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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

How to remove ghost patch in FZ150? (1 Viewer)

Swissboy

Swissboy

Sempach, Switzerland
Supporter
Switzerland
For quite some time, I have a darkish "ghost" patch showing up in the pictures of my FZ150. It only stands out when it is in a uniformly colored light part of the picture such as on the Steppe Eagle photo I have attached. It is always in the same are, a bit above the horizontal centerline, on the left side. It seems to move out a bit when the zoom is extended all the way.

Is there anything one can do about this? I can't remove the lens or have access to the inside. Recently, there have been some stonger marks that show on virtually all photos, but I'm not sure yet whether that is also a permanent feature now.
 

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If you have cleaned the lens, then I have no other ideas. Of course, on a photo like this, using software you can easily fix the issue in post, but that becomes tedious after a while. In a less uniform image, fixing in post becomes much more difficult.

Is it time to move on? (FZ1000?)

Niels
 
njlarsen said:
..........Is it time to move on? (FZ1000?)

Niels
Click to expand...

That's what I'm really asking myself, but it would have to be the FZ200.

Fixing the issue one picture at the time on the computer is definitely not the way to go for me. I'm already sitting in front of the screen all to much. ;)
 
Swissboy said:
For quite some time, I have a darkish "ghost" patch showing up in the pictures of my FZ150. It only stands out when it is in a uniformly colored light part of the picture such as on the Steppe Eagle photo I have attached. It is always in the same are, a bit above the horizontal centerline, on the left side. It seems to move out a bit when the zoom is extended all the way.

Is there anything one can do about this? I can't remove the lens or have access to the inside. Recently, there have been some stonger marks that show on virtually all photos, but I'm not sure yet whether that is also a permanent feature now.
Click to expand...

I would say,something has been drawn into the camera,and attached itself to the sensor.

I had a similar problem on a Camera I used way back for Digiscoping,
left it upright with the lens extended,the Camera powered off,and drew in some foreign object.

I now always,turn lens to the ground when turning on,or off.

My object was definately on the sensor,as I pulled it apart,and cleaned it off.Problem solved.
(wouldn't like to try it on my FZ150 though)

John
 
I would agree with the above poster, it is a speck of dust on the sensor. If you can't access the sensor, I guess the only solution is to take it for service (?)
 
Had the same thing only the other day but thank fully only 2 photos affected. A quick sideways jerk of the camera dislodged the foreign body and so far it has not landed back onto the sensor. Agree about the retraction of the lens with camera pointing down.
 
Thank you all for your most helpful posts. It seems that some strong hitting with my hands from the side may have helped a bit already. Trying to find a balance though. Thus not just banging the body against a wall. ;)

I'll remember - hopefully - to hold the camera downwards for retracting the lens. Though there are still the zoom activities against the sky.
 
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Swissboy said:
........ It seems that some strong hitting with my hands from the side may have helped a bit already. .............
Click to expand...

It turns out that the major irritating blob remains where it is. So I have just ordered an FZ200 as a replacement. Fortunately, it's not all that expensive any more, and for once, ordering it in my country was the cheapest. Thus no hassles with high shipping costs and no border taxes. At a total of CHF 427, I consider the replacement a real bargain. :king:
 
njlarsen said:
Somehow I am glad I do not have to think in that currency very often!

Niels
Click to expand...

Yes, I know, I should have provided some exchange-rate values to allow easier comparisons. It was just too late to bother, I should have been in bed for quite some time when I posted that info. So here is the comparison with just rough values:

CHF 427 equal US$ 464, £ 280, or € 354.

I might add that it was not many years ago that I got my optics way cheaper by buying outside of Switzerland. It may well still be that way for items new on the market. Then, everybody seems to think the Swiss can afford to pay a bit (or even much) more. But for this "oldish" camera, competition may focus on how to get rid of stocks when a replacement model is actually overdue.
 
njlarsen said:
I should have added: best of luck with your new camera!

Niels
Click to expand...

Thanks Niels, and this within-country order would at least make it easier to handle warranty issues should there be a problem. So far, and I have done this individual importing of optics stuff for decades, I have never had to make use of such dealer warranty, fortunately.

If all goes well, I should have the camera by tomorrow evening. In time to make use of it at the air show on Saturday. Though I'll certainly have my FZ150 along as well then. It's the constant annoyance of the blob on all the pictures and videos taken of flying airplanes this last weekend that triggered my quick action. (The air show is spread over two weekends on the occasion of several anniversaries, the most important one being 100 years of Swiss airforce.)
 
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