Just Switched From 7D to a 5D

Tony Davies-Patrick · January 12th, 2011, 08:41 AM

It should also be noted that out of the 21,026,304 pixels in the 5D Mark II, a fail rate of 40 pixels would be within normal tolerances. Canon works hard to bring those tolerances down to even lower levels, so a few defect pixels would actually relate to extremely good quality.
I'm sure if you were to take a random large selection of 5D cameras from around the world and tested them for defect pixels, most of them would exibit at least one or more defect pixels out of the array of 21MP+ in each sensor.

If you notice the odd defect pixel, then do a manual sensor clean - go to Menu, Sensor Cleaning, and then press "Clean Manually" - this will do a sensor clean with the mirror locked up and attempt to remap, then turn power switch to off.

A stills image with a few extremely tiny white spots is not a big problem, and as mentioned, will not show up in actual 300dpi images, and even if they do show in extremely large blow-ups, then a simple 2-seconds with a 'clone' tool set at smallest circle in photoshop cleans it no problem.
As mentioned, I do not see any need to worry with the odd defect pixel in the much lower rez moving image at 1080 or 720p in video. Video at 3200 ISO is so noisy that a tiny defect pixel would be the least of my problems. If it does bother you, there is software to clean pixels in video, although it is not so simple as using a clone brush for normal stills.

Greg Fiske · January 12th, 2011, 10:27 AM

The clean manual method I've read needs to go for 1 minute from what I've read.

I'm just speaking from experience. You don't want to get a new camera, film a whole wedding and have to deal with the red/white dot in post. The 7D's are much better in this regard (less of a chance of getting a stuck pixel), but the 5d mark II was more of an issue. I use cc wireframe removal to get rid of the stuck pixel, but my camera was still under warranty and they sent out a new one that was perfect (manual cleaning did not fix my situation). Its just better to be aware of it upfront so that you can do something about it during your warranty period, rather than having it become an issue later on. It was disheartening to see this thing come up in my footage, and when played on my plasma screen was very obvious. I've read its expensive for Canon to have to reset the pixel matrix in their repair facility.

Still images are a different story.

January 12th, 2011, 08:41 AM	#16
Tony Davies-Patrick Trustee Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Worldwide Posts: 1,589	It should also be noted that out of the 21,026,304 pixels in the 5D Mark II, a fail rate of 40 pixels would be within normal tolerances. Canon works hard to bring those tolerances down to even lower levels, so a few defect pixels would actually relate to extremely good quality. I'm sure if you were to take a random large selection of 5D cameras from around the world and tested them for defect pixels, most of them would exibit at least one or more defect pixels out of the array of 21MP+ in each sensor. If you notice the odd defect pixel, then do a manual sensor clean - go to Menu, Sensor Cleaning, and then press "Clean Manually" - this will do a sensor clean with the mirror locked up and attempt to remap, then turn power switch to off. A stills image with a few extremely tiny white spots is not a big problem, and as mentioned, will not show up in actual 300dpi images, and even if they do show in extremely large blow-ups, then a simple 2-seconds with a 'clone' tool set at smallest circle in photoshop cleans it no problem. As mentioned, I do not see any need to worry with the odd defect pixel in the much lower rez moving image at 1080 or 720p in video. Video at 3200 ISO is so noisy that a tiny defect pixel would be the least of my problems. If it does bother you, there is software to clean pixels in video, although it is not so simple as using a clone brush for normal stills. __________________ www.WILDCARP.com www.NIKON.me.uk Last edited by Tony Davies-Patrick; January 12th, 2011 at 02:41 PM.

January 12th, 2011, 10:27 AM	#17
Greg Fiske Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Santa Ana, CA Posts: 499	The clean manual method I've read needs to go for 1 minute from what I've read. I'm just speaking from experience. You don't want to get a new camera, film a whole wedding and have to deal with the red/white dot in post. The 7D's are much better in this regard (less of a chance of getting a stuck pixel), but the 5d mark II was more of an issue. I use cc wireframe removal to get rid of the stuck pixel, but my camera was still under warranty and they sent out a new one that was perfect (manual cleaning did not fix my situation). Its just better to be aware of it upfront so that you can do something about it during your warranty period, rather than having it become an issue later on. It was disheartening to see this thing come up in my footage, and when played on my plasma screen was very obvious. I've read its expensive for Canon to have to reset the pixel matrix in their repair facility. Still images are a different story.