What is this... (White Dots thing?)

**shardulm** · 08-26-2016, 08:37 AM

Pentax K1 White Dot Issue on Longer Exposures–Same as the other cameras using the Sony 36MP chip @ Photos Of Arkansas

Is this true? Is Pentax recalling bodies then?

MJKoski · 08-26-2016, 08:50 AM

See the other thread. At least some bodies are affected. I posted few examples there and a comparison between two different temperatures shows a rather large difference in the amount of white dots. Just as the article suggests.

stevebrot · 08-26-2016, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by shardulm

Is this true? Is Pentax recalling bodies then?

Paul Caldwell (Photos of Arkansas) is a PF member and has commented on the matter on this site. There have been reports by PF members and refutations by others. I have read the "other" thread on this site and it is not clear to what degree the dots are related to technique. My opinion is that it is poorly characterized at present.

No, Pentax is not recalling cameras and has made no comment on the so-called issue.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/327326-k-1-white-dot-issue.html

Steve

MJKoski · 08-26-2016, 09:41 AM

My dealer sent my image samples to Pentax importer & service today. Let's see what is their answer.

CDW · 08-26-2016, 01:00 PM

I spoke with a Pentax management person at their Ricoh Imaging location in Colorado. He is aware of the problem and as he stated, all sensors CMOS or CCD, suffer from this problem to some extent or another. In most cases it manifests itself as a few hot pixels that can be cleared with pixel mapping. In the case of the SONY sensor used in the K1, it is essentially the same sensor that was used in some of the Nikon 800 series cameras that suffered from the problem. It seems this one particular SONY sensor series is quite prone to having the problem.

Nikon offered a fix, of sorts, that partially corrected the problem. But at this point, there is no fix other than to use dark frame subtraction which in the K1 menu is Long Shutter NR. This does provide a workaround that hides the problem, at the expense of not being able to take instant back to back exposures.

My K1 has the white spots problem and it is easy to see.Take a long high ISO exposure with some dark areas (not the night sky) and enlarge to 100-200% on your display and you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of white dots. Take the same exposure with Long Shutter NR turned on and the problem disappears.

stevebrot · 08-26-2016, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by CDW

But at this point, there is no fix other than to use dark frame subtraction which in the K1 menu is Long Shutter NR. This does provide a workaround that hides the problem, at the expense of not being able to take instant back to back exposures.

Is the time-honored approach of starting/ending a session with dark frames to be used later a workable solution?

Steve

MJKoski · 08-26-2016, 01:54 PM

The problem is not just astro. My unit pushes white pixels at ISO100 and modest 1-2ev push. That is not acceptable. Such basic landscape edit should not require any dfs solutions. Even my old 5d mk1 could do it.

stevebrot · 08-26-2016, 04:14 PM

Mods...any chance we could merge this with the other thread?

Steve

JimBrennan · 11-21-2016, 01:48 PM

I took this image yesterday in the beautiful Florida weather, and if you pixel peep it. You can see white dots all over the dash.

CDW · 11-22-2016, 12:15 AM

The issue is fairly well known at this point. There is a thread on this site as well as this, which details and illustrates the problem. The latest firmware upgrade 1.40 from Pentax is supposed to correct the problem on JPG image files. Use of the Slow Shutter NR mode on the K1 will alleviate the problem.

K1 and astrotracker--a bit disapointed!!

08-26-2016, 08:37 AM	#1
shardulm Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Cumming, GA Posts: 793	What is this... (White Dots thing?) Pentax K1 White Dot Issue on Longer Exposures–Same as the other cameras using the Sony 36MP chip @ Photos Of Arkansas Is this true? Is Pentax recalling bodies then?

08-26-2016, 09:33 AM	#3
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by shardulm Is this true? Is Pentax recalling bodies then? Paul Caldwell (Photos of Arkansas) is a PF member and has commented on the matter on this site. There have been reports by PF members and refutations by others. I have read the "other" thread on this site and it is not clear to what degree the dots are related to technique. My opinion is that it is poorly characterized at present. No, Pentax is not recalling cameras and has made no comment on the so-called issue. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/327326-k-1-white-dot-issue.html Steve Last edited by stevebrot; 08-26-2016 at 09:48 AM.

11-21-2016, 01:48 PM	#9
JimBrennan Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 53	I took this image yesterday in the beautiful Florida weather, and if you pixel peep it. You can see white dots all over the dash. Attached Images

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08-26-2016, 08:50 AM	#2
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	See the other thread. At least some bodies are affected. I posted few examples there and a comparison between two different temperatures shows a rather large difference in the amount of white dots. Just as the article suggests.

08-26-2016, 09:41 AM	#4
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	My dealer sent my image samples to Pentax importer & service today. Let's see what is their answer.

08-26-2016, 01:00 PM	#5
CDW Site Supporter Join Date: May 2011 Location: Big Island, Hawaii & Utah Posts: 457	I spoke with a Pentax management person at their Ricoh Imaging location in Colorado. He is aware of the problem and as he stated, all sensors CMOS or CCD, suffer from this problem to some extent or another. In most cases it manifests itself as a few hot pixels that can be cleared with pixel mapping. In the case of the SONY sensor used in the K1, it is essentially the same sensor that was used in some of the Nikon 800 series cameras that suffered from the problem. It seems this one particular SONY sensor series is quite prone to having the problem. Nikon offered a fix, of sorts, that partially corrected the problem. But at this point, there is no fix other than to use dark frame subtraction which in the K1 menu is Long Shutter NR. This does provide a workaround that hides the problem, at the expense of not being able to take instant back to back exposures. My K1 has the white spots problem and it is easy to see.Take a long high ISO exposure with some dark areas (not the night sky) and enlarge to 100-200% on your display and you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of white dots. Take the same exposure with Long Shutter NR turned on and the problem disappears.

08-26-2016, 01:40 PM	#6
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by CDW But at this point, there is no fix other than to use dark frame subtraction which in the K1 menu is Long Shutter NR. This does provide a workaround that hides the problem, at the expense of not being able to take instant back to back exposures. Is the time-honored approach of starting/ending a session with dark frames to be used later a workable solution? Steve

08-26-2016, 01:54 PM	#7
MJKoski Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,784	The problem is not just astro. My unit pushes white pixels at ISO100 and modest 1-2ev push. That is not acceptable. Such basic landscape edit should not require any dfs solutions. Even my old 5d mk1 could do it.

08-26-2016, 04:14 PM	#8
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Mods...any chance we could merge this with the other thread? Steve

11-22-2016, 12:15 AM	#10
CDW Site Supporter Join Date: May 2011 Location: Big Island, Hawaii & Utah Posts: 457	The issue is fairly well known at this point. There is a thread on this site as well as this, which details and illustrates the problem. The latest firmware upgrade 1.40 from Pentax is supposed to correct the problem on JPG image files. Use of the Slow Shutter NR mode on the K1 will alleviate the problem. K1 and astrotracker--a bit disapointed!!