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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Dust / scratches on sensor. Please advise, urgent.

M

Martin Kazimir

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Hi, today I found scratches or dust on our sensor. Any idea what could have caused this or is there a way to fix / clean it?
Could be a laser damage? The camera was last on a concert shoot and the scratches started appearing on the footage somewhere throughout the shoot.
It is behind the front glass, back on the sensor. Please see attached pictures.

Thanks a lot for any advice.
 

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adding another picture, this is how the footage looks
thanks for any ideas ...
 

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I have shot film for 25 yrs. Been shooting digital since the very beginning and not seen anything like that. Given the shape and repeated patterns I think it could be laser damage. Hopefully someone with more expertise will chime in.
 
Do you guys really think that laser damage would be visible on the sensor? Surely it's not THAT much laser power?? Also, the instances of this problem that I've seen are clearly indicative of photo-sensitive sites on the sensor being destroyed in rows and columns (damage has a pixel-ish look). This looks more organic. Like crud. How the heck it got behind the OLPF is a real puzzler.
 
David Cole said:
Do you guys really think that laser damage would be visible on the sensor? Surely it's not THAT much laser power?? Also, the instances of this problem that I've seen are clearly indicative of photo-sensitive sites on the sensor being destroyed in rows and columns (damage has a pixel-ish look). This looks more organic. Like crud. How the heck it got behind the OLPF is a real puzzler.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it would be visible. Have you ever been to a concert? There are really powerful lasers throughout entire shows... It looks like lasers streaking across the sensor.
 
Thanks guys. Do you think they will replace it? We have no idea how the damage was caused. Might not be laser damage, but what else could go past that sealed glass? Have you heard of any issues where dust got behind the OLPF or something?
 
Sometime people have a habbit of taking the front cover off, and putting it in their pockets, when readying the camera with lenses. When they finish shooting, that cap comes back on. Now imagine what shit, dust and sand some people have in their pockets. Could be something like that.
 
Martin Kazimir said:
Thanks guys. Do you think they will replace it? We have no idea how the damage was caused. Might not be laser damage, but what else could go past that sealed glass? Have you heard of any issues where dust got behind the OLPF or something?
Click to expand...

They will replace it at cost... You won't get a free replacement.
 
Thomas Koba said:
Sometime people have a habbit of taking the front cover off, and putting it in their pockets, when readying the camera with lenses. When they finish shooting, that cap comes back on. Now imagine what shit, dust and sand some people have in their pockets. Could be something like that.
Click to expand...

But that wouldn't get behind the OLPF to the sensor... That would just cause dirt/dust on the olpf.
 
Thomas Koba said:
Sometime people have a habbit of taking the front cover off, and putting it in their pockets, when readying the camera with lenses. When they finish shooting, that cap comes back on. Now imagine what shit, dust and sand some people have in their pockets. Could be something like that.
Click to expand...

It''s not that cap / mount thing. I'm talking about the sealed glass part (OLPF?), behind which you see the sensor.
 
This is almost certainly laser damage. It's not going to be scratches if it's behind the OLPF, and it's not going to be dust as that amount of dust is highly unlikely to get behind the OLPF after a single concert if it was fine before.
 
How is it that these super lasers can blast people all night long and no one goes blind or gets their skin burned but if it hits the sensor which is silicon, it instantly melts?

I think a more likely scenario is that somebody got a ton of shit in the body cavity, and maybe tried to blow it out with compressed air, and ended up forcing it past whatever gasket is behind the olpf. 120psi right at that little gasket and buh buy.

But that's just my opinion. Doesn't look to me like laser damage from the footage. It looks optical like shit on the sensor. It's black - something is preventing light from hitting the sensor. It's sharp-that means it is sitting right on the chip. That sounds like dirt and crap. Laser damage is digital in nature. Pixels and colors and shit. This looks organic. Maybe the AC spilled his weed in there.

Nick
 
Could be a cool effect. Instead of owning an Epic-Monochrome, why not spring for the Epic-Scratchchrome?

FilmFX.png
 
Maybe your renter removed the OLPF, but I doubt it. Isn't the OLPF adhered to the sensor?

It looks like garden variety grime to me.

Nick Gardner said:
Maybe the AC spilled his weed in there.
Click to expand...

That shit's funny, right there.
 
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Not too long ago there was a video on youtube of an epic being destroyed by lasers at a festival. The footage showed a ton of dead pixels/green lines running through the image with colour changes all over. For whatever reason the video was taken down. Anyway, may not be laser damage considering the other was so different.
 
My personal theory on this is that at some time, somebody may have had the OPLF off and attempted to clean the sensor itself. There appear to both contaminants on the surface of the sensor and abrasion marks, parallel lines near the ear in the image and one single mark with a particle at one end of its path a little to the right of the marks near the ear. Many of the other marks are also parallel which may be another swipe in a different direction whilst attempting a clean. The loose particles could be moved but the scratches, they may be there for keeps. If they are on the rear of the OLPF panel, then all may not be lost. I would not want any loose contaminants to remain in there too long. If you can afford the intervention of the folks at RED and their Level whatever clean room, then my personal preference would be for their techs to have a play with it. I don't know if it is possible to remove the panel like one can with the SI2K. If it is, then it might be worthwhile taking the OPLF out, reversing it and reinstalling it to see if the marks are reversed and softer in the image. I would mnot want to leave the sensor uncovered. Just offering up a lens and removing it could cause hard particle dust to find its way to the sensor surface.- Given the amount of interference to the image, I would be inclined to let the RED techs deal with this rather than introduce even more complications. The client's production insurer might also get vexed and reject the claim if subsequent owner interference can be established.
 
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