D3s banding and hot pixel - send back for replacement?

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D3s banding and hot pixel - send back for replacement?

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rhodium

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I've never really pixel peeped before, but I was feeling bored, so I started to do a few test shots for fun. That's when I noticed this (OOC JPEG, picture control "neutral", 100% crop from near the corner, ISO 200, f/22, 15s):

I thought I saw some faint banding, so I took a frame through a brightly lit piece of paper (WB adjusted for neutral gray). This one is 3 stops underexposed (OOC JPEG, picture control "neutral", 100% crop from middle, ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/10s).

I'm fairly certain there is banding there. I did not do any adjustments to the image at all. I took another few random scenes around my house and I could see banding in dark shadows. I was just wondering if this was within specifications, as I have not seen any other D3s images with this problem at ISO 200.

I also noticed this:

It's a single red pixel, 1033 pixels from the left, 664 pixels from the top. It appears most obviously in every shot at ISO 3200 and above, but shows up only in exposures 1/5s or shorter. I suspect at 1/4s and slower, it's removed by in-camera NR. I'm fairly certain this is abnormal behaviour.

I'm just wondering if I should bring my D3s back to Nikon and have it replaced. The hot pixel can be removed in post, but it's an extra step (I feel) I shouldn't have to do. I'm not too sure about the banding, though. It could be something I'm doing wrong, although I can't see where I could be messing up. More importantly, it's very hard to get rid of (as many 5D Mk II owners will readily attest to...).

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Are you seriously complaining about ONE hot pixel that appears at over ISO3200?!?

*Facepalm*

Or are you being sarcastic?

Posted 2 years ago #
spraynpray

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I think you should swap that piece of junk for a nice C*n*n.

Yuk-yuk-yuk!

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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Most manufacturers of products with CCD or CMOS sensors have specific criteria for warranty replacements due to dead pixels (e.g., 2 in zone 1, 5 in zone 2, 10 in zone three, etc.).

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I'm not seeing it, rhodium. And the hot pixel is a non-issue if you have the right raw converter, as it will be removed automatically.

Posted 2 years ago #
shivaswrath

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is this guy for real?

SERIOUSLY?

Or is it April 1?

There's no banding, and that hot pixel is WELL below the threshold. . .at ISO 3200? Just shoot in raw. . .if MORE show up, send it for a sensor map out. . .

Posted 2 years ago #
rhodium

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Yeah, okay. Thanks. I was just worried since I paid $5,000 for this camera and I'm not exactly sure whether this is supposed to happen or not.

Thanks for the very kind responses, guys.

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I wasn't trying to be unkind, rhodium. I can see some slight banding on my desktop (but not on my laptop where I was before). It's interesting that it looks periodic. I still don't see it as any kind of a problem. What do you use to process raw? Adobe ACR or Lightroom will remove the hot pixel(s) for you.

Posted 2 years ago #
monty11

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If those issues did not bother you in real life before discovering them through the forbidden craft of pixelpeeperage then why do they bother you now? You can try and contact Nikon regarding the banding and see what they have to say. Have you installed the firmware update?

Something from the dpreview forum on the subject, of course there are different opinions on this:

I have files from the D3 taken in bright sunlight at ISO 200 with no banding in the RAW files but significant moire effect if I used ACR to convert to JPEG, and no moire is I opened the files in NX and saved them as TIFF files.

The problem is with either the JPEG compression method or the viewing application or the video drivers and monitor or a combination of these factors. I have JPEG image files that showed no banding on the monitor but when prints were made by a pro lab they showed significant problems. I had the prints redone from TIFF files and the banding no longer was evident.

Unlike film where the negative went to paper with digital images the RAW goes to JPEG and then is opened and interpreted by the computer application and the video card, drivers, and monitor, and again when the file is saved or goes to a printer driver for generating a print. You cannot look at a JPEG that has been handled multiple times by multiple people and make a judgment as to the IQ of the RAW output file from the camera.

What people need to realize is that with higher photosite density new problems will arise, including those involving lens contrast and refraction, that are not a concern with older cameras. Picture quality will improve but will also require a lot more care by the photographer in selecting the optimum lens and camera settings and in every step of the post processing of the image to produce a print.

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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rhodium said:
I was just worried since I paid $5,000 for this camera

Maybe you would have been better off buying a D90 and $4000 dollars worth of glass instead?

Posted 2 years ago #
rhodium

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monty11 said:
If those issues did not bother you in real life before discovering them through the forbidden craft of pixelpeeperage then why do they bother you now? You can try and contact Nikon regarding the banding and see what they have to say. Have you installed the firmware update?

Apologies for my earlier response. I actually noticed the hot pixel in (believe it or not) a 8x12 print I made (from an OOC JPEG, don't know why Nikon doesn't automatically remove hot pixels for those...) It's really obvious (bright red dot) at ISO 12800. I've tried ACR, and yes, it does remove the hot pixel. Thanks for that tip, guys.

The banding shows up on a few monitors I've viewed it on, including the camera LCD, but I haven't seen it in any prints. I'll bring it to a service centre next week (when I have some spare time) and see what they say.

Again, sorry for my earlier response, and thanks for all the help.

EDIT: I would like to state that I absolutely love this camera, it's just that I was worried that there might be something wrong with it.

Posted 2 years ago #
NikoDoby

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OK fair enough Rhodium. Just remember that although those ISO's exist on your camera they are still "extreme" and your image quality will suffer so it's not a defect. Don't expect colorful, sharp, and noise free pictures at anything above 6400.

Posted 2 years ago #

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D3s banding and hot pixel - send back for replacement?

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