Owl in a dust storm.

[JayinMN]

I took this one last Saturday when the owl landed on a tree with the moon in the background I set my apeture to 32, which is the highest it goes in AV mode. The goal was to get the moon and owl in focus. I have a 30D with a canon 100-400mm lens on it. The shot details are tv 1/13, av 32 at 285mm. I know what I was trying to do may be a little beyond my equipment and I didn't expect much, especially since this was hand held with me braced against a tree. Where did all this dust come from? I am thinking it must be on the end of the lens and not the sensor. When I shoot in my normal range of 5.6-8 av I have never noticed any dust at all. I guess I was a bit surprised by it.

[mmeyer]

I would say it's mostly on your sensor. You will notice it more with a smaller aperture and with a uniform background like this. Pretty nasty isn't it. Mine isn't too nice either. I have to get it cleaned.

[MN Shutterbug]

I agree with Mike. If the dust was on the lens, it wouldn't even show up, due to it's close proximity to the camera. It would be blurred to the point of invisibilty. Cool shot, though.

[Birdsong]

It is a cool shot. Wow! I know nothing about dust.

[Hwood]

Bummer about the dust. That is a cool shot.

[2u77matt]

Cool photo. The stabilization on that lens must really help. There is no way I could get anything close to a sharp image with my 400 5.6 hand held at 1/13 sec. I think I would have taken two exposures and put them together as a composite to make this image, but there's something to be said for doing it without "cheating."

[JayinMN]

Here I thought I had a nearly dust free sensor. I think I am going to say they are mosquitoes, sounds better then dust, think spring! Thanks for the responses.

[Dbl]

Sensor dust, that is the best way to check for it. I use f22 or so pointed at a blue sky and take a shot, doesn't need to be in focus. A little levels adjustment will also show you how much you've accumulated at lower f stops. No matter how well you try and how careful you are you will get dust on your sensor. Unless you have a newer camera with the sensor clean automatically if you turn your camera on or off.

My cameras rarely come off of f2.8 or lower so I never see the dust either, until I stop down to check like you did.