52
votes
Accepted
Canon geometric overexposed quadrilateral shapes in all of my images
It looks like you've got a problem with the shutter. Possibly one of the "blades" in the second curtain is missing and allowing light to strike the sensor between the time after the second curtain has ...
- 176k
50
votes
What would be causing a thick black diagonal line in front of my camera's sensor?
From what I see this is element from the shutter. And my humble advise is to send your camera to repair shop, give it in to the hands of professional, do not try to repair it.
- 12.4k
47
votes
Accepted
What's the point in covering the viewfinder?
On SLR cameras, the optical path is connected to the viewfinder. Even while a picture is being taken and the mirror is up, blocking the viewfinder path, it's possible the seal/gasket between the ...
- 33.2k
42
votes
Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?
There is an ISO which is not necessarily 200 that is the native sensitivity of the silicon from which the sensor is made. That sensitivity depends on the sensor itself, so will vary between cameras, ...
- 103k
40
votes
Accepted
Why don't cameras offer more than 3 colour channels? (Or do they?)
Why don't cameras offer more than 3 colour channels?
It costs more to produce (producing more than one kind of anything costs more) and gives next to no (marketable) advantages over Bayer CFA.
(Or ...
- 5,525
40
votes
Why do photos with different settings produce different spots?
Let me just complement Xenoid's answer.
In this diagram, you can see how a bigger aperture produces a diffused shadow, that sometimes is hard to see.
And when you use a smaller aperture, the shadow of ...
- 25.2k
34
votes
How many pictures can you take with a Sony mirrorless camera before the sensor fails?
Unlike a mirrored camera, there is little likelihood of the sensing system
in a mirrorless camera suffering a catastrophic failure so it is really up to your "taste" to determine when a sensor is too ...
- 1,999
32
votes
Can the sun damage the camera sensor? Under what conditions?
At very wide angles the danger is much less and taking photos with the sun in the field of view doesn't normally harm the camera or lens. When the sun is very low on the horizon the energy is also ...
- 176k
28
votes
Accepted
Signal to Noise Ratio over the years
This data was iffy then — not really enough data points, and the trendline is dubious:
Source: a very timely xkcd
That said, the company DxOMark does measurements of camera sensors all the time, ...
- 143k
28
votes
What causes these squiggly lines in my photos and on my sensor?
Looks like fungus on the sensor (possibly under the low-pas filter). Some examples:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/canondslr/discuss/72157604712577076/
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3556906
- 21.7k
25
votes
Accepted
RAW files store 3 colors per pixel, or only one?
Raw files don't really store any colors per pixel. They only store a single brightness value per pixel.
It is true that with a Bayer mask over each pixel the light is filtered with either a Red, Green,...
- 176k
24
votes
Accepted
Is it true that the best images from all digital cameras can be obtained at ISO 200?
The information your friend gave you was essentially correct for most digital cameras, particularly compact digital cameras with very small sensors, made about 15-20 years ago. Digital imaging sensors ...
- 176k
23
votes
Why do photos with different settings produce different spots?
This is typical of sensor dust, the spots are more visible at small apertures. In fact taking a picture of the sky with a small aperture (large f-number) is the usual way to check for dust spots...
So ...
- 21.7k
21
votes
What would be causing a thick black diagonal line in front of my camera's sensor?
The item obstructing the sensor is a shutter blade. Your shutter has failed and needs to be replaced. There's no hack or DYI solution for this problem. This is a hardware problem and not something ...
- 674
21
votes
Accepted
How is picture format related to sensor format resolution?
1/1.57″ is not a height/width ratio, but the diagonal of the sensor measured in inch. For some reason, camera manufacturers tend to define the sensor size as a fraction instead of simply writing 0.64″....
- 3,388
20
votes
Accepted
What are physical causes of clipping?
What exactly limits modern digital camera sensors in capturing light intensity beyond certain point?
In terms of the physical properties of the sensor itself:
The number of photon strikes and the ...
- 176k
20
votes
Why should we be interested at incident metering?
You said:
What is important is the subject being well-exposed to the sensor.
Exactly – you've hit the nail on the head.
Imagine photographing a bride and groom. The groom has worn a black suit and ...
- 12.6k
19
votes
Why don't cameras offer more than 3 colour channels? (Or do they?)
A few notes from this long-time optical systems engineer. First, there are things called "hyperspectral" cameras which use gratings or equivalent to break the incoming light into dozens or ...
- 1,887
19
votes
Why doesn't digital Large-Format exist?
It depends on how you define camera. In a sense, digital large format does exist, just not exactly in the way we might expect.
There are commercial products called 'Digital Scanning Backs' that fit ...
- 176k
18
votes
How to build an attachment to support lens?
I am using a D5200 and wish to find the height of the centre of the sensor from the base of the body.
I don't know the number, but you should be able to measure the distance easily enough. It's a ...
- 31.7k
16
votes
Accepted
Hot, stuck, or dead pixels. What's the difference?
Excitingly, these terms mean different things to different people. I think the most useful distinction is like this:
Stuck pixels are always completely bright, as if they're fully overexposed
Dead ...
- 143k
14
votes
Why don't cameras offer more than 3 colour channels? (Or do they?)
RGB camera sensors are so popular because they reproduce human vision
That's what most people need - making photos that look like what we see.
Replacing RGB subpixels with more different kinds of ...
- 5,069
14
votes
Why are camera sensors green?
An unfiltered CCD or CMOS sensor looks very similar to any other silicon integrated circuit that has a very regular/repeating structure of similar structure size - semi-metallic gray (from silicon, ...
- 7,232
14
votes
What causes these squiggly lines in my photos and on my sensor?
This is too long to post as a comment:
In a past life I've looked at many silicon wafers under a microscope with various stacks of deposited thin films and while I can't say so definitively, the ...
- 1,817
13
votes
Can smartphones with the same camera sensor have different image quality?
Note: This is a simplified answer. It does not go into detail, and therefore, please do not take it as authoritative answer on specifics about the exact processes that take place inside a digital ...
- 6,478
13
votes
Giant bright spot on right of image in all photos?
That's a lot of images... My best guess is that the leaf shutter is failing.
I believe the G1X uses a 2 bladed leaf shutter that kind of scissors open, much like they used in their rangefinder film ...
- 18.8k
13
votes
Giant bright spot on right of image in all photos?
2 Years of 1 photo every 1.5 minutes is about 700,000 shutter activations.
I couldn't find any lifetime calculations for the G1X, but going by stats for DSLRs (and yes I know the G1X is mirrorless - ...
- 2,078
12
votes
Accepted
Do full frame sensors have a higher exposure?
The full frame sensor will not be brighter under the same exposure conditions (Same light in scene, same focal length and f-number, same exposure time, etc.). It will collect more light, but it will ...
- 176k
12
votes
What causes these squiggly lines in my photos and on my sensor?
It looks like the two main hypotheses are:
Fungus (xenoid)
Cracks (uhoh)
Either seems possible, and with the given info (including the updated photos), neither can definitively be ruled out. It ...
- 27k
11
votes
Does a long exposure in DSLR camera have a similar effect to a global shutter?
I think you've slightly misunderstood how the shutter works. Initially, the first shutter covers the sensor and the second does not. The first shutter then slides away to expose the sensor, and the ...
- 1,340
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible