Team-BHP - The DSLR Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx (Post 1707581)

After all that discussion, I am now searching for 'hot pixels' and 'dead pixels' in my pics, but not lucky so far.:)

I found some dirt marks on latest pics though (visible only when this specific area comes in light shades), did some image sensor cleaning as instructed in the manual, but not yet being successful in removing the mark. Checked dust on the lens too. I tried lifting the sensor and cleaning inside with an earbud. The mark has lightened but not fully gone. Here is a pic of the sky. I havent got a blower yet. Any suggestions ?
Attachment 277723

There is still some dirt stuck on your sensor. Take a narrow aperture shot (f/22 or so) of the sky or a wall and they will be more evident.
Don't you have a cleaning mode in the cam by which the penta-mirror and shutter curtain fully retract so that you can clean the sensor? What you mean by lifting the sensor..?

I was afraid of cleaning the sensor for more than a year, then one of my friend told me that he cleans the sensor very often with lint free paper and no scratches so far, so I did that two times in my camera. All dirt marks are gone :)

Clever, there is an auto image cleaning process that happen every time I turn it ON and OFF, but that didnt help much. I went through the Menu and did the shutter lock-up for a manual cleaning. 'Lifting' means manually lifting the mirror inside, not the sensor. I think I have to try some blower thing for a safer cleaning than doing with objects that can worsen the situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx (Post 1707758)

The auto cleaning while turning off happens for Sonys too but it is not effective as you said. When I put it in cleaning mode, it shakes more violently for a moment and then opens up both penta mirror and the shutter curtain - I dont have to lift the mirror. Is it not the case for your cam?

Quote:

Originally Posted by it_inspector (Post 1705934)

Those 2 resources are one of the worse to follow. Kenrockwell himself makes it clear that he likes to make up things from thin air and has a brain of troubled 9yr old.

Hot Pixel will usually show first time with a long exposure but after that it will show on ALL Shutter Speeds and all Apertures and on every single shot.
WRONG. Hot Pixels show at All Shutter Speeds.

1. I suspect Ken Rockwell's self deregatory comments are just so that the public does not call him cocky.

2. Are you sure about the Hot pixels. I believe I have seen the disappear and re-appear on a few occasions. Still I wont pit my photography knolwedge against yours. Besides I was not looking for hot pixels (when I noticed that there were hot pixels in some pictures) I was looking at the subject.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronH4WK (Post 1707788)

for Canons, it says you should use "Dust Delete Data". it is used by the DPP to automatically remove the dust spots. for the 400D, in the Contents you can find it under Handy Features > Append Dust Delete Data (p.112).

How effective is this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin (Post 1707919)

How effective is this?

well, i've never tried it myself, but i did read about it when i first got the 400D (then never touched the manual). i guess i'll have to try it coz i change my lenses often and on many occasions the conditions have been less than clean. :D

however, i've never noticed spots on my pictures - this could be because whenever you switch the camera on/off the sensor does a self-cleaning (vibrates to clear dust).

will try out today (yep, it's already today) and post the result.

ok, did the dust delete thingy.

what it basically does is (once you go through the procedure) store the dust information (if found) in the camera itself - not on the CF/SD card. after the procedure, when you click pictures (RAW or JPEG) the dust information is added to it and that's how DPP is able to recognize and remove them spots.

i'm not gonna dirty my camera to prove it works :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronH4WK (Post 1708316)

So it is something like the 'path' tool found in PS embedded in camera software. Cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clevermax (Post 1707825)

I dont have to lift the mirror. Is it not the case for your cam?

I dont know how to explain the technical parts here, but when I do the mirror lock up for cleaning, it lifts and I can clean the area. But when I lift it manually, I find a twin layer on the mirror itself, which never opens by 'lock-up' process. So I lifted the mirror and tried cleaning between the twin layer manually. Anyway I dont think its some dust inside there, but could be in or around the mirror itself. Need to check some test snaps again and see if it has improved. This issue was not seen in the pics shot 7 days back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shajufx (Post 1708941)

But when I lift it manually, I find a twin layer on the mirror itself, which never opens by 'lock-up' process. So I lifted the mirror and tried cleaning between the twin layer manually.

A very expensive process. Just follow your instruction manual for sensor cleaning. If you're unsure, give it to authorised service center.

Any wrong step can damage your shutter/mirror mechanism. Happend to me. Damage was 22000/- (for my camera body).

A n00b question- have started shooting JPG+RAW (JPG for convenience sake, RAW... ...I hope to learn PS and PP them sometime :) ). Which is the best way to edit RAW - using the PS plugin for opening RAW? Or by processing it through DPP? If I process it in DPP, do I save the RAW file itself (as a copy), or convert to TIFF and then open it in PS?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph03n!x (Post 1709116)

If you use another software, best way is to convert it into 16 bit Tiff and then open it in PS. I've been using camera supplied software until I installed CS4 with Adobe Camera RAW and no going back to any other software after that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramodkumar (Post 1709560)

Guys i cannot open RAW files in CS4, I get an error "Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document." Clever insturcted me to update some files and i still have the same problem can someone help?
Pramod

I suggested to install an update which is available for Adobe Camera RAW & DNG but it didn't work.

To add on to that, I tried to open Pramod's RAW files (A230) in my laptop and I get the same error, but I can open my own RAW files (A200) without a glitch.

The Sony software, Picasa & RAW Therapee can open his RAW files though.

Expert opinion needed please: