Fixing stuck pixels on various Nikon cameras...

[David H. Hartman]

At the moment I'm concerned with my D300s but I'm sure this is a problem with many Nikon models. I read some camera makers offer a menu option to map out stuck pixels but I'm not aware of any such menu option for any of the Nikon DSLR(s) I own.

By stuck pixels I'm referring to artifacts that show up in the same place in all photos and not transitory problems for example with hot pixels in long exposures.

Specific links to solutions, instructions, specific Nikon models anything about the recurring red and blue bright pixels I've seen in many photos.

----

I tried these instruction and they did not work. 

Read this thread on the NikonGear forum - for what it's worth...

Hot Pixel Remapping

1) Position your menu selection to be ready to apply a sensor cleaning.

2) Turn off Auto ISO and set camera to ISO3200 with all noise reductions OFF.

3) Set camera on Bulb and hold down the shutter for about 20 seconds to get things heated up a bit.

4) IMMEDIATELY after you release the shutter very quickly go into a sensor cleaning mode and execute 2 successive times in a row.

5) Take a new picture at the ISO3200 not in Bulb mode to confirm the hot or dead pixel is gone. Carefully viewing the image full screen not to miss it.


Hope this helps.

Mule

I've been searching the net and testing and haven't found much more than web sites with vague information and useless chatter on forums. Does anyone have specific information about various Nikon cameras and for the D300s in particular.Does anyone know of a list of specific Nikon models where back to back sensor cleaning will map out stuck pixels? Any other sites with instructions?

I did a two-button reset on my D300s. Then I set the camera to NEF image quality and turn off auto ISO and all noise reduction. The stuck pixels I'm seeing show up at the same locations every time. I thought I had a red and a blue stuck pixel on this camera. At this time I'm only finding red ones.

Anyway no joy...

Dave

[Hugh_3170]

I have not tried it, so I may be speaking out of turn, but does the Dust Off reference photo facility on the D300s also assist in getting rid of dead pixels?

[longzoom]

.

[Hugh_3170]

Thanks David for clarifying this.

[Gerhard2006]

Here’s a link for the software that does this. You can try it out first hope it works for you. Regards Gerry
https://www.mediachance.com/digicam/hotpixels.htm

[Gerhard2006]

Here’s another software although the website isn’t secure? http://www.pixelfixer.org/

[David H. Hartman]

Gerhard, thank you for the links!

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

After some reading and using experimental long duration, cap on lens; black exposures I've tried using "Astro Noise Reduction" in Nikon Capture NX-D. Astro Noise Reduction is removing most of the hot pixels in these Nikon D300s NEF files. A few more hot pixels can be removed by "Edge Noise Reduction" applied in Capture NX-D. By using both Astro Noise Reduction and Edge Noise Reduction in Capture NX-D's noise reduction tool it appears that I'm able to remove all of the hot pixels. The same noise reduction tools are available in NX Studio and I read that Lightroom and Photoshop (ARC?) can filter or remove hot pixels from RAW files so these noise reduction tools are broadly available in software.

In my reading hot pixels are most prevalent in long duration or high ISO images. I have noticed that Astro Noise Reduction and Edge Noise Reduction are useful in cleaning up Nikon D850 images that I have shot at extremely high ISO(s). In the past I used to locate and clone out manually hot pixels in my D300s images. I observed that a two or three hot pixels always appeared at exactly the same coordinates in my D300s images. By memory they have been bright blue and red. In my current experiments I'm not seeing the hot pixels I used to clone out.

I find it strange that Nikon does not appear to document the back to back image sensor cleaning method of mapping out hot pixels with various Nikon DSLR(s) and mirrorless cameras. If anyone comes across a list of Nikon cameras where the owner can map out hot pixels I would appreciate a link place here on NikonGear. I'm sure owners of other makes of digital cameras would like the same.

Thank you!

Dave

[Gerhard2006]

My Nikon 1 V1 has a remap hot pixels in the menu, I would be surprised if they didn’t continue that on all mirrorless cameras as well as full frame models? I thought that all models after the V1 would include that feature.

[David H. Hartman]

I haven't seen a remap feature in the Nikon D850's menus.

Is it desirable to remap hot pixels if they only show up in long or crazy high ISO images? I would think not. So far, so good; knock on silicon. The devil lives in silicon these days not wood.

Dave

[Gone]

Is it desirable to remap hot pixels if they only show up in long or crazy high ISO images?

It is no more than your brain does in the real world - eyes develop "dead pixels" over time but you don't notice the missing information.

Try looking through a pin hole and you can focus and see the "dead" bits - it is quite astonishing!

[David H. Hartman]

Why would I map out hot pixels that don't show up until 12,800 to 25,600 ISO on my D850. I rarely use 1,600 ISO and usually use 64 to 1,250 ISO where I don't see hot pixels. The way I understand it those hot and stuck pixels would be mapped out at 64 ISO and up regardless of whether there was a problem for my normal use of the camera. My D300s is different. I get some hot or stuck pixels starting at the base ISO of 200.

Dave

[ThomasAdams]

For my purposes, I would like base ISO relatively clean. Performing sensor cleaning/pixel remapping (in menu) or remapping at a high ISO could potentially remove hundreds or thousands of pixels and unless a photographer has a specific scenario or use in mind that requires it - seems like using a wrecking ball to insert a thumbtack.

For example, my D3x that I just sent into Nikon has what I feel were too many dead/hot/stuck pixels at base ISO.



Exposure time and or the ISO increases exponentially the number of pixels issues. Upon inspection, the issue isn't always just the single pixel with bad data. During interpolation - adjacent pixels can also affected negatively as shown below.



Regards,
Tom

[Bernard Delley]

in an old dpreview thread https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51996082 , I reported that D800 had it and D7000 did not.
Since I still have and occasionally use a D7100 I had a look: it has. It maps hot pixels with a single application of "Clean Image Sensor  NOW"
So the oldest Nikon cameras I know of featuring "user controlled hot pixel mapping" are D4 D800 D7100.

The evidence is perfectly clear using black frame  NEF shots at 1/4s and ISO 1600. I have DIY software finding a hot threshold in the raw pixel values of the black frame. and a follow up software showing the history of pixels identified as hot in one of a set of frames. (so one can see what hot pixels were removed by a procedure. And what hot pixels surfaced for example after a transatlantic flight) 
On the D7100 i did the clean sensor now after DSC_6841. then shot 6842, then did "clean now" twice and shot DSC_6843.
It appears that the D7100 is slightly less effective than my later cameras.
The record shows pixel coordinates, a Bayer pointer, then hot pixel values ( -1 indicates below threshold).
I shortened the list by removing most lines with just pixel values below 1000.