Why do some JPEG photos from my Panasonic Lumix come out almost entirely purple?
Asked 7/4/2012
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2 answers
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Some photos from my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1 occasionally turn out with a strong purple cast, even though the scene has no purple in it. Other shots of the same subject look normal.
It seems to happen more often outdoors in bright sunlight, and sometimes after I spend longer focusing or zooming before taking the shot. I’ve already tried resetting settings, changing white balance options, and using different memory cards, but the problem still appears. The camera is shooting JPEG.
What could cause this kind of intermittent purple image, and is there anything I can check before assuming the camera is faulty?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
5
From the Exif Info,
The normal photo has exposure 1/60s, ISO 80 and f4.9 without flash, focal length 13.6mm.
The purple one has exposure 1/60s, ISO 1000 and f5.9 with flash, focal length 33mm. This picture should have been overexposed by at least 3 stops + flash if you had taken it with the same lighting as the normal picture.
Its possible that the flash is throwing off your white balance... it could also be that the camera thinks that that it is using a flash (while it does not fire) and over compensates for the white balance.
I would check the Exif info of all the ones that are purple, see if it says flash is on and may be that is the reason it ended up messing up your white balance.
Originally by user6212. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6212
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The most likely causes are either a camera fault or an exposure/white-balance error linked to flash behavior.
From the EXIF data in the examples, the purple image was shot very differently from the normal one: higher ISO, different focal length, smaller aperture, and it reports flash use. If the camera incorrectly thinks flash is active, or flash-related white balance is being applied when it shouldn’t be, that could produce a strong color cast.
What to check:
- Compare EXIF data on the purple shots and see whether they consistently report flash.
- Confirm whether the purple images look wrong both on the camera screen and on a computer.
- Since you already tried another memory card, the card is less likely to be the issue.
- Clean the lens, since dirt or an optical/shutter problem can sometimes cause unusual color shifts.
If the issue keeps happening after cleaning and checking EXIF/flash behavior, the camera is probably faulty and should be inspected or serviced.
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