How to remove spots?

[erinuga]

Hi,
While on vacation, a little piece of something got on my low-pass filter of my digital SLR. Consequently, there is a black dot on about 50 of my pictures- like this one-

I don't have photoshop or any fancy software that gets rid of stuff like this. What software do you recommend? Or would it better for me to take my media card to a photo restoration place and let them fix it? In most of the pictures the dot is in the sky....

Thanks for any input!

 

[boBQuincy]

It's time to join the many happy image editor users on this board! It's easy to repair the spots, especially when they are in the sky.

I am familiar with Adobe products and can highly recommend Photoshop Elements for this kind of editing. There are many editing packages that can fix the spots, ask around, find one you like, and as Macbeth said, "Out, dang spot..."

 

[Groucho]

Also, you'll want to clean the sensor, in case that part wasn't obvious. Pick up a Giottos Rocket Blower and see if that helps... sooner or later, you'll have to do a full sensor clean. I use pec-pads and Eclipse, works fine. There's lots of good info here.

It looks like there's a new version of Eclipse specifically (and only) for some newer DSLRs like the A100, K10D, XTi, etc.

 

[MICKEY88]

I vote for Paint Shop Pro Photo XI,


you definitely do not want to go to a photo restoration place, they will charge a good amount for a simple fix...

 

[klmall]

If you really want to keep it simple, just use Paint in Windows Accessories. Simply select a nearby section that isn't discolored and Copy. Paste that selection onto your discolored area. Voila! Use Save As and save under a different name. At work I help lots of photo newbies with simple solutions before they purchase PSE or other editing programs. And most editing programs have trial versions you can download for 30 days or so to see how they work.

FYI - There is another slight discoloration to the northeast of the large dot and I really like your photo!

 

[DueyDooDah]

To address you immediate problem, there are a number of free software packages that will help you fix the 50 or so images you have spots on. Some on this board use The Gimp, but I'm sure you can find others. Just go to something like www.download.com and search for image editing software. If you find you enjoy tweaking images, you may want to download the trial versions of some of the more popular, commercial software packages, such as Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, etc.

 

[erinuga]

Thank you everyone! I will try paint as well as some of the free software when I get home from work. I appreciate your ideas!!

 

[ukcatfan]

I also vote for Gimp. Here is a link to the Windows download page. You have to install the runtime environment before installing the program.
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

Kevin

 

[erinuga]

i just downloaded gimp and it works great! thanks for the tips!!!