I'm amazed by the sharpness of the old (but mint) 28-70mm f3.5 II Lens I acquired recently.

This Lens can be bought for around £50 in Mint Condition, if you can locate one. It has the old arc autofocus .. but that's secondary to the quality and sharpness of the images.

It must be the bargain Lens for your Canon DSLR!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0803/MrRee/Picture539.jpg

Have you got a decent pic that you can post up to show us what you mean? :D

I was going to give a constructive reply, but PSL's been banned again.

Pete, if you're reading this, clean your sensor - your new lens is soooooo sharp its showing up all the cr@p ;) :D

Gareth

How do I clean the sensor?

Have you got a decent pic that you can post up to show us what you mean? :D

I've been Infracted for less that that!!! :lol1:

How do I clean the sensor?

I have been successful with just a Rocket Blower (hold the camera upside down) but will invest in one of these one day:

Cameras & Lenses - Cleaning - Sensor cleaning - Warehouse Express (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/category/basecategory.aspx?cat03=3070)

I think it will clean all but the most stubbort specks and cannot do any damage. However, it's probably £64 too expensive for you, Pete :D

On the other hand, I try not to pump the zoom unnesessarily, I change lenses lenses quickly with the camrera inverted, try to keep my bag clean and am very careful to clean the barrel of my lenses before putting them away. Also, I rarely use very small apertures which will usually show dust specks even on new cameras.

Richard.

Thanks Richard ... yes, that's about £64:50 too much for me :lol1:

I assume the sensor is under the mirror?

Test: point at white ceiling, set camera to closest focus and smallest aperture eg f/16. The expsoure time does not matter. In fact, move the camera around as you shoot to ensure that the image is completely blurred - anything on the sensor will remain absolutely clear - just make sure you use a small lens aperture to ensure specs are revealed.

Do it a couple of times and if the specs are in the same place each time, you've isolated the problem.

Richard.

PS Yes, the senor is under the mirror and behind the shutter blinds. Your camera will have a sensor cleaning mode where the mirror lifts and the shutter opens, precisely for cleaning purposes

Cheers - I'll give that a go.