Sensor spots
 

I get my sensor cleaned once a month yet somehow after a week or so the dust and spots return. I don't change my lens. I always clean my filters. I avoid beaches. I'm beginning to think it's a design flaw. I have a Canon EOS 80D.

What lens is on it? In what type of environment do you shoot?

I haven't cleaned a sensor in years, probably since my 10D, since Canon added sensor cleaning cycles to start-up and shut-down.

Do you have images showing the sensor dirt? Unfocused shots of plain blue sky at minimum aperture are usually best.

I just use the kit lens. I never take it off. Mostly streetscapes and landmarks. A few long exposure shots at night on the tripod. Never breaches, deserts or anywhere with blowing sand or dirt.

Yeah, I can see the little dust spots on the blue sky.

So either the camera shop isn't actually cleaning it and they're ripping me off or this model is prone to dust?

My old 70D, which I use with a wide-angle lens, only gets cleaned professionally a couple of times per year. It doesn't seem to let in the dust on the sensor.

Are you using the built-in automatic sensor cleaning function in the menus? As I said, with that enabled, I haven't had to clean a sensor in years. Even with my old 10D, and the supposed "dust magnet" push-pull 100-400, I only cleaned it once a year.

I'd suggest you take a specific shot before cleaning - f/22 (or whatever the minimum is), manual/out of focus, of the blue sky - to see the sensor issues right before and right after cleaning next time, to be sure it's cleaned. It's hard to believe it's accumulating that quickly. Even the 70D, which doesn't have the automatic on/off cleaning, iirc, shouldn't get dirty that often.

Do you try manually cleaning it just with air? I have a Rocket Blower to use with the Sensor Cleaning function that just flips up the mirror so you can blow away the dust. Doing that regularly, I only had to actually swab my 10D sensor 2-3 times, ever. That was a process I don't recommend and Im glad those days are past for me.

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I'm pretty active on DPR and haven't heard sensor dust issues in years, so I don't think it's an inherent 80D problem. Searching, this is about the only discussion I can find in the whole 7D/x0D family - https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59109822

Even if you never take your lens off the body, dust will somehow find a way in. I've had similar bad luck.

I use this product (Amazon link) to 'dust' my sensors occassionally. But I use the dry and never with the solution.

Do you primary use LiveView or the viewfinder? What kit lens are you using? Some zoom lenses pump in more air when zooming back and forth and thus more dust. Also is the lens weather sealed? That might help reduce dust intake.

I use both the viewfinder and the screen. I have the 18-135mm Canon kits lens with the 80D.

Dirt can get into lenses too. Particularly if they're zoom lenses.

Yeah I normally travel with multiple bodies just in case of this and have had dust find it's way inside one that hasn't had the lens changed before. Obviously environment plays a part, that said I got lucky in Africa and despite the entire outside (and within focus ring on a 24-105L) basically turning brown the sensors stayed clear. 60D+7D at the time for what it's worth - and the 7D was a lot better at staying clean.

If I'm away, I'll resort to trying to blow it if serious. At home I will and have successfully used swabs a few times. I don't recommend doing this the night before a flight even though I got away with it, and be sure you're doing it in a very clean location (which includes not 5 minutes after vacuuming as there will still be dust floating). I trust myself more than I trust shops here; but again you want to go into it with multiple spare swabs in case you need to do it a few times.

You can pick up some cleaning fluid and clean swabs for less than the cost of a single cleaning. It is kinda stressful the first time though.

Picked up my camera, which I had cleaned the other day. They didn't get all the spots. Ugh. Thankfully, I can hide some of the spots in Lightroom.

You kit lens is not weather sealed. As such, there are gaps where dust can get in. Higher end lenses have weather sealing, which also includes a rubber gasket on the lens mount to make it harder for things to get in.

So what type of lens should I get? I seldom need anything more than 150mm. Most of my shots are 18-75mm. I take a lot of streetscapes, long exposures at night of skylines and so forth.

Dust is a fact of life, even with weather sealed lenses if you do change lenses. A blower brush is usually enough to remove dust although you may need to have it professionally cleaned if the dust is stubborn.

None of the crop sensor lenses are weather sealed so you'd be looking at the Canon L series line up. Unfortunately not cheap.