Can the "Dust Delete Data" function on Canon DSLR be used with Lightroom?

Question

My camera is 6 months old and I noticed there is quite a few spots on the sensor (especially when taking HDR shots of bright scenes or the sky) The hand blower does not lift these particles off the sensor and I don't know if there is enough spots to have the sensor professionally cleaned at the service center.

There is a function on the camera that records "Dust Delete Data" which is (according to the manual) used with the Canon Digital Photo Professional software to delete these spots i presume. I don't have any of the Canon software installed as it is not needed for my workflow and don't really want to add an extra step if I don't have to.

So the question is; can the "Dust Delete Data" be used with Lightroom? (or Photoshop, although I would prefer LR since this is where most of my post-processing takes place)

Steve Ross · Accepted Answer

Dust delete data is Canon proprietary, and no third party software that I'm aware of interprets it. I can say for certain that Lightroom/ACR, Aperture and Capture One are all blissfully ignorant of this data.

I'm sure everyone making RAW image processing software would love Canon to open up a bit more on these details but so far, it's still not public information as far as I know.

Daniel Fortunov · Answer

Another option is to use the Spot Removal tool to manually fix up the photos where dust shows up significantly.

Here's a good article walking through the process:
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-remove-sensor-dust-with-lightroom/

I'll probably stick with this approach and only fix the few photos where dust is actually visible.

Scott Carey · Answer

Though Canon doesn't disclose their Dust Delete algorithm, Canon Digital Learning Center published, several years ago, this quick tutorial on how to use such file to perform dust deletion with a third-party RAW processor - in case they offer such a similar option.
Amazingly enough, the article's author, though obviously writing under Canon's assignment, selflessly points out that such procedure can even be accomplished with files from competitors' cameras. Though we known that, the fact he chose not to ignore it, is as commendable as the article itself, IMO.

Can the "Dust Delete Data" function on Canon DSLR be used with Lightroom?

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