dead pixels on my mx300 chip? at DVinfo.net

Eric Steensma · March 3rd, 2003, 03:44 AM

Some days ago I saw a white spot in lowlight scenes. I cleaned my lens, but when I covered my lens (a black immage) the spot was very clear. When I zoom-in digitaly the spot zoomed in. So it's behind the lens, probably on the chip. In photoshop I found out that the spot is 3 x 3 pixels. Another owner of a mx300 in the netherlands seems to have the same problem. Does someone knows this problem? It seems to be an expensive repair.

Frank Granovski · March 3rd, 2003, 03:51 AM

If you still have warranty, Panasonic should fix it for free. If you don't have warranty, then I think it will be expensive to fix. Sorry to hear about the dead pixel/s. This is the first time I heard of a MX300 having a dead pixel.

Steven Khong · March 6th, 2003, 01:51 AM

Hi, Eric.

Sorry to hear about these "always on" pixels.

Please send it in to Panasonic and ask for an estimate.

It may just be dust - though if it "glows" in the dark & you can capture it consistantly on DV tape and / or SD/MMC card, then I doubt it.

Do you see the same white spot in your viewfinder & your LCD?

The expensive route would be to change your CCD. There is a cheaper way:

I have seen the Tatsujin software that they use to connect to the MX300, and one of the features of the software is that they can actually REMAP the CCD pixel(s). In your case, 9 pixels may be a bit too big of an area, but it's better than seeing white pixels there all the time. Worth a try.

It's all done by software, so I don't think they will charge you too much for it. While you're at it, upgrade your firmware / EEPROM to version 1.6 & enjoy glitch free DV OUT to PC, and improved OIS for zoom 6X to 12X.

Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers!

March 3rd, 2003, 03:44 AM	#1
Eric Steensma Tourist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 2	dead pixels on my mx300 chip? Some days ago I saw a white spot in lowlight scenes. I cleaned my lens, but when I covered my lens (a black immage) the spot was very clear. When I zoom-in digitaly the spot zoomed in. So it's behind the lens, probably on the chip. In photoshop I found out that the spot is 3 x 3 pixels. Another owner of a mx300 in the netherlands seems to have the same problem. Does someone knows this problem? It seems to be an expensive repair.

March 3rd, 2003, 03:51 AM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	If you still have warranty, Panasonic should fix it for free. If you don't have warranty, then I think it will be expensive to fix. Sorry to hear about the dead pixel/s. This is the first time I heard of a MX300 having a dead pixel.

March 6th, 2003, 01:51 AM	#3
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Hi, Eric. Sorry to hear about these "always on" pixels. Please send it in to Panasonic and ask for an estimate. It may just be dust - though if it "glows" in the dark & you can capture it consistantly on DV tape and / or SD/MMC card, then I doubt it. Do you see the same white spot in your viewfinder & your LCD? The expensive route would be to change your CCD. There is a cheaper way: I have seen the Tatsujin software that they use to connect to the MX300, and one of the features of the software is that they can actually REMAP the CCD pixel(s). In your case, 9 pixels may be a bit too big of an area, but it's better than seeing white pixels there all the time. Worth a try. It's all done by software, so I don't think they will charge you too much for it. While you're at it, upgrade your firmware / EEPROM to version 1.6 & enjoy glitch free DV OUT to PC, and improved OIS for zoom 6X to 12X. Let us know how it turns out. Cheers!