FML, new S95 has dead pixels!

[thegrandpoohbah]

So I just got my new S95 after 2 weeks of waiting (thank you very much Purolator). Just my luck, there is a small cluster of dead pixels in the middle of the screen just below and a little to the left of center of the autofocus box. I was hoping it was just pixels on the LCD screen that were dead but no such luck. There is a spot on every picture and video (though much more noticeable on the video). How easy is B&H to deal with for returns and exchanges?

[eyalg]

Very.

Give them a call.


-eyalg

[thegrandpoohbah]

Weird, they are closed today but open tomorrow. Guess I'll go test it some more. So far it only shows up when shooting in JPEG and the spot is visible all through the zoom range. Oddly enough, when I look at the RAW file the spot isn't there. And that's with a side by side comparison shooting RAW+JPEG. It also shows up on videos but not noticeable at 28mm, really noticeable at 105mm.

Here's a couple of 100% crops of the same pic.

JPEG:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/thegrandpoohbah/IMG_0064.jpg

RAW converted to JPEG in PS CS5 using default settings:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/thegrandpoohbah/IMG_0064_1.jpg

[imjason]

Oddly enough, when I look at the RAW file the spot isn't there. And that's with a side by side comparison shooting RAW+JPEG. It also shows up on videos but not noticeable at 28mm, really noticeable at 105mm.

I had the S95 with a similar hot pixel problem. The only way I found out was looking at an unprocessed raw outside of Adobe (iphoto). I believe Adobe's de-mosaic process of rendering of the raw file removes hot pixel. usually the noise reduction in a point and shoot can clean out the hot pixels in jpg mode. but i guess it didnt work in your case.

for me, I returned my S95 due to the hot pixeling. but hop over to some of the dpreview forums, plenty of people who pixel peep have issues with the s95's stuck or hot pixels. Some individuals claimed that they exchanged 3-4 different s95s before they recieved a camera without a stuck pixel. If you shoot in raw most of the time, I say just keep the camera. Most sensors are not perfect, so unless you want to go through the trouble, adobe will do a decent job in cleaning up the sensor defects.

[nitehawk55]

Can't say I've seen many complaints of this nature and I'm sure if there was the S95 wouldn't be the popular camera it is .

[imjason]

Can't say I've seen many complaints of this nature and I'm sure if there was the S95 wouldn't be the popular camera it is .

most cameras have a hot pixel or two, but if you shoot in raw, you probably will not notice it if you use a program to process it. and like it said, the noise reduction usually cleans out the hot pixel too. the issue of stuck pixel for the s95 was more of an issue on dpreview forums around oct-dec of 2010. probably early batches and people tend to pixel peep more over there. there are issues with the s95, but it doesnt mean that people will be deterred by it. it sold well cuz it delivered what was promised. most people will live with the short comings of the s95 such as poor battery life, poor flash positioning, etc. canons are known for their dreaded lens errors, but that doesnt stop ppl when the powershots take decent photos.

you can check your on s95 to see if theres hot pixels. put the camera in manual and take a raw format photo when its pitch black. open up the photo in a program that doesnt process the raw such as Apple Preview.

[Edwin Herdman]

If on Windows, open a RAW file with Irfanview.

[thegrandpoohbah]

I typically shoot RAW so the pics aren't going to be a problem. Is there any tool I can use that will fix the videos?