Re: what's wrong with these pics?
Dear searching;
I've already explained what the phenomeon in the first photo was in a previous thread, however the spherical aberration in the second photo is not a dust mote, and I will be happy to explain why it isn't.
FIrst, in contradiction to film, dust motes on digital sensors always manifest themselves in photos are slightly darker circular blotches, as they do not reflect light, rather they absorb it. In the old film days, first a negative was made and the negative made all dark objects light and vice-versa, however the silver halide crystals used in most film stock were rather large and not capable of re-transferring the darkness to the dust motes, hence the light colored dust motes.
Also, dust motes are most generally unoticeable in multi-colored backgrounds and they tend to only manifest themselves in areas of homogenous colors, like a blue sky or a red wall, etc
Next, dust motes are almost unheard of in digital point & shoot style cameras as the camera's sensor is completely sealed off because there is no way to change the lens, therefore the camera manufacturer can completely and permanently seal the sensor area, thus reducing or totally eliminating dust particles.
With digital SLR cameras, dust is always a major hassle and there are numerous articles written on how to check your camera's sensor for dust motes, however I've discovered that the easiest way to check is take a shot of a completely blue sky then desaturate the photo of all color until the photo of the sky is a uniorm gray color. it's then a simple matter of easily detecting all darker colored circular aberrations in the photo. These are the dust motes and they are usually easily removed with a hand type squeeze bulb that is used to blow air onto the sensor.
The aberration is the second photo is nothing more mysterious than a spherical reflection, my friend. This are quite common with point & shoot cameras and I would also have many photos with the same aberrations as you, especially in areas with large expanses of open shade.
Your friend;
LAMAR
