[PPPPPP42]

I had a really irritating "hot pixel" that would crop up in some shots and not others, always in the same spot. I was in a panic at first since I just bought this used but a little research revealed this was par for the course and the built in utility removed it in a satisfactory way (though not acceptable if it were it new) I just wonder if this is a normal size since it seems small zoomed out but is actually huge zoomed in, I would rather more call it hot pixels than pixel, the camera actually put a small black horizontal bar in the image to fix it but its next to impossible to see 95% of the time even when looking for it.

Here is a sample of before with lens cap on:
Before fix picture by PPPPPP42 - Photobucket

After pic, look for non natural small black horizontal line in same place under handle of filing cabinet.
After fix picture by PPPPPP42 - Photobucket

Hopefully no new ones crop up for the rest of the cameras life.

[Historicity]

A few months ago I bought a "manufacturer-refurbished" K20d. When I checked it out against blue sky several spots showed up. I tried to clean the sensor with the manual-recommended procedures but couldn't get all the spots to go away. I emailed the seller which was one of the photographic outfits Pentax unloads their refurbs to and they told me to send it back and they would send me a replacement. I did that and they sent me another one. I think the new one had about 700 shutter actuations on it when I got it. I've put another 3000 or so on it without a problem.

If I received a K20d with the problem you describe i would have sent it back -- at least I would if the seller led me to believe that the camera was in perfect working condition.

Lawrence

[Philoslothical]

I can't say for sure, but looking at the sample you posted it doesn't look like a normal hot pixel. It looks (to my non-expert eye) like a sensor defect, a large cluster of stuck pixels, or perhaps a small scratch/puncture of some kind. I'm just speculating, based on the samples.

I wouldn't consider this acceptable condition to receive a camera in, new or used.

[PPPPPP42]

Not a scratch or puncture, it wasn't there 100% of the time but it tended to stay persistent for many shots in a row, I'll try cleaning it later when I have the appropriate tools but I think its a sensor problem. There was some debris on the the mirror from packaging it looks like even though it came with the body cover on it, so cleaning might be worth it.
I bought it used and its not really returnable in this case, I guess I expected some defects of this sort, and the internal software seems to have acceptably sorted it out, If I only gave you the second pic and said find the defect you'd be 5 minutes scrolling over it zoomed to figure out what I was talking about if you even saw it at all. Its really only even visible against something like a blue sky or other very uniform well lit surface. I can PP it if its a problem in a good pic.

Honestly even with all the really good high photo count units running around out there I have very low expectations for DSLR sensors, they just seem a flaky sensitive technology.

EDIT: not an isolated incident :http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=353096
luckily I don't really care as much about the line as he did, like I said, low expectations.

2nd Edit: After reviewing photos I have decided this tiny almost unnoticeable black line will be my hidden digital watermark for every photo I take in the future with this camera.

---

Last edited by PPPPPP42; 02-01-2012 at 03:44 PM.