Hi All: I just looked at my wife's Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 and found that it has 3 spots that seem to be dust particles. They show up on the photos, and I can see them in the "live view".
I don't think it is directly on the sensor and here is why: The camera has 2 "macro" modes: "AF macro" and "Macro zoom". The first one allows both macro and regular shots, while the 2nd one allows yet closer shots. In the 2nd mode, I can see that the dust particles change on the screen (they get larger and become out of focus) as I zoom in. I suspect that in this mode an additional lens is being moved, and probably the dust is sitting on that lens. The camera is 1.5 years old, so it is out of warranty. (We are checking if we had an extended warranty from the credit card, - but I am not sure if the warranty would cover the cleaning.) So, I am evaluating possible scenarios: 1. Send it for cleaning. If it costs more than $40-50, then it probably doesn't make sense. And I don't know if anybody does such cleaning. 2. Try to open it and to clean it myself. I've never done it, and I am not sure if this procedure would lead to some optical misalignment. Does any shop do such cleaning at a reasonable cost? Do you know any pointers to "DYI" cleaning of such cameras? Any other thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. Thank you, Igor -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
