Do I have a "dead" pixel? **UPDATED**

[seashoreCM]

Note that some companies (I don't know which) consider one or two dead pixels near the middle or several near the edges to be normal and they won't allow an exchange or return for that reason.

 

[BomaGreg]

I'm not sure about your particular model, but my Canon XSi had a dead pixel within a month or so of owning it. I stumbled upon a fix for it by doing a Google search... There are people who argue that it's not really a fix because it's not listed in any tech manuals or the camera's manual itself. All I know is that I did it, and it was gone just like advertised. I haven't had any dead pixel problems since, so it's definitely worth looking into if you get a chance.

Here's the steps for the XTi (which I think were the same ones I used for the XSi) if you want to give it a shot. Like I said, whatever it does, it certainly worked for me!

http://www.somelifeblog.com/2008/02/dead-or-hot-pixel-on-my-rebel-xti-how.html

1. Put on a lens on your camera and set your camera to take RAW+L (raw & jpeg) photos on your camera.
2. Go into a dark area and take a few photos with varying ISO and shutter speeds
, possibly even going as long as ISO 1600 with a 30 second shutter speed.
3. After you take the pictures press the menu button, the right arrow button and go to the "Tools 2" setting, far right. Now select the "Sensor cleaning" setting -- generally set to "Sensor cleaning:Auto". Click on it and select "Clean now". The sensor cleaning takes a few seconds. Wait 30 seconds.
4. Take another pictures in RAW+L (raw & jpeg), compare the pictures to those take in #2. Your hot or dead pixel should be gone.

 

[ColleenG]

DH called Canon this morning and they said there should not be hot spots, or dead pixels straight out of the box. So we called the camera shop and they said to bring it in and they would take care of it. Tomorrow I will stop over there and see what they have to say. So far they've been good about dealing with the problem.

 

[BomaGreg]

Pretty much everything I've read said that it's pretty common to have one or two right out of the box. They typically test for them, then map the areas before it ships from what I understand, and they occasionally slip by QA. But, yeah. You buy a new camera, you want it to be perfect. Especially when it's a super expensive one.