Dead Pixel, is this acceptable?
 

Hello everyone, i am a new xha1 owner, and i have to say that this camera has exceeded my expectations, the performance and styling are amazing.

However, upon connecting the cam to my hdtv, i noticed that there is a bright white spot, which fades on and off at random, and is quite distracting. I know it is the cam and not my TV because, i can see compression artifacting around the spot, which makes it even more noticeable... although lately it has been becoming less frequent.

I have only had the cam for about four days, and i am wondering what to do... It is my first hd cam, and my first semi-pro level cam, the other video cameras i have had cost a fraction of this, so i thought i would run it by the experts here on dvinfo.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I do not know how to post photos of the problem, so i have instead made a video and put it youtube, so you can see what i am talking about... hopefully, youtube quality is deplorable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQrN76g1VGc

Send that cam back pronto! Not acceptable at all.

Dead pixel does not move around like that, it stay in one spot on the screen, your white dot moves around, I have no idea what that is.

Agreed. That looks more like an UFO than a dead pixel.

Whoah, that's just weird. I noticed you were moving the camera around a lot in that video, can you test the camera on a tripod and recreate the spot?

Would it be possible that there's a small particle floating around between some lens elements?


In any event, if your lens is clean and this thing keeps flying around, don't hesitate to call your dealer for an exchange. If you didn't buy from a dealer willing to exchange, get in touch with Canon service.

where you shooting the screen handheld or with a tripod, OIS on or off?

The camera was handheald, with ois on, the reason the dot is moving around is because i am taping off of the TV with another camera... if i was not zoomed in you would not be able see it with the bad youtube quality.

I did buy it from an authorized dealer... no crooklyn stuff.

However i can not seem to recreate the problem, the thing that worries me is that in that clip it fades on and off, so it may come on again in the future!

My question is, has anyone else had a dead pixel problem?

Thanks everyone for your help...

O.K. The pixel problem seems to have come back...

I was playing around with some settings, while watching it on TV, and bam, it was back.

It is not always present, and seems to come and go at random, I changed zoom and focus, and it did not effect the spot at all, so i know it is not part of the lens mechanism.

How long would it take a Canon service center to repair this problem, I still have two and a half weeks to return it, however, there is a project i wanted to start, so i do not want to be out of commission for too long!

Please Help, what should I do?

If you can return it then return it now, they will not fix it if they can't duplicate the problem, and then they might not even fix it if it was on high gain or slow shutter as this is normal as they described it in the manual, the only thing that it could come and go is that you might have shot in auto gain or full auto and as the gain go up or shutter goes down that is when dead pixels will show up most, if it was me and if I could return, then I would, but if I can't return and the the dead pixel only show up at 18 db or when shutter is at 8th of a seconds or below then I wouldn't worry about it.

Actually today, i was shooting at -3db and 1/48th second shutter speed when i noticed it, I can post a screen grab, if someone will tell me how!

Well, if you've got a dead/stuck pixel, your time is probably better spent getting either a replacement from your dealer or - if that's not an option - getting in touch with Canon to arrange for repair or replacement. If you can, try to record some of the dead pixel to tape so you've got something to show them in case the pixel "fixes" itself before they can look at it.

If you send it in for service, please keep us updated on how they handle it.

Don't mess around with the camera. It's defective with a particle on the CCD chip. Get a new one.

Definalty record some footage and send it as HDWMV files to a service rep

Once they SEE the problem, they want to fix it

I would send it back and ask for replacement. I had a lit pixel issue with my
first A1 at slow shutter 1/3 (starting at gain 0, +3 or +6 db) and 1/6 (starting
at +6 db). The canon service in Berlin told me to exchange it at the dealer
(what may be was nonsense), if i was able to. So the second A1 i have now
has nearly the same pixel issues with slow shutters. And it´s only visible if
the rest of the picture is quiet, which is the fact from -3 db till +6 db.
I assume that with shutters speeds slower than 1/12 (1/6 and 1/3) everybody
will find a few lit and hot pixels with higher gain. And with shutter speed 1/3
you will find a few visible hot or lit pixels at low or no gain in quiet pictures.
This is normal and nothing to worry about, i think.
I would be interested what the observation of other A1 owners are in this
issue, but these pixels are sometimes hard to find (if you have small screen
and do not look for them).
But if you find these kind of pixels with 1/24 shutter and faster and +6 db gain and
lower (not to mention no gain - 0 - or -3 db), i would definetly ask for
replacement, if you are still in the return time.

Felix

O.K. guys thanks again for your input...

I ordered a replacement A1, and it has at least two dead pixels!!! and the zoom is slower and nosier than my previous model, what is going on?

Canon must be having serious quality control issues with this cam, perhaps they sell the fully functional models as g1's and relegate the faulty ones to a1 status... either way i am starting to regret my decision... perhaps the A1's $3500 dollar price really is too good to be true!

So... should i stick it out with Canon, and request yet another replacement... or should i return it all together and get one of the competing models... perhaps a used hd100 for the same price?

The A1 is such a nice camera, but i am feeling like i have been had... any suggestions?