Mark on Photos

[photogrl2020]

Hey guys..so lately I've been noticing a mark on all my photos. I use a Panasonic Lumix ZS7-if that's important. I think it's on all my photos, but it's most obvious on the ones where there's a really plain background on that spot-like if it happens to fall where the sky is or something. I'm attaching an example here so you can see what I'm talking about. I've cleaned the front of the lens with just a regular eyeglass cleaning cloth, but I didn't use any sort of cleaning product on it. I wasn't sure if something might ruin the lens. But using the cloth doesn't seem to get rid of this spot. It almost looks like a smudge. Is it inside the camera somehow? Anyone have any ideas as to how I could get rid of it? I know I can Photoshop it out-and I've been doing that on the plain background ones, but it's annoying. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Dziki Photography]

Hi,

A similar thing happened to my Nikon D300. It basically had like a dark corner and it came out on all photos. For me, it just went away one day BUT I would strongly suggest you take your camera to a professional shop and let them clean it for you. Especially since cleaning it by yourself did not work. Once you take it, they can explain what happened and you will know for the future.

All the best for your camera!

Gabriela

[OsmosisStudios]

If the sample here is indicative of the issue, its just dust, though on a ZS7 thats not necessarily a good thing. On a DSLR like Gabriela's it's not an issue: changing lenses can introduce dust and its usually an easy fix. On a compact that's definitely not the case. You should be able to contact Panasonic and ask how much it will cost to have it cleaned: keep in mind that they'll have to take the lens apart to get to the dust.