A Time-Lapse Showing How Quickly Dust Accumulates on Nikon D600 Sensors

Back in October, we wrote that the Nikon D600 suffers from excessive sensor dust in the upper left hand corner of the frame — something many owners have been reporting and a flaw confirmed by review sites such as DPReview. Toronto-based artist Kyle Clements wanted to test this himself, so he bought a new D600, pointed it at a white piece of paper, shot 1000 frames, and created the time-lapse video above.

Here’s what Clements writes about his test and his conclusions,

I thought I would put this claim to the test by purchasing a brand new D600, putting on a 50mm 1.8D lens, and shooting some test shots, before using the camera for anything else.

And, from that I’ve seen, dust on the D600 is indeed a serious issue. Right out of the box, after taking the very first picture, I could see several dust spots, but as my time-lapse series progressed, I could see more and more spots appearing on the sensor. Keep in mind that I am not changing lenses; all this dust is coming from inside the camera.

So it’s not just that the D600 is prone to dust, but the dust that it’s prone to is actually from inside the camera itself. Nikon hasn’t released an official statement regarding this issue as of yet, but it seems likely that the increasing reports and complaints will end up forcing the company’s hand.


Update: Reader Spot points out that the problem may be grease/oil/residue rather than dust.


Image credits: Video and stills by Kyle Klements

Discussion