Hot/stuck pixel

[Paul Abbaszadeh]

So I have an annoying problem that hopefully someone can chime in and help with...I've googled for hours but can't find a solution...here it is:

My sensor has developed a hot/stuck pixel that becomes obvious at around ISO 640/800-4000. A hot/stuck (white) pixel appears in the center bottom of the frame and it gets more noticeable as ISO ramps up from around 800 or so but goes away after ISO 5000+. I ran a black balance but all that did was trade the one hot/stuck pixel for another one more pronounced in the top right quadrant of the frame. I ran an exhaustive number of black balances and so far all it has done is swap the location of the stuck/hot pixel, they never fully go away regardless of how many black balances I run I end up with one or the other, the only difference being location. Not sure what else to try/do, this is rendering the camera useless for shoots due to the obvious/noticeable nature of the pixel.

[Aaron Jones Sr.]

I'm sorry as i would be not help to you in this arena. Just curious though, have you priced a replacement with a camcorder repair shop? I would be curious to see what that would cost for parts ans labor. I'm in the states and I just found a repair center that I'm happy with. Just for giggles I will inquire to them for replacement sensor to see what they would quote for it.

[Warren Kawamoto]

JVC cameras can fix dead pixels by masking them
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/jvc-gy-h...fo-please.html

I wonder if Sony can do the same? Try to get a service manual from a Sony Service Center. It probably has procedures to cure your problem. I question the problem's origin though....I don't think dead pixels don't move around.

[Doug Jensen]

Dead pixels don't move, but the camera has a limited capacity for hiding them. So, for example, if the camera can hide 20, but you have 25 bad pixels, then 5 are going go unfixed. And when you black balance, the chosen 20 that are getting fixed get juggled. BTW, I have no idea what the real numbers are, I'm just using 20 and 5 for illustration. It very well might be possible to go into the service menus (don't ask me how) and specify which one's are hidden and perhaps even do a more permanent fix. I'd send it to Sony if it was my camera.

[Paul Abbaszadeh]

I got it all sorted out. It turns out there was no user serviceable solution to my problem. I was running black balances and all it did was swap the location of the hot/stuck pixel from one spot to another. I went to Sony's service site and submitted a service request last Friday. They were very prompt & the customer service was top notch. By coincidence the service manager lives in my city so he offered to save me the drive to Burbank by picking up my FS100 in person. Sony had it for a day and by Tuesday the service manager e-mailed me that it was fixed and ready to go. He even personally delivered it to me yesterday. I can't comment on cost because it was repaired under warranty. There isn't a whole lot of detail on what they did on my invoice but he did say the engineer told him it wasn't a user serviceable fix. Just glad to have the camera back and working properly. I can't praise Sony's customer service enough, my next camera will be an FS700 or FS7 for sure. I was really impressed by the personal service and quick turnaround.