Why do the same red or white pixels appear in every photo from my Canon Rebel T2i?
Asked 8/14/2011
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2 answers
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I’m seeing small red/white dots in the exact same locations in every image from my Canon Rebel T2i. They show up in the sky and other dark areas, and they don’t move from shot to shot. I’m trying to figure out whether this is dust, a lens issue, or a sensor problem. What are these pixels, and is there a way to fix or remap them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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You're exactly right — it's the same thing as a monitor pixel error, but on your camera's sensor rather than on an LCD screen. *
You can either fix it in post-processing (automatically, with many RAW-processing packages) or have it mapped out with the camera's firmware.
If you're lucky, your camera model includes a built-in feature to do that yourself in the field; failing that, it's almost always covered under warranty service.
* well, not really exactly the same, since it's a photoreceptor rather than an LCD pixel, but it's similar in concept. One of the image elements is malfunctioing.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
These are most likely hot or stuck pixels on the camera sensor, not dust on the lens. Dust usually appears as soft, blurry spots and won’t look like a single bright red or white dot. The clue is that the dots appear in the exact same place in every photo.
A simple test: put the lens cap on and take a long exposure. If you still see the bright dots on an otherwise black frame, they’re hot/stuck pixels.
What you can do:
- Many RAW editors can automatically correct or hide hot pixels.
- Some cameras can remap bad pixels internally through a maintenance/service function.
- A manual sensor-cleaning/remap procedure may trigger remapping on some Canon bodies.
- If the issue is severe, manufacturer service can usually map them out, often as warranty service.
So: this is almost certainly a sensor pixel issue, not a dirty lens.
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