EOS 5D Mark III What the heck is this on my sensor?

[deebators]

This appeared suddenly, looking through my pictures these appeared on a move from one spot to the next, I've been researching spots on the sensor, but WTF are those? nothing I see online looks like that; has anyone seen sensor spots like these or know what they are? This photo is cropped, but these are indeed on the sensor and not on the lens, confirmed by using a different lens when I got home. They are also more visible at higher apertures, invisible at a 2.8... visible at a 10, and sharp looking like this at a 22. 

[deebators]

Exactly... I have photos from 15 minutes prior shot at 10 and I can't see those... then they are there visible at 10 and obviously 22, making me wonder how these alien looking spot got there so fast and how there are so many of them clustered together. Kind of makes me scared to attempt cleaning them myself since I don't know what they are and I fear brushing them with a censor cleaning kit could push them down and scratch the sensor considering they don't look like normal dust... could those things have edges? Be sharp?

[FloridaDrafter]

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@deebators wrote:

Exactly... I have photos from 15 minutes prior shot at 10 and I can't see those... then they are there visible at 10 and obviously 22, making me wonder how these alien looking spot got there so fast and how there are so many of them clustered together. Kind of makes me scared to attempt cleaning them myself since I don't know what they are and I fear brushing them with a censor cleaning kit could push them down and scratch the sensor considering they don't look like normal dust... could those things have edges? Be sharp?

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How they suddenly got there is why I mentioned camera lube being what was on my sensor. There are moving parts in there that can deposit lube or other particulates, rare, but it happens. I had the 7D II for several years before camera lube somehow got splashed on my sensor and I hadn't changed glass, so it didn't get there from that. I can only assume that it was from the mirror flipping up.

As for cleaning the sensor assembly, if you feel at all squeamish about it, probably best to have a professional do it. In my case, a dry sensor swab wouldn't get it so I had to use the cleaning solution that came in my kit. I then used a PEC-PAD affixed to a sensor swap to finish up and make sure there wasn't any sensor cleaning fluid left on the AA filter. BTW, the AA filter is what you are cleaning, the sensor is buried a few layers underneath, not that you don't have to be any less careful 🙂

Newton

[deebators]

You might be right,  it is an explanation at least and one that makes sense... I did use the live view to take the photos I took right before these marks appeared. The mirror flipping open and shut may have splashed this lube. i again looked at the sensor today and moved my flashlight around, now I can see it... it looks like a tiny line on the sensor. I think I am going to take it to a pro and explain to them I don't want to clean it myself given it doesn't look like normal dust and I can't tell for sure what it is.

[stevet1]

deebators,

Yes. I think you need a sensor cleaning.

In the short term however, you might try the Copy Stamp Tool in DPP4 as outlined here;

"How to erase dust spots in an image with Digital Photo Professional Ver. 4.0 (Copy Stamp Tool)"
https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/s/article/ART117026

Basically, it involves copying a part of the sky that doesn't have any spots and replacing that part of the sky that does have the spots.

Steve Thomas