop. The woodshop has less wind driven dust, and the pro shops have,
generally, less dust than the amateur shops, but it's there in both and screws
up lungs and cameras.

I shoot with a Pentax *istD and try not to change lenses on the construction
site, or in the shop, but sometimes it becomes necessary.

At this point, something like seven months into my camera's working life, I
have had to clean the sensor once with something other than a little air bulb.
It probably would help if I bought one of the foot pumps available...less
chance of a squeeze causing you to strike the sensor, plus a modicum more of
pressure. I use my air bulb about once a month, and about a month ago used a
Sensor Swap and Eclipse liquid for the only time, so far. At this pace, the
dozen swabs I bought should last close to seven years.

In other words, it's not a really bad problem.

Charlie Self
"One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above
that which is expected." George W. Bush

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Jimmy Smith <nospam@pleaseno.more> wrote:

> I wouldn't wait around for an "electronic" cleaner. It's not
> on the horizon.

I have such a device in my Olympus E-1, works a treat, dust is not an
issue with this camera at all, so far!

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Good question. I photograph deluxe swimming pools for a contractor as
part of a little side photography business. The assignment requires
documenting the construction process as well as doing fully completed
sites. There is great detail to be captured -- and my client loves to
pour over photos (which he uses for the web, an electronic manual he
gives to customers, and more traditional advertising) and ask for crops
of tiles, etc. Things that he sees after 35 years in the business, but I
might not. Right now my 5060 and 2020z serve me very well, and I
especially like the 5060 because I can attach a teleconverter to it
which gives me an equivalent of about 19mm for the extreme wide angle
shots I often need. So, I probably don't need a dslr for that. But for
railroad photography, another sideline, a dslr with no shutter lag and
the telephoto capabilities my lenses would provide is quite tempting. My
guess is that I will wait awhile for prices to come down and for someone
to make (if they don't already) a relatively inexpensive lens to let me
do extreme wide angle.

Thanks.

JohnR66 wrote:
> "Ron" <rgood@netzero.com> wrote in message
> news:91TDd.52889$_%3.28885@fe05.lga...
>
>>Though pretty happy with my 5060 and accesory converters I have a drawer
>>full of fine Pentax lenses and am starting to think DSLR. One concern is
>>dust. I do some of my photography around construction sites. So, from
>>practical experience, is this something I should be concerned about.
>>Should I wait until Pentax has an electronic cleaner? Or should I just
>>forget my K mount lenses (assuming there are no adapters for them) and
>>head back to Oly?
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>/ron
>>
>
> If you have a zoom, use it to avoid changing lenses at the site. We use
> cheap cameras at job sites. We bought a couple Fuji A330 $150 cameras. Keep
> the good camera clean for serious photography work. What is so interesting
> that you would need all the resolution for construction pictures? We often
> just shoot in 1mp mode.
> John
>
>