How do I clean dust inside my camera lens?

[Greg Bernhardt]

I've had the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 for about a year and absolutely love it. However on my last trip I noticed some spots on my photos. Looking at my lens there appears to be specs of dust on the inside of my lens. It's past the first piece of glass and resting on the inside glass. Is there an easy way to get at that? Does this happen often? I'd hate to get a new camera just for that, but it really ruins some photos depending on the light.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Uh oh... I wouldn't recommend you try anything unless you are reasonably good with the relevant tools.

That said, it is surprising that you have contamination inside the lens assembly- how old is the camera, and how often have you used it in 'hazardous' (water, smoke, dust, etc) environments?

I'm not sure how easy it would be to remove the lens assembly, open it up, and reassemble everything. I can't imagine any store here (Cleveland, OH) that would be interested in trying, and I suspect it's beyond my personal level of skill (YMMV). For example, we have a similar Lumix, the shutter is broken (an internal pin broke), and I prefer to work around it rather than try and fix it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Uh oh... I wouldn't recommend you try anything unless you are reasonably good with the relevant tools.

That said, it is surprising that you have contamination inside the lens assembly- how old is the camera, and how often have you used it in 'hazardous' (water, smoke, dust, etc) environments?

I'm not sure how easy it would be to remove the lens assembly, open it up, and reassemble everything.

Yeah I am really not too handy!

I've had it about a year and been on many trips. Some in dusty and wet conditions.

I guess I might as well bite the bullet and buy another one. Frustrating as it is otherwise in great condition.

 

[Andre]

Normally, you would not see dust on the lens, as it is most out of focus as possible. However with a dirty lens, you get flares and blurs, as light is refracted, so you still want your lens to be clean.

Spots on photos usually means dust on the sensor, I'm afraid. This kind of cameras isn't sealed against that, however you'd need pretty bad conditions to get the dust in there.

Obviously ruggidized water proof camera's are a better choice for harhs environments.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Normally, you would not see dust on the lens, as it is most out of focus as possible. However with a dirty lens, you get flares and blurs, as light is refracted, so you still want your lens to be clean.

yeah I would resort to try and get the dust spot into a dark part of the picture so it would be hidden lol