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I'm trying to figure out whether I have a dusty sensor, or a dirty lense.
Below is an equalized photo of the sky that I took today. Are the brown spots dust, or are they on the lense?
If it is sensor dust, will this ruin my photos? Will it show up in my pictures?
Also, is that a normal amount of dust, or would that amount be irregular?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/CDolan/dust-1.jpg
That is probably sensor dust. It's very normal, and you'll just have to use the clone tool to get rid of them in your aviation photos.
one way to avoid sensor dust is to avoid changing lenses with the camera turned on. the sensor just attracts less of the junk that way. also, try to make the lense change as quick as possible. have both lenses ready to go at the same time.
sensor spots are invetiable, and they usually tend to come back as soon as your sensor is cleaned. it's just a fct of life for now.
Yep def sensor dust, I'd clean you're image sensor the next time you go out shooting and as Phil said you'll need to use the clone tool to remove them. The way I clean mine is I take a tightly wrapped cotton swab very gently go over the sensor then take my hurricane blower and blow the dust out. The swab helps to loosen dust and the hurricane blower does the rest. Don't listen to the people who say never touch you're sensor. First off a clear shield protects the sensor so unless you gab at it or use some kind of abrasive you'll be fine. I do have my cleaned professionally from time to time and they basically use the same method as I described but will also use a solvent for the stubborn spots. Its a constant war and the second you clean the sensor it seems the dust comes back....annoying
Look for Canons next-gen cameras (Starting with the consumer level XTi) for dust removing features, as you probably know from the XTi, the 40D and Mark III should have even more advanced systems.