Why do hot pixels appear in long-exposure night photos, and how can I reduce them?

Asked 8/4/2012

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When shooting the night sky with a Canon 600D, I noticed a single red dot in 20-second exposures that does not appear in normal short exposures. I tested this by taking two photos with the lens cap on: one at 20 seconds and one at 1 second. The red dot appeared only in the 20-second image. Is this caused by long exposure, sensor heat, or image processing? What can I do to reduce or remove it for astrophotography?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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Yes. This is a hot pixel.

Basically, there is something wrong with one pixel. It can be more sensitive than others or captures some loose electrons in the sensor. In either case, the charge goes up faster than it should and while 1s is not enough, 20s is sufficient for it to accumulate a noticeable charge. In your particular case, the pixel happens to fall behind a red color-filter (that's a 1 in 4 chance), so it appears red but hot pixels (technically photosites) can cause the appearance of red, green or blue dots.

The camera can be calibrated to take into account such anomalies and usually is. It will then apply compensation for it. On some models it is possible to do it yourself using reference images but it is normally done by a service technician. If you do not have a local service center (for Canon in your case), then you have to call and get a reference number. Your send you camera there and get it back a few weeks later without the problem hopefully (and without a new problem as it sometimes happens unfortunately).

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

14y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes — that is consistent with a hot pixel. A hot pixel is a sensor site that accumulates charge faster than normal, so it may not show up in a short exposure but becomes visible in a long one. If that pixel sits under a red color filter, it will appear as a red dot.

Long exposures can make hot pixels more noticeable, and sensor warming during use can contribute as well. This is a normal issue with digital cameras, especially in night and astro photography.

Ways to reduce or remove it:

  • Use dark-frame subtraction: take a matching exposure with the lens cap on and subtract it in processing.
  • Stack multiple exposures in software to reduce noise and fixed-pixel artifacts.
  • Check whether your camera offers long-exposure noise reduction or pixel mapping/calibration.
  • If the problem becomes severe, a service technician may be able to recalibrate/map out the defective pixel.

So the dot is most likely not a star or white-balance issue — it’s a hot pixel made visible by the longer exposure.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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