spot on ccd or dead pixel??

[marymc]

I just noticed a spot on the last set of pictures. I followed the cleaning instructions in the manual and used a bubble blower to clean the CCD. I don't have the swabs or cleaning solution and am a little scared of that process. I didn't see anything on the ccd. I put the camera back together and took another picture of this background and it's still there.

I have had my camera about 7 months. I had a spot on my pictures once before which went away after cleaning the CCD with the bubble blower.

When I take a picture with the lens cap on I do get a little red dot but it's not in the same place as this spot. Could you look at these pictures and tell me what you think?

Thanks,
Mary

[marymc]

Here is a crop of the last pic.

[Swampy]

Break out the blower again. It's dust.

[lightwrangler]

It's ok Mary, it's just dust. You can get rid of it with a CD cleaning or choose to retouch it out until more appear and retouching becomes a chore. Cleaning isn't too bad if you follow instructions carefully and use the right materials. Do a search on this site and you'll find directions and links to guide you.

Now as far as the red dot goes ... that may well be a dead or stuck pixel. Dead ones always appear in the same place and stuck ones are... well... stuck for no apparent reason, and for no apparent reason become unstuck. Again this does happen from time to time. If you have many dead pixels, Fuji's service can map these out (they will be replaced with the information found in an ajacent pixel). I have around 4 dead pixels at last count, they don't print (too small) and with 12 million pixels in an image they can be hard to spot, so I don't worry too much about them.

[marymc]

Okay, thanks. I had just been reading a lot about dead or stuck pixels and got a little worried. My warranty is up in September and it's making me nervous.

I tried the test of taking a shot with the lens cap on and I thought I saw some read spots but when I loaded them on my PC can't see them. I have attached a picture I took with the lens cap on.

As far as the CCD cleaning goes, the bubble blower has always gotten the cleaning job done for me until now. I'll try it again and if it's still there I may have to get the swabs and solution.

Thanks for the replies.

[HulaMike]

Mary, read my post under CCD cleaning, a good thing? It's a piece of cake and well worth the time and expense. I'd stick with sensor swabs or a folded pec pad as a Q-Tip (ear bud) can deposit lint. I'd also stick with Eclipse cleaning solution (methanol) as Isoproplyl alcohol can leave a watery streak.

Here's the process from the T Hogan site. It pretty much duplicates the procedure recommended by Fuji.

http://www.bythom.com/cleaning.htm

[Carlton]

Mary,

Cute picture! Are you a studio photographer? I do quite a bit of studio photography and these spots show up all the time (I think the type of lens I use sucks dust in). Anyway, I swab my S2 about once every couple weeks or whenever a spot appears out of nowhere. It is the only way to get all the dust off and away from the CCD. I've got it down to a couple of minutes now without even thinking about it. Here is another great link you can follow step by step.
http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

[marymc]

Thanks everyone.

Looks like I'm going to be looking for Eclipse solution and sensor swabs tommorrow. I am hoping they carry them in the local camera stores.