“My Nikon Z8’s sensor is filthy – I had no idea it had a sensor shield!” Here’s how to make sure yours is switched on

Close-up of Nikon Z8 sensor, with half the sensor exposed and half the sensor shield down .

A sensor shield (or dust cover) is a dummy shutter that flips down when you turn off the camera to shield the sensor from airborne dust and dirt when changing lenses. They tend to feature on enthusiast or pro-grade mirrorless cameras from Canon, Sony, Panasonic and Nikon.

Currently, Nikon only has two cameras with sensor shields: the flagship Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8. But as one of my colleagues recently found out, Nikon’s sensor shields are not active by default.