What's wrong with this picture?

[TerryL]

Hello,
I'm taking pictures of a new lens I have for sale. I'm getting this grainy look. What may be causing it? Thank you very much.
Terry

 

[Alan Clark]

I can't see any grainy look, but there are dark blotches on the left which are caused by dirt on the sensor.

 

[TerryL]

I can't see any grainy look, but there are dark blotches on the left which are caused by dirt on the sensor.

Thank you Alan. I hope I can blow it off. Maybe even take a very soft brush to it. I’ve never had a dirty sensor before.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Those blotches could also be dirt on the lens.
Otherwise the graininess of the picture doesn't bother me. What is the ISO? I can't see the metadata on this shot.

Also, this might be a personal preference thing, but if you're taking a picture of an item to sell it, maybe shoot with a smaller aperture and brighter light? Hear me out: shallow depth of field is fine for portraits and artistic expression, but if I were a potential buyer I would want to see the lens in more detail (more of the object in focus) to see if there are scratches or dents on it. Apologies if I overstepped.

 

[TerryL]

Those blotches could also be dirt on the lens.
Otherwise the graininess of the picture doesn't bother me. What is the ISO? I can't see the metadata on this shot.

Also, this might be a personal preference thing, but if you're taking a picture of an item to sell it, maybe shoot with a smaller aperture and brighter light? Hear me out: shallow depth of field is fine for portraits and artistic expression, but if I were a potential buyer I would want to see the lens in more detail (more of the object in focus) to see if there are scratches or dents on it. Apologies if I overstepped.

ISO is 100. Thanks, I agree about dof. And yes, I’m going to clean the lens real good first. Cleaning a sensor makes me a little nervous.

Thank you Alan. I hope I can blow it off. Maybe even take a very soft brush to it. I’ve never had a dirty sensor before.

 

[spudhead]

Hello,
I'm taking pictures of a new lens I have for sale. I'm getting this grainy look. What may be causing it? Thank you very much.
Terry

yep sensor ready for a clean

 

[Brownie]

I hope I can blow it off. Maybe even take a very soft brush to it. I’ve never had a dirty sensor before.

If you do either of those, there's a good chance that you'll be spending the profit from that lens sale on a new camera. Take the time to look up how to properly clean a sensor or have someone else do it.

 

[Jeff A]

Thank you Alan. I hope I can blow it off. Maybe even take a very soft brush to it. I’ve never had a dirty sensor before.

Spots on or in a photo are not always a "Dirty Sensor". More often than not, spots are on the lens. BTW, I wonder how many people here are using the "Visualize Spots" Tool in Lightroom?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Spots on or in a photo are not always a "Dirty Sensor". More often than not, spots are on the lens. BTW, I wonder how many people here are using the "Visualize Spots" Tool in Lightroom?

I didn't know about that tool, but I know the Spot Heal brush in Photoshop very well LOL

 

[Jeff A]

I didn't know about that tool, but I know the Spot Heal brush in Photoshop very well LOL

This doesn't fix them, it just shows you where they are with uncanny precision. Then you fix them. It will see spots that you (or I at least) would miss.

 

[TerryL]

I can't see any grainy look, but there are dark blotches on the left which are caused by dirt on the sensor.

Hi Alan,
If you look at the lens hood, you can see what I’m talking about. Could it be due to my flash settings? I’ve never experienced this problem before.

 

[TerryL]

Thank you all who helped.

 

[TerryL]

I can't see any grainy look, but there are dark blotches on the left which are caused by dirt on the sensor.

What’s the safest way to clean my sensor?

 

[TerryL]

Those blotches could also be dirt on the lens.
Otherwise the graininess of the picture doesn't bother me. What is the ISO? I can't see the metadata on this shot.

Also, this might be a personal preference thing, but if you're taking a picture of an item to sell it, maybe shoot with a smaller aperture and brighter light? Hear me out: shallow depth of field is fine for portraits and artistic expression, but if I were a potential buyer I would want to see the lens in more detail (more of the object in focus) to see if there are scratches or dents on it. Apologies if I overstepped.

Hi Chris, I’m using a flash, so my appature defaults to f/2.8. at 250 SS. I would rather shoot at f/4 or f/8.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Hi Chris, I’m using a flash, so my appature defaults to f/2.8. at 250 SS. I would rather shoot at f/4 or f/8.

Ohh I understand now!
I have dabbled a little with still life (product photography type) and I would probably have my camera on a tripod with f8 and a longer exposure and a light source of some sort (could be a sunny window, a desk lamp, or a video light like an LED panel). That's just how I would do it, however my approach is dictated by the fact that I don't have an external flash and I hate using the built in flash LOL

 

[TerryL]

Ohh I understand now!
I have dabbled a little with still life (product photography type) and I would probably have my camera on a tripod with f8 and a longer exposure and a light source of some sort (could be a sunny window, a desk lamp, or a video light like an LED panel). That's just how I would do it, however my approach is dictated by the fact that I don't have an external flash and I hate using the built in flash LOL

That's exactly how I like to shoot. But using a flash won't let me do that. Thank you.