This post applies to Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic. Dust Removal is no longer in Early Access status and can be found in the Remove edit panel for Camera Raw & Lightroom Classic. Dust Removal helps with removing distracting spots on an image that may be caused by dust on a camera's sensor. Once enabled, your image will be scanned, and any detected dust spots will be automatically removed using Content-Aware Remove. For refinement, you can select one or multiple spots to delete or refresh. Batch removal is also supported; simply select the "Dust" checkbox under "Remove" in the copy settings dialog.Please note that scanned negatives are not in the scope of this feature at this time. Dust spots on scans tend to be located in the focal plane, with the negative and very sharp, while sensor dust is typically positioned out of the focal plane and therefore not in focus. Scanned negative dust typically appears as white spots on a darker background, whereas perceived sensor dust tends to appear as dark spots in lighter areas. We would love to hear your feedback on Dust Removal! Please give it a try and let us know what you think: How is it useful? How could it be more useful? What could we do to improve your experience? Lisa Ngo, Product Manager Also see this video by @brianmatiash where he demos the feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwpUX4b6igY Posted by:

Question

Distraction Removal: Dust (Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic)

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
July 10, 2025
212 replies
22075 views

This post applies to Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic.

Dust Removal is no longer in Early Access status and can be found in the Remove edit panel for Camera Raw & Lightroom Classic. Dust Removal helps with removing distracting spots on an image that may be caused by dust on a camera's sensor.

Once enabled, your image will be scanned, and any detected dust spots will be automatically removed using Content-Aware Remove. For refinement, you can select one or multiple spots to delete or refresh. Batch removal is also supported; simply select the "Dust" checkbox under "Remove" in the copy settings dialog.

Please note that scanned negatives are not in the scope of this feature at this time.

Dust spots on scans tend to be located in the focal plane, with the negative and very sharp, while sensor dust is typically positioned out of the focal plane and therefore not in focus.
Scanned negative dust typically appears as white spots on a darker background, whereas perceived sensor dust tends to appear as dark spots in lighter areas.

We would love to hear your feedback on Dust Removal! Please give it a try and let us know what you think:

How is it useful?
How could it be more useful?
What could we do to improve your experience?

Lisa Ngo, Product Manager

Also see this video by @brianmatiash where he demos the feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwpUX4b6igY

Posted by:

T

Toastman3000

Known Participant

The problem with this tool it seems to actively seek out dark spots. With inversions, the dust on film scans are white spots. So it’s not working for film scans

L

Lucio27965222ckpl

Participating Frequently

Direi di migliorare l’eliminazione della polvere in PS , e poi in filtro camera raw “ crea nuova maschera ” perché se lavori su cielo e aggiungi architettura lavori su tutti e due ? Per me devono essere divisi ,grazie per il miglioramento .

M

mapatl

Participating Frequently

LRC does not do as good a job at eliminating spots as PS does.

ScubaQuest

Participant

This does not detect backscatter on underwater images. Is it supposed to detect backscatter?

michael_5661

Participant

Trying to remove dust from film negative scans and it can’t find the dust. I think maybe because the inverted negative makes all of the dust white?

Rikk Flohr_Photography

Author

Please read the primary post on this thread. It explains the scope of the feature and addresses your question directly.

Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org

C

christinef58502318

Known Participant

@Rikk Flohr_Photography Adobe - please change the name of this tool or you will continue to get hundreds more of these user complaints!

In a previous reply I suggested ‘In-camera dust’, or perhaps Adobe can come up with a better name?

Bob Palmieri

Participant

Definitely one of the most disappointing tools in any of your products. Didn't find any dust in hi-rez scanned B&W neg.

Rikk Flohr_Photography

Author

This product is not designed to remove scanned dust. Please read the top-level post for this thread for more information.

Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org

Bob Palmieri

Participant

Thanks Rikk. Amusingly, I read the two bullet points regarding dust on scanned, yet seem to have missed the line above stating what you pointed out.

Somewhat amusing to me is the fact that someone went to the extent of defining the characteristics of spots on scans so well, yet there’s no implementation of an algorithm to remove them.

LDB2002

Participant

This tool is degraded. It can’t find dust it says - it can distinguish between squinting eyes and a scratch or reflecctions in an eye and dust. I thought it was pretty good when I first used it but it is not doing a very good job now.

SuperFabe

Known Participant

Clicked the “Provide Feedback” and it brought me here, so here is the feedback.

For every spot I select, LrC processes the selection. I have a dusty old slide (even blew and brushed off prior to converting) and removing spots becomes a click and wait approach. Why can’t we have an option to batch select, then LrC processes. While it processes I can do something else which is a better use of time.