Software for removing sensor dust

[Peter M. Macdonald]

Dust removal in Adobe Lightroom is simple, and can then be copied to as many other images as you wish. The points remain editable in the other images, so that if youdo not like what the software is using on one of the images as its clone source, you just move the source for that dust spot on that image.

Peter

[rjlittlefield]

Another problem I get is hot pixels. If I'm using ambient light and hence long exposures i tend to find quite a few orange and blue spots on the image. Also the occasional white blank pixel here and there,the occurance of which are random.

Hot & white pixels are no-info pixels, just like black dust. If you can build an appropriate map, then "dust" removal will get rid of them too. Only catch is that because they're bright instead of dark, some software may not be able to automatically generate the map.

You say that the white blank pixels are "random". In my experience hot pixels are always at the same places, but they may or may not appear depending on exposure time and physical temperature. Are you seeing different behavior from this?

--Rik

[rjlittlefield]

Peter, I just noticed that was your first post. Welcome aboard!

--Rik

[Stevie]

Another problem I get is hot pixels. If I'm using ambient light and hence long exposures i tend to find quite a few orange and blue spots on the image. Also the occasional white blank pixel here and there,the occurance of which are random.

In this case a dark fame is used .
Some camera's have dark frame substraction function .
When this feature is enabeled the camera will take another shot with closed shutter .
Or you can do it after you took a serie of photos with the camera covered .

[Cyclops]

Another problem I get is hot pixels. If I'm using ambient light and hence long exposures i tend to find quite a few orange and blue spots on the image. Also the occasional white blank pixel here and there,the occurance of which are random.

In this case a dark fame is used .
Some camera's have dark frame substraction function .
When this feature is enabeled the camera will take another shot with closed shutter .
Or you can do it after you took a serie of photos with the camera covered .

I've heard of that in astrophoto circles,a method of noise reduction on long exposures but not sure if the 10D has it.

[DaveW]

You do get hot pixels at long exposures. If you Google the Web you will find software that will map them out in your RAW images:-

http://www.pixelfixer.org/

http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/hotpixels.htm

http://www.nabocorp.com/cam2pc/doc/deadpixels.htm

But from what I have read all camera sensors produced do have some dead pixels since it is impossible to produce a perfect sensor. However these are mapped out in the firmware (just like manufacturers map out bad sectors on a new hard disk, though these do not show up on most usual disk scanning software, only subsequently developed ones).

There used to be software on the web to remap dead camera pixels yourself, but I cannot find any now. Your camera maker will remap for you if you get many new ones though.

http://www.dphoto.us/news/node/21

This article is a bit out of date but still interesting:-

http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers/DC ... ixels.html

DaveW

[Stevie]

I've heard of that in astrophoto circles,a method of noise reduction on long exposures but not sure if the 10D has it.

Astrophotographers prefer not to use the in camera noise reduction .
It should be okay if you used a single 30 sec exposure , the in camera dark frame takes another 30 sec exposure with the closed shutter .
But it becomes impractical if you should do say 20x 5 minutes .
So first they shoot the light frames first and afterwards the darks .
Shooting the darks after the lights also give you time to pack up your stuff when on location .
You dont need the scope for it only the ambient temperature .

[Cyclops]

Anyone know how I turn on this dark frame noise reduction on my Canon 10D or if it even has it?(I have no manual for it)

[rjlittlefield]

Canon 10D ... I have no manual for it

Google search on canon 10D manual download will find one for you, for example HERE. I don't see anything in the index about "dark", but maybe they call it something else.

--Rik