a dark spot appeared in pictures taken on my sony alpha 57 (SLT-a57 ) today! originally i thought it’s dust gotten into my lens. but the dark spot doesnt go away when i switched a lens. and the auto cleaning function doesnt help too. the last thing to try before sending in for servicing, is to clean the camera sensor. i googled and found the following steps shared by Undah (“thank you”) very helpful:
1) Perform the cleaning operation from the menu (the vibration).
2) Detach the lens at this point (instead of turning the camera off as you would normally do)
3) Push the V mark on the mirror lock lever (below the mirror, in the center of the plastic) with a finger to lift up the mirror. The mirror flips up.
• Be careful not to touch the surface of the mirror!
4) Use your hand blower.
5) After the cleaning is finished, lower the mirror with a finger until it clicks.
• Lower the frame of the mirror back down with a finger. Be careful not to
touch the surface of the mirror.
• Lower the mirror down until it locks firmly.
6 Attach the lens and turn the camera off.
sony’s own set of instructions isnt quite helpful at all, and the instruction manual is nowhere insight too. thanks to google, and the folks who share knowledge freely!
i believe the above instructions should apply and help to clean all current SLT models, including SLT-A33, SLT-A33L, SLT-A33Y, SLT-A35, SLT-A35K, SLT-A35Y, SLT-A37, SLT-A37K, SLT-A37M, SLT-A37Y, SLT-A55V, SLT-A55VL, SLT-A55VY, SLT-A65V, SLT-A65VK, SLT-A65VY, SLT-A77V, SLT-A77VK, SLT-A77VQ, and probbaly the latest SLT-A99V too (: