After Opening the Box...

[AliasMoze]

Hola amigos. I've got a 300D coming in the morning, and, being a new DSLR owner, have some questions.

HOTPIXEL TEST - I take it that this is common practice. Can someone please shed light on how to do the test, what to look for, what is acceptible and what isn't, and what to do if the result is unfavorable?

LENS - Are there lens test that should be carried out?

I'm thinking of shooting some nudes. Does anyone have experience with two-way mirrors?

Is there anything, aside from reading the manual, that I should do?

Thanks, as always.

BTW, that nude question was a joke.

[vvizard]

I don't own a SLR (yet), but what I would guess can be done to test for hot pixels, is to shoot a image with the objective-protect on. (if it let's you fire a shot then). That would give you a complete black picture, which would be ideal to check for any christmas-tree-light effects. Like red/green/whatever pixels. To check for a complete dead pixels (black), try to shoot a picture of something bright light. A white-only surface. That way it would be easy to spot black pixels.

[robertwgross]

I'll amplify on that a bit.

If a pixel is dead, you will see a black spot on a white field, assuming that you are shooting a completely white target. By "see", I mean on the finished image.

If a pixel is sick, you may see a red, blue, or green spot on a black field, assuming that you are shooting a completely black target (like the inside of the lens cap).

More typically, you shoot a black field with ISO cranked up high, and you see a few faint pink, faint green, or faint blue pixels, and a certain amount of that is tolerable.

A related but different problem is if the LCD display on the back shows these kinds of artifacts, like a red spot. That is less fatal, but it should not be present on a new camera. I've seen one red spot show up on a very hot day, but then it goes away.

---Bob Gross---