For digital SLR users, dust on the camera’s sensor is a fact of life. The web is filled with tips on how to minimize the build up, and some of them will actually help. We suggest making sure the back of your lenses and body caps are clean, and to vacuum out your camera bag every so often to minimize the amount of dust in your camera’s storage environment. The truth of the matter is that no matter how careful you are, eventually you will see some spots on your photos.

Dust will show up as small gray or black spots in your photos, like in the example above. More often than not, the spots will show up the most in portions of your image which contain sky or solid white areas. Many people think this is a problem with their lens, but more times than not this is not the case. However, lenses can collect small amounts of dust which are visible to the eye, but due to the distance between the rear element and the camera sensor the dust does not show up in the image.

There is an easy way to check for dust on your sensor, and chances are when you look for it, you’ll find it! All you have to do is put the camera in “aperture priority” mode, and stop it down to F22 or so. Set the lens to manual focus and adjust the focus to infinity. Now your ready to take a picture. Try to shoot something with plenty of light which is a solid color like a wall or the sky (if possible, keep the image free of objects). Open the image in your image editing software (Adobe Photoshop) and perform an “auto levels” adjustment. At this point, if there’s dust, you’ll see it. Whichever cleaning method you choose, use this procedure to check your work after each attempt at cleaning your sensor to monitor progress.

I’ve been cleaning my own camera sensors for a while now. As the proud owner of a Canon 5D and 30D, I’ve noticed quite a difference in the amount of time spent on cleaning their respective sensors. The full size sensor on the 5D takes me much longer to accurately clean than the smaller sensor of the 30D. The larger sensor has much more surface area, less area around the periphery of the sensor, and is much higher resolution. All of these factors play a role in how much dust will show up in the photos, and ultimately how tough the job is.

We currently offer a variety of products which don’t involve touching the sensor for sale in our store. The Green Clean uses an attachment with a small hose to convert a can of air into a vacuum to suck out dust particles in the sensor area. (Never use a can of air to blow air directly on your sensor!) Delkin offers a product called the Sensor Scope which is a loupe-like device with LED lights on it to help you spot dust particles on your sensor before cleaning. This reduces the need for the test shots described above. Also included in the box is a mini-vacuum cleaner which is powered from the USB port on your computer. This is a non-intrusive way to rid your sensor of small to medium amounts of dust. Our skilled technicians used non-abrasive wipes and an instant dry cleaning fluid to swab the sensor. This method involves physical contact with the camera’s sensor and it is not recommended that you attempt it without proper training. It does, however, seem to be the most effective method of sensor cleaning out there.

If you have a dirty DSLR censor and want it cleaned by professionals feel free to bring it by the store or ship it in. We can usually get the cleaning done within 1 business day. Our sensor cleaning service includes a full external clean, external lens cleaning, firmware update (if available), and sensor cleaning with before/after test shots. Standard sensor cleaning is $40, for full frame cameras the fee is $80.

It is fairly common for Canon DSLR bodies to display the “error 99″ message. Some folks say that it’s a memory card error and others say it has to do with the camera’s battery. The truth is it that it could be either one, or a number of other issues that could be both body or lens related.
Here are some tips to help you diagnose error 99. These suggestions assume that you’ve already tried using a different lens (made by the camera manufacturer) and different CF memory card (freshly formatted).

1) Re-set the camera- Turn off the camera and take out the memory card and battery. Let the camera sit for 10 minutes and then reinstall your accessories. This will cause the camera’s “brain” to reset itself and will sometimes fix the error. If this doesn’t fix it then try the next option.

2) Remove the lens from the camera and use a BRAND NEW pencil eraser to gently rub the gold contacts on the back of the lens. It’s best to do this with the lens mount facing down (opposite of the lens picture below), which will prohibit debris entering through the rear mount. Clean contacts will insure proper communication between the camera and the lens. Dirty contacts can result in interference with the auto focus and or metering systems. Fingers crossed, this does the trick!

In the image above, the lens contacts are located on the top center of the lens at 12 o’clock.

In this image the contacts on the camera body are located at 6 o’clock.

Unfortunately, these procedures will not fix the error 99 in every case. It’s a good idea to give them a try before taking your camera or lens in for repair since it’s not a difficult or time consuming process. If these procedures don’t fix your error 99, head over to our repair department and let one of our qualified technicians evaluate your camera.

Being a camera repair facility we frequently see the E-18 error code throughout Canon’s line of Powershot models. There are a huge number of Canon cameras in service. With so many Canon Powershots around it’s inevitable that we will see many of the same issues come through the door for repair. Many people do not know what E-18 means, or how it is caused. This article is meant to shed some light on this often mis-understood error.

E18 in the Powershot family signals a general lens failure. The camera turns on and attempts to extend the lens, sensors inside the lens detect something is not in the correct position, and an “E18″ message is displayed at the bottom left of the screen. After a moment the camera turns off. Canon has acknowledged that you can experience an E 18 error from any of the following situations:
• Lens opening while in confined space
• Low battery condition as the camera turns off
• Sand, water or substance damage
• Abuse/impact

We primarily see E18 caused by impact or sand damage. Let’s take a look inside a Powershot SD300 which is experiencing an E18 failure.

Here is our subject, the Powershot SD300 ELPH. All of the canon SD/ELPH series of cameras are very similar. The E-18 failure and its causes are common to all Powershot models, even outside the ELPH line.

These are the major assemblies of the SD series cameras. These components include the frame and battery power unit, the flash unit, the main circuit board, and the lens.

On the left you can see the zoom drive assembly with the cover removed. This is a common source of E18 failures due to sand or substance contamination. A single grain of sand on one of these fine gears can completely jam the lens. While contamination in the zoom drive is a common cause of E18, it was not the cause of this camera’s lens failure. This unit was dropped onto a hardwood floor from just a couple feet up.

In the black and white photo on the right you can see the Lens optical assembly with the back cover and image sensor removed. In the center of the lens you can see the assembly which carries the shutter, aperture, and sunlight filter. This element floats in the middle of the lens supported by 3 guide pins and can be knocked off it’s tracks during an impact. If you look closely at the picture you can see that this in fact is what occurred in this camera, the element is askew and is preventing the lens from closing properly. In this case the element can be removed and the lens re-set in the fully retracted position, no parts required.

The third and final common cause of E-18 is a jam in the zoom barrels themselves. This is the most severe condition of the three and can occur if the camera falls directly on the lens, or opens in a confined space. In most cases the barrels can be disassembled and re-set if they have not physical broken as a result of the event. On occasion a Powershot with an E18 failure cannot be economically repaired due to parts costs. While this does happen, the vast majority of the cases we see are repaired and go on to work perfectly for the remainder of their useful life.

If you’re experiencing an E-18 error message and are in need of repair head over to our online quote system and tell us about your problem. The cost for E18 repairs ranges from $89 to $125 depending on the cause of the failure, and an evaluation and specific estimate will be given before any work is done.