Sony A6700 Anti-dust function?

[FowlersFreeTime]

So this is interesting: I assumed the menu on all newer Sony camera bodies was the same, and I went looking for the setup option "Anti-dust function, shutter when pwr off" which is present in the A7IV. On the A6700 however, this option does not exist. I guess I assumed that since it had the new menu, and a mechanical shutter, this option would be a no-brainer. It seems I expected too much from the budget-oriented APSC lineup

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Shutter when power off ain't all it's cracked up to be, from my point of view. I leave it turned off in my A7 IV, I don't even know if it exists in the A1.

Note​

• When [Shutter When Pwr OFF] is set to [On], attach the lens cap before storing the camera. Otherwise, a strong light source (such as sunlight) may become focused inside the camera, causing smoke or fire. Even if the light source is slightly away from the angle of view, it may still cause smoke or fire when the lens cap is not attached.
• Do not touch the closed shutter with your fingers or clean it with a blower. The shutter may become damaged.
• If there is a risk of water droplets adhering to the shutter, set [Shutter When Pwr OFF] to [Off]. If [Shutter When Pwr OFF] is set to [On], water droplets may adhere to the shutter and cause a malfunction.

Yeah...no...

And here I thought it was a desirable function to keep dust out while swapping lenses!

 

[iamdlewis]

• When [Shutter When Pwr OFF] is set to [On], attach the lens cap before storing the camera. Otherwise, a strong light source (such as sunlight) may become focused inside the camera, causing smoke or fire. Even if the light source is slightly away from the angle of view, it may still cause smoke or fire when the lens cap is not attached.

I find this note odd because if the light is being focused enough to burn the shutter than it would certainly be enough to burn the sensor. This feature isn't the issue with this note the issue is storing the camera in a way that a strong light source is able to be directed through the lens.

• Do not touch the closed shutter with your fingers or clean it with a blower. The shutter may become damaged.
• If there is a risk of water droplets adhering to the shutter, set [Shutter When Pwr OFF] to [Off]. If [Shutter When Pwr OFF] is set to [On], water droplets may adhere to the shutter and cause a malfunction.

These two seem like actual "take notice" type notes but are easily followed.

I've had this feature turned on with my A1 since they were first shipped and I've easily followed the notices and have had zero issues. I've continue to have far less dust on the A1 sensor than I find I have on my A7Riv which does not have the feature and get used far less.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Chris, the best thing to do is use good lens changing practices. Hold the camera facing down when the lens is off to avoid dust settling on the sensor. Use a jet blower (not an ear syringe) on the sensor once in a while. My typical flow is:

• Loosen rear cap on desired lens
• Hold camera facing down, release lens
• Place cap on removed lens
• Mount desired lens
• Tighten cap on removed lens

Yep, I do this anyway, so no change here. I just thought it was a cool feature for additional insurance, but since I don't have it on my camera no big deal.

 

[Richard A]

I find that very weird because hundreds or even thousands of millions of digital & film SLR’s going back to the 1950’s would have had the shutter closed most of the time and I have never heard of that being a problem!

 

[iamdlewis]

The sensor is more robust than the shutter. I spend hours and hours in the bright sunlight walking around with the camera on a strap, the lens usually pointing sideways, and the cap isn't on. Not worth the risk. I clean my sensors once a year at the beginning of the season, which is plenty if I take care when changing lenses. I try not to change them alongside the track as well.

Here's the thing. Let's say that the shutter does stop dust from settling on the sensor. Ok, cool. You can't blow it off, the shutter is too fragile. So, where does the dust go when the shutter opens? Probably a good bit ends up on the sensor anyway.

It isn't like the strong light source is going to instantly cause a fire within the camera and it isn't like if the lens is pointed in the general direction of the strong light source this will always happen. If this was such a risk we probably would have seen a story about this by now given the number of A1, Cannon and Nikon cameras out there that do this.

You just don't blow directly on the shutter. I change lenses with the A1 often in many places and I have no noticeable dust, but my A7Riv that only has lenses changed in the house always ends up with dust on it.

 

[iamdlewis]

Because of how goofy this sounds:

• When [Shutter When Pwr OFF] is set to [On], attach the lens cap before storing the camera. Otherwise, a strong light source (such as sunlight) may become focused inside the camera, causing smoke or fire. Even if the light source is slightly away from the angle of view, it may still cause smoke or fire when the lens cap is not attached.

I thought I would just check with Sony. I asked in regards to that note:
- Would the focusing of the strong light source also damage the sensor if the shutter was open?
- How long and how likely this such an event like this take?

Sony replied:
1. Yes, it would damage the sensor.
2. Only if you leave it where direct sunlight can shine on the objective lens.

So basically that note is there to tell you that if your camera is smoking you have been storing/positioning it wrong for a while and you have ruined your shutter but may have saved your sensor. Or because we warned you about this if this happens to you it won't be covered by the warranty.

 

[iamdlewis]

I'd still rather toast my shutter on an A1 than risk the sensor

 

[dcisive]

If you're NOT OCD as I am...and never change a lens where air is blowing around, always aiming the camera with the lens opening DOWN and have a lens with a loosened cap on the ready to, in one quick motion, drop the mount cap at the same time dropping the lens cap and joining them with near NO gap in space nor time . So far this has served me well. As for cleaning.........don't by any means count on just a blower bulb. I'd get a competent cleaning kit with fitted APS-C applicators for a specialized fluid and wet clean it if needed and get past the paranoia. It's the ONLY way you'll get ideal results.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I find this note odd because if the light is being focused enough to burn the shutter than it would certainly be enough to burn the sensor. This feature isn't the issue with this note the issue is storing the camera in a way that a strong light source is able to be directed through the lens.


