Flying with Red camera kill pixels?

[Kenneth C Merrill]

I tried finding an answer on these forums but couldn't get anything concrete. Is it true that flying with a digital camera will fry pixels in the sensor?

Wondering because I may have to take my new Epic-W for a plane ride...

 

[Joachim Hoge]

I flown with my Epic on all sorts of flights, from transatlantic to duo props. Never had a problem in 5 years

 

[Brian B]

I've never experienced an issue flying with RED, Canon, or Sony sensors. Are you referring to sending the camera through security, or actually having the camera up in a plane for extended periods?

 

[Christoffer Glans]

The only extensive pixel kills I've seen is from the ISS space station. I'm not sure why, but maybe there's some gamma radiation or zero gravity doing so, but it looked really really bad.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

I recall some discussions of this long ago here on REDuser and, IIRC, the issue is indeed more radiation (gamma?) bombarding the sensor at high altitude during the flight. Seems there is some scientific basis for this actually happening but, to my knowledge, very little damage has ever actually been reported.

And, just for the record, I don't think this phenomenon is confined in any way to just RED sensors.

 

[Phil Holland]

3 trips around the world. 1 recently with two Weapons. No irradiated pixels. Though my camera turns invisible occasionally when I press record. No worries, just a tug on it's tail and she's back again.

 

[Glen Powell]

A couple of REDs (and countless other digi cameras) all over the planet, 100's of flights, extra radiation from 3rd world airport x-ray scanners, with extended stays at Everest base camp...

Damage to operator: Lots
Damage to cameras: 0

 

[Michael J Brennan]

The short answer is in theory yes. In practice with CMOS at least, no.
Cosmic rays, mainly gamma are known to illuminate pixels on sensors. It is an issue for Astro photography where long exposures are employed and a distinction has to be made between a single pixel that could be lit by a star or hit by a gamma ray. These are hits where the effect is transitory, the pixel is not damaged and does not stay "stuck"

http://www.stsci.edu/instruments/wfpc2/Wfpc2_hand/HTML/W2_41.html

If you go back a long way on this forum I was intrigued that stuck pixels would be more prelevant on a large format sensor due to the increase in size of pixels and the larger number of them.
But this has not transpired.
The concern originated from transitory random specks appearing on f900 recordings.
With the f900 you could see random single pixels R G or B, light up for a single frame. 10 faint specks per minute was not uncommon.
Unless you were under the cloth with a large monitor and lens was capped they were not obvious.
It was drawn to my attention by techs scanning HD to film.


Sony gurus assumed it was a connector issue and in my case changed the optical block on my f900.
But on the bench the same effect occurred with new block. The word came back that the cause was gamma radiation which was a surprise to all the techs in UK, but apparently not in Japan.
Sure enough we tested other cameras and they all exhibited the effect.

The only way to know if this was the real cause would have been to take the camera into a mine to a depth where gamma radiation can't reach, like a mile deep!

At the time there was a song and dance by distributors who became more aware of stuck pixels on delivery of new cameras, if I recall Sony decided it wasn't a manufacturing issue and shipping cameras by sea would alleviate the problem. It may have placated dealers, but it did nothing to calm the nerves of shooters who fly with kit.
If I recall, there is no serious evidence that being 35000ft off the ground makes a difference.
However, there is evidence that cameras in space are more seriously effected. My thoughts are that when on the ground the earth is absorbing rays from 180degrees. But when in orbit the earth offers less of a shadow or shield.

The transitory effect is hard to spot unless you have a live output, these days with compression and noise reduction they are being massaged away.

Around 2011 a video (with Kodak logo on Kodak channel) of a presentation given by an industry guru was uploaded to YouTube. 8 minutes in, he states camera manufacturers ship by air to avoid a class action suit.
https://youtu.be/
No scientific evidence offered.


For fun, cap the lens and make a 2 minute exposure and see what gamma hits you get


Mike Brennan

 

[Jarek Zabczynski]

The only extensive pixel kills I've seen is from the ISS space station. I'm not sure why, but maybe there's some gamma radiation or zero gravity doing so, but it looked really really bad.

Yeah, I just saw that the other day on the NASA channel. Thought they just don't know how to black shade.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Around 2011 a video (with Kodak logo on Kodak channel) of a presentation given by an industry guru was uploaded to YouTube. 8 minutes in, he states camera manufacturers ship by air to avoid a class action suit.
https://youtu.be/
No scientific evidence offered.

Okay, but at least one camera on the production of Superman Returns had a damaged sensor. The cameras were transported by air from LA to Sydney. However, this could have been an accident, and the damaged sensor may not have been damaged by air travel after all.

 

[David Battistella]

I have not had the problem.

Also,

I imagine when cameras are shipped all over the world to be sold, that they probably are on an airplane in most of those instances before you have even ever purchased a camera. If it were a huge issue it probably would have been all over these boards already.

david