Okay, I have received my new camera, Canon PowerShot G11, last Thursday and I was thrilled before I found hot pixel on the focus rectangle.  Below is a small image from a test I did to locate the dead pixel.

There are two types on non-functioning pixels:

  • Dead Pixels: A pixel that reads zero or is always off on all exposures. This state produces a black pixel in the final image.
  • Stuck Pixels or Hot Pixels: A pixel that always reads high or is always on to maximum on all exposures. This produces a white or other color pixel in the final image.

Below is a small image of how I locate the hot pixel. Click on the image to read my notes and find original size of the image to find out where the hot pixel resides.

Click on the image to see notes and find original size of the image

Click on the image to see notes and find original size of the image

A little panicked I tried googling for the solution and have found dead pixels do form on newly fabricated sensors as well. Dead pixels will also develop over time on a perfectly manufactured sensor and it is inevitable on today’s technology.  To resolve this issue, there is a workaround technique called pixel mapping and what it does is to locate and mark the location of the dead pixel.  When these bad pixels are marked the camera will then compute their approximate color using the neighboring pixels.  This technique is also applied to new camera as well as part of the manufacturing Quality Check procedure.

Learning that this is a natural occurrence with an acceptable cure I went to the local Canon service center to get my camera fix.  I simply told the customer service representative about my camera condition and they immediately told me that they will have to calibrate, pixel mapping,  my camera and the procedure will take approximately an hour.  After waiting for about 15 minutes of waiting they returned my camera back saying that they do not have the software to calibrate my mine since the G11 is a new product and have yet downloaded the software from Japan.  A little bit dissapointed but at least they know what is supposed to be done.  I’ll probably go back to the service center this coming weekend to see if they have obtained the latest software and post the result.