These two seem like actual "take notice" type notes but are easily followed.

I've had this feature turned on with my A1 since they were first shipped and I've easily followed the notices and have had zero issues. I've continue to have far less dust on the A1 sensor than I find I have on my A7Riv which does not have the feature and get used far less.

Well, the sensor is covered by a sheet of glass that can absorb some level of heat - the shutter is thin and could be damaged more quickly than the sensor. That's just a guess.

I was going to make a joke and say that the A9 III doesn't have the "close shutter at power off" function either. but that's not strictly correct. Yes, it doesn't have a shutter, but like the Z9, it has "close curtain at power off" function - a thing like a shutter, but rather more robust because it doesn't have to move in 1/8000 of a second I'm not using it, but it's there. It amused me that they bothered to change the name of it in the menu.

 

[DirkZ]

Imagine the feature is turned off. The sensor is visible when changing lenses. The sensor not only collects dust but is also exposed to collect pollen and other stuff flying through the air. To get rid off this kind of dirt a wet cleaning procedure is required (sensor swab and fluid).
Now consider the feature is turned on. Then the shutter is exposed to collect this kind of dirt. BUT: You cannot clean the shutter.
Could this be a real problem? Or is it only pure theory?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Imagine the feature is turned off. The sensor is visible when changing lenses. The sensor not only collects dust but is also exposed to collect pollen and other stuff flying through the air. To get rid off this kind of dirt a wet cleaning procedure is required (sensor swab and fluid).
Now consider the feature is turned on. Then the shutter is exposed to collect this kind of dirt. BUT: You cannot clean the shutter.
Could this be a real problem? Or is it only pure theory?

You have a good point.
I was only theorizing, I have not been affected in any way by the lack of the feature. I also didn't have a problem in the 3 yrs owning an A6400 before this.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Imagine the feature is turned off. The sensor is visible when changing lenses. The sensor not only collects dust but is also exposed to collect pollen and other stuff flying through the air. To get rid off this kind of dirt a wet cleaning procedure is required (sensor swab and fluid).
Now consider the feature is turned on. Then the shutter is exposed to collect this kind of dirt. BUT: You cannot clean the shutter.
Could this be a real problem? Or is it only pure theory?

Why do you think a wet clean is necessary?

I do not turn on this setting on any of my cameras, because I know how fragile the shutter is. Over the years I have occasionally seen dust on my sensor. I use a blower buib, and so far (on many camera, both DSLR and mirrorless) the blower bulb has been all I need to remove the dust. I have had one camera, once, given a wet clean, and that was at a camera show, where they were doing free cleanings.

Something else to consider: you close the shutter, change the lens, and dust settles on the shutter. What happens when you turn the camera on again? The dust get shaken off as the shutter opens to expose the sensor so you can use the viewfinder or rear screen. You've put a lens on, so the dust is trapped inside the camera. The sensor is on, so the dust is attracted to the sensor, and ends up on it. So have you really shielded the sensor from dust? Or have you just delayed the dust settling on the sensor?

I did see someone suggest, on another forum, that dust wasn't as much an issue as mud. I can imagine concern about wet mud adhering to the sensor, but I think I'd rather have wet mud stick to a nice strong smooth cover glass over the sensor, where it is easily removed (yes, a wet clean might be needed ), than to have it sticking to the shutter, with its multiple blades - cleaning mud off a shutter without damaging the shutter seems like a much more dangerous operation - you can't wet clean a shutter.

As long as you turn the camera off before removing the lens, I think the accumulation of dust on the sensor is a small problem.

I think this feature isn't a good idea, but camera companies include it because people demand it.

 

[iamdlewis]

I think this feature isn't a good idea, but camera companies include it because people demand it.

I have been using this feature since the release of the A1 and doing a lot of lens changing in the field and I continue to see basically no dust on the sensor. My A7Rvi which is used less often and is less likely to have lens changes in the field still seems to collect dust on the sensor. When I do my quarterly cleaning of camera equipment I generally find that the A7R needs to have the sensor at least blown clean but the A1 doesn't. This feature works and it should be on all future cameras.

 

[Slug]

Yes works for me too.

 

[DirkZ]

Why do you think a wet clean is necessary?

Because it is not only dry parts coming on the sensor but also others leaving a bit of smeary stains on the sensor. If you can clean your sensor only with the blower and get all dirt removed, then you are the first one I know.

 

[DirkZ]

Lots of people reporting that this feature works well and that the amount of dust is effeciently reduced. I myself had this feature activated. But I decided to turn it off. The risk of damaging the shutter is high. Only one touch can brake it. And my A7RV has an efficient Sensor Cleaning Mechanism called Ultrasonic Sensor Cleaning (A7RV, A1, A9 III and A7S III have this feature) - not to confuse with the sensor-shift-mechanism that is also used for sensor-cleaning, but is far less efficient than Ultrasonic.

 

[iamdlewis]

The risk of damaging the shutter is high.

No it really isn't. I am not sure what actions one would be taking that would cause a risk to damaging the shutter that would also not risk damaging the sensor. This is also not a new feature in the camera world as all the Canon and Nikon DSLRs had the shutter work in a similar fashion. Besides I would much rather have something damage the shutter than damage the sensor as the camera can still be used without the shutter and the shutter is cheaper to repair than the sensor.

 

[DirkZ]

The sensor is more robust than the shutter. The sensor is protected by a glass. The sensor is deeper inside the camera. I don't see a risk of damaging the sensor contrary to the shutter. It is a controverse discussion. I prefer to keep this function disabled and rely on the ultrasonic-sensor-cleaning-mechanism of my A7RV.

 

[Richard A]

People will always disagree about this stuff. Maybe that’s why they give you a choice.