How to Use Dust Delete Data on Canon 70D

Sometimes, despite all our best efforts, dust and debris particles can be introduced into our shots. Though the sensor Self Cleaning feature on the Canon 70D is usually able to rid the sensor of most dust, sometimes there are some particularly stubborn particles. Luckily for us, the Canon 70D has a feature that makes the effect of dust particles on our photos non-existent when shooting in RAW format. Let’s talk about what Dust Delete Data is, how to capture it, and how to use the data in post-production.

What is it?

Dust Delete Data is a piece of data that is appended to our photos to be used for dust detection and deletion using Canon’s Digital Photo Professional application (DPP for short) provided on the disk that comes with your Canon 70D. It maps the spots where dust is detected and writes the size and location to the appended data file for DPP to use.

Capturing Dust Delete Data

Before your photo shoot, we recommend capturing Dust Delete Data even if you don’t suspect you have issues with dust. The process is fairly simple:

1. Prepare a flat, clean white surface with similar lighting to your scene.
2. Put your camera into manual focus and set focus to infinity (the ∞ symbol on your lens).
3. Prepare to shoot the white surface from about a foot away.
4. Navigate to the fourth tab in the Canon 70D’s Settings menu and open Dust Delete Data.
5. Press OK, wait for the sensor to clean, then press the shutter button while aiming at your prepared surface.
6. The image will be analyzed for dust data then deleted. If the camera was not able to successfully capture any data, a warning will appear. This is usually caused by the shot not being white enough or not out of focus enough.
7. Dust Delete Data is then appended to every image captured with the camera.

NOTE: Dust Delete Data capture is only viable using a lens of 50mm or larger.

How to Use Dust Delete Data

After your photo shoot, it’s time to put that dust delete data to use:

1. On your computer, install the programs on the disk provided with your Canon 70D. If you do not have the disk or your computer does not have a disk drive, you can download the software package from Canon’s Support website.
2. Open the Digital Photo Professional application that was just installed.
3. Connect your camera to the computer or insert the SD card into a card reader.
4. Using the folder view to the left of the window, navigate to your camera or the card.
5. Select the photos you wish to apply dust delete to. It is simple enough to select the photos from the entire photo shoot and apply to all.
6. Under the Adjustments dropdown menu, click on Apply Dust Delete Data.
7. The program will begin the process of applying the data. Once finished, you are notified of any photos that did not need any adjustment.
8. After the process, you can choose to export the photos to your computer for editing in another program or use Digital Photo Professional for other adjustments and modifications to the photos.

Check out our Canon 70D Tips & Tricks Roundup for more info!