Spots on pics and video

Brad de Leon · Mar 4, 2020

Have seen this topic occasionally. Dealing with it on my Mav Pro. Seems that many of these lenses are afflicted with lense fungus. My spot has grown in the past 6 months.
Old school photographer trick was to leave the lense out pointing directly at the sun to let the UV kill the fungus. It would usually shrink the blemish. My question is will that destroy the cmos sensor.
Has anyone successfully taken the lense apart? Looks to be well sealed. Cameras used to be $15 best I could do was $100 from China...with Corona but that’s another discussion all together.
Spot is top left round darker spot, can see actual spec on lense inside under front glass of camera.

WithTheBirds · Mar 4, 2020

Brad de Leon said:
Have seen this topic occasionally. Dealing with it on my Mav Pro. Seems that many of these lenses are afflicted with lense fungus. My spot has grown in the past 6 months.
Old school photographer trick was to leave the lense out pointing directly at the sun to let the UV kill the fungus. It would usually shrink the blemish. My question is will that destroy the cmos sensor.
Has anyone successfully taken the lense apart? Looks to be well sealed. Cameras used to be $15 best I could do was $100 from China...with Corona but that’s another discussion all together.

Can you post an image of the spot? Are you sure it is inside the lens assembly?

lannes · Mar 4, 2020

Can't you just spot fix the blemish in post processing ?

The front filter is glued on

Brad de Leon · Mar 5, 2020

spot fixing in pics is an option but in video that would be a real pain. Was wondering g if the glue was heat based like an iPhone screen. I may give that a try, was wondering if anyone else had pulled the camera apart successfully

lannes · Mar 5, 2020

Brad de Leon said:
spot fixing in pics is an option but in video that would be a real pain. Was wondering g if the glue was heat based like an iPhone screen. I may give that a try, was wondering if anyone else had pulled the camera apart successfully

It looks like they are applying heat in the video to soften the glue

BigAl07 · Mar 5, 2020

I had the EXACT same "spots" on my Mavic Platinum. I ended up replacing the "Camera Barrel" assembly. It's a straight forward process. I got the replacement part from @djidroneservice

Solved the issue and made my Post Processing a LOT easier.

Here's a video showing the process:

Brad de Leon · Mar 5, 2020

I agree that full replacement would be easier but it’s tough to justify spending $100 on an older possibly obsolete drone. Most replacements are used so
The chances that there are already fungal issues Is high. If you buy used make sure you have some recourse if you find mould or fungus.
Also it is best to store your drone in a bright dry place with no UV filter to stop this before it gets started.
Good video, now I know this can be done. Almost better to do a temp glue like a dab of silicone so it’s easier to go in and reclean periodically. Wonder how to clean the lense. What would you use.Wish the video for glass removal was in English but I’ll bet he is saying that the glass is so thin there is a real risk of cracking it. I did hear him say 3M but I’ll bet you have to cut your own double sided tape.
I will try this when my replacement comes from China...if it comes from China.
My thought is that there had to be fungal contamination during manufacture. The spore had to be there to be able to grow in the first place.
This is a real problem in SLR photography.

DDS · Mar 9, 2020

BigAl07 said:
I had the EXACT same "spots" on my Mavic Platinum. I ended up replacing the "Camera Barrel" assembly. It's a straight forward process. I got the replacement part from @djidroneservice

Solved the issue and made my Post Processing a LOT easier.

Here's a video showing the process:

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