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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 :)

MX Dead pixel problem + fix

CJ Roy

CJ Roy

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I'm just posting this as a tip for anyone else that experiences this.

Problem: I've never experienced a dead pixel on the R1, but yesterday while shooting a TNT promo, we got one on the MX. It appeared out of nowhere, one take it's not there and the next it is. It was a bit hard to spot but was pink in color and would change luminance depending on the background.

Fix: Restored the black shading on camera, then black shaded again. The dead pixel was still there. Called RED and talked to Sean Ruggeri who was really helpful and got us a new firmware build, and recommended black shading twice. Worked like a charm.

Fortunately, being cautious from the "line" problem on the MX, we brought a back up R1 body and was able to continue shooting with minimal down time.

Also, the pixel was too small to see on the camera 7" LCD, but we could see it on the 17" Panasonics.

Thanks, and hope this helps anyone else who runs into this.

-CJ
 
Brent-

In all fairness, I wasn't aware of the "line" issue on the non-MX R1's. Are you saying it's more common than the incident in that thread? I've personally never experienced it, as I had never experienced the dead pixel. Both are new to me, and only have the MX in common.

Until there's an explanation for what went wrong, it makes some of us pretty cautious. It's pretty difficult to check every take, and in the thread's incident's case you couldn't see the line until it was offloaded and watched. And by that point, they may have already moved on and the damage was done.

As RED states, with the MX we are using beta firmware and it's not recommended for use on commercial productions. We have to be cautious while using the MX until the build is stable.

Thanks.
 
CJ Roy said:
Brent-

In all fairness, I wasn't aware of the "line" issue on the non-MX R1's. Are you saying it's more common than the incident in that thread? I've personally never experienced it, as I had never experienced the dead pixel. Both are new to me, and only have the MX in common.

Until there's an explanation for what went wrong, it makes some of us pretty cautious. It's pretty difficult to check every take, and in the thread's incident's case you couldn't see the line until it was offloaded and watched. And by that point, they may have already moved on and the damage was done.

As RED states, with the MX we are using beta firmware and it's not recommended for use on commercial productions. We have to be cautious while using the MX until the build is stable.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Let's see if we can create a panic.

We had fixed pattern noise in the beginning firmware builds of the M sensor. That is gone. Taming a sensor is a difficult trick but we are getting pretty good (and quick) about it. Any (of the few) sensors that had difficulties is fixed with the new firmware. That's what we do. Listen for problems and fix them. This one happened to be an easy one.

Jim
 
I'm advocating caution, not panic. Some shots you don't get a 2nd take and it's important to shoot with confidence. I think that's fair to say, especially when some productions really don't understand that they're using beta firmware, even after you explain it to them.
 
CJ... everyone at RED completely understands, which is why we all work 24/7 connecting with our customers and bending over backwards to solve every problem the minute we know about it. This sensor issue was on very few and we didn't see it in our test platforms. The truth is that everyone should test anything on Beta before using on a big job. That's when any surprises should be found and fixed.

Jim
 
Version 30.4 seems to have done the trick. Still have to get used to working with the different false color meters... I end up falling back on my waveform monitor as a default. Need to spend a prep day playing with the new build, but I've shot 13 out of the last 14 days in a row...

I like the new sensor much more than the original Mysterium, but I still wish I could change framerates with having to increase compression, decrease resolution and switch lenses... So I'm REALLY looking forward to getting my hands on an Epic.

Ironicly, in the last 3 months, I have shot more film jobs than the last 6-9 months of last year! Perhaps people feel more optimistic about the economy, perhaps it just has to do with the random nature of the jobs I've been shooting lately, don't know... Have TWO more film shoots this week... And that's after I finish this current three-day MX Red shoot...

Whew, even I am getting tired now!
 
Jannard said:
CJ... everyone at RED completely understands, which is why we all work 24/7 connecting with our customers and bending over backwards to solve every problem the minute we know about it. This sensor issue was on very few and we didn't see it in our test platforms. The truth is that everyone should test anything on Beta before using on a big job. That's when any surprises should be found and fixed.

Jim
Click to expand...

Jim-

I understand and appreciate what you guys have and are doing. The tech support is really great. The new sensor is beautiful. Being new, it's expected to have a few hiccups. I think it's beneficial for this community to have transparency regarding those hiccups. Our ability to problem solve on set is vital to ours and the camera's reputation. Just trying to help that along here.

Like Chris said, build 30.4 seemed to do the trick and we shot a full day today with no issues. I think your jaw would drop to see what Chris is able to do with the new sensor. Some truly beautiful work.

-CJ
 
CJ Roy said:
Jim-

I think your jaw would drop to see what Chris is able to do with the new sensor. Some truly beautiful work.

-CJ
Click to expand...

That is what we were hoping to hear... :-)

Jim
 
I also found a tiny dead pixel on my new MX sensor. I didn't see it until I did a really dark scene. I am not sure if it is a new thing or not. I assume that a software / black shading can fix it. My other camera with the M sensor however, has a rather large, by comparison, dead pixel, or what looks like 3 or 4 dead pixels in a small cluster. It appears to be more of a damaged sensor issue. I don't hear much about defects in sensors, is this a common problem?
 
Pixles

Pixles

As the last post on this subject was two months ago, it confirms the answer to that is no.

As always, if you are seeing an issue on your camera, please contact RED technical support.
 
Hmmm, since all RED cameras have hundreds if not thousands of dead pixels i always thought that this was normal and not a defect.

My RED-M's sensor has so many 'stars' that resembles the milky way.

Since the black shading is masking them away I've learned to live with them. I suspect that this should have some kind of effect on the resolution but 4K is too much anyway.

Is the MX sensor more susceptible to hot pixels?
 
Mark Andersen said:
I also found a tiny dead pixel on my new MX sensor. I didn't see it until I did a really dark scene. I am not sure if it is a new thing or not. I assume that a software / black shading can fix it. My other camera with the M sensor however, has a rather large, by comparison, dead pixel, or what looks like 3 or 4 dead pixels in a small cluster. It appears to be more of a damaged sensor issue. I don't hear much about defects in sensors, is this a common problem?
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm sure most have at least one or two. Mine did but the Black Shading masks them. You will notice when the camera first boots up you will see them but after it finishes booting they disappear. If they don't all disappear, do another calibration.
 
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