Sensor scratch

[kat]

Hmm..I wish I had another camera here to take a photo of what I am seeing! I haven't touched it, too scared too so maybe it is a smear!! Can I do the wet cleaning myself? Is it hard?

[tirediron]

Not difficult at all, and you can do it yourself. Go to your local real camera shop (NOT the Wal-mart photo counter) and get a proper wet-cleaning kit for your camera (Visible Dust products are my favorite) and follow the directions. You'll also find some good 'How to' videos on YouTube.

[kat]

Thank you! I will do that!

[jlabel]

YOu wouldnt want to touch the sensor, but what you see there is something smudged onto the lowpass filter, this filter stands between the sensor and the environment, you can use many products to clean it, I have seen tis smudge a lot on Canon 5D models, you must take a lot of care if you are going to clean yourself, best is using good cleaning equipment such as sensor swab and dry clean if possible.

[Barefoot]

Do yourself a big favor, and go read the article by Tom Hogan on cleaning a Nikon.

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

"...Recently, Nikon began using filters that have a special additional coating on them (Indium Tin Oxide, or ITO for short). This coating is there to help the filter "shed" dust more easily (it essentially blocks some of the static charge that can build up and attract the dust). As with any coating, it is possible to damage it, and when you do so, the filter essentially needs to be replaced. Here's the list of cameras that do and don't have this coating:

* ITO coating: D40, D40x, D60, D70s, D80, D90, D300, D700, D2xs, D3, D3x
* No coating: D1, D1h, D1x, D2h, D2hs, D2x, D50, D70*, D100, D200

If you have a camera that has the ITO coating, Photographic Solutions says that you need to use a different liquid in cleaning it."

Nikon places a lot of trust in Tom, and you can, too. I followed his instructions to a tee without any problems, and the results were better than I expected.

[kat]

Awesome! Thanks you!!!