RF Interference & Digital Cameras

Just reading the new dpreview of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 and they brought up a topic that I had never considered before today (I DO try to learn SOMETHING every day!!!) I checked Phil's review of the K10d, and unless I missed it, there was no mention of RF interference testing. In the case of the Lumix, the culprit was a cell phone in the pocket of the tester. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I haven't searched the forums or read all of the VPN threads...but in the last few weeks of reading the forum, I haven't run across this issue.

Here is the link to the Lumix review page with the RF info:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcl1/page18.asp?color_compare=pentax_k10d/0

Scroll to near the bottom of the page for the tests. It appears that RF can affect banding (in this case horizontal) and metering.

In any case, I thought I would throw this topic out for discussion (or not) as it might pertain to Pentax DSLR's and (dare I say it) VPN and/or metering irregularities. Has anyone given this consideration, or had experience with RF interference?

Ed, the ridge runner

I read that article...and I was thinking the same thing.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amg2000

there is an issue with what might be RF interference with the battery grip and the K10D, there are a few threads on it.

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Steve

http://www.pbase.com/steephill

steephill said:

there is an issue with what might be RF interference with the
battery grip and the K10D, there are a few threads on it.

Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I do recall reading a bit of that discussion. But does the grip transmit an RF signal? ....or, does it act as an antenna for RF signals?

Personally I haven't the time to do all the experimentation necessary to find out...besides, at this point, I do not think I've experienced either VPN or metering problems, RF influences or not. I've only had the camera a couple of weeks--can't even find any stuck pixels. Regardless, the RF thing is certainly something for us all to keep in mind when our cameras start acting funky.

Ed, the ridge runner

Hi Ed,

This is a good point, one that seems seldom mentioned anymore, though it has been discussed some over the years in all forums.

Occasionally, when "banding" of any kind was mentioned, RFI was often included as a possible cause. In some cases it solved the problem - camera too close to a TV set or fluorescent ballast, a motor, computer or radio transmitting equipment - cell phone, cordless phone, CB Radio, Ham Radio, wireless network, local nearby broadcast stations. There's only so much you can do to shield against it.

It only takes a tiny amount of RF energy to mix with one of the camera's oscillators to produce interference patterns in the output.

It's a big design consideration, and a difficult one.

Rick

Yep RF sure can interere with digital cameras, on two occasions I have done some shooting near the television transmitting towers on Mt Dandenong using an ist D.

On both occasions there has been a moire fringe effect in the photos. To a lesser extent photos taken with a Canon Powershot also displayed this same effect.

Mike Chip

Read the text. Not experienced the problem yet, but I suspect this can happen with any digital camera.

Digital cameras electronic circuits are shielded to avoid interference, but there is one area of the camera that can't be shielded: the image sensor!

A strong enough magnetic field can be picked up by the sensor and create interference on the pictures. This can happen if a cell phone is very near the camera and is receiving or making a call.

Cell phones can generate up to 2 watts of RF energy, and that is a very strong energy field when you are just a few feet away.

So maybe it's a good idea to keep our cell phones as far as possible from our cameras when shooting!

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Good shooting!

Don't forget that cordless phones and wireless routers are transmitting all the time.