Purple spots from sensor

The dust spots are blurred, because they are on top of the sensor stack and distant from the sensor surface.

But those purple hairs are pretty sharp. So they must live right on top of the sensor itself, I am afraid.

I do not think you can remove them yourself. And I do not think it is worth having them removed, given the very low price you can find used EM5.2's in pristine or new condition.

Hmmm, purple hairs... or rather very short purple fibers. Have you in the past maybe tried to clean your sensor with a not-lint-free purple colored tissue, and then blown the lose fibers under the sensor stack with compressed air?

Might be hot pixels, those can be remapped from the camera.

There was similar post not long ago in the Beginners forum. The spots looked similar and were in the same part of the frame even. I don't remember what the conclusion was, though.

They look like laser burns. If pixel mapping doesn’t work, the camera needs a new sensor.

Andrew

The camera was probably used to shoot a concert or light show that had lasers. Unfortunately, when laser light strikes the sensor, it takes out the pixels it lands on, and you get those pink worm type effects forever more.

In other words, your sensor is permanently damaged.

You can keep shooting with it, and clone them out of the final image with a photo processing program. Or, the camera may be able to compensate with its pixel mapping function, but I think these might be just a little large for that. Worth a try, though.

If that doesn't work, you will need the sensor replaced to restore normal output.

-J

Iuly said:

... I have noticed purple spots that appear on photos and I want to ask you if is there any way of resolving the situation.

The camera is an Olympus OMD EM5 mark II. I know the spots are from the sensor because I tried with another lens and they didn't disappear.

...

Click to expand...

FWIW, not in the shot taken November 22, 2020 that you posted .

My first impression is laser damage.

I have an interest in documenting pixel defects.
If you're willing/able to take a few specific test shots for me please email or send a Private Message (PM).

bclaff said:

Iuly said:

... I have noticed purple spots that appear on photos and I want to ask you if is there any way of resolving the situation.

The camera is an Olympus OMD EM5 mark II. I know the spots are from the sensor because I tried with another lens and they didn't disappear.

...

Click to expand...

FWIW, not in the shot taken November 22, 2020 that you posted .

My first impression is laser damage.

I have an interest in documenting pixel defects.
If you're willing/able to take a few specific test shots for me please email or send a Private Message (PM).

Click to expand...

They're there in the 22 Nov photo. Look at the jpeg, you'll see them in the upper right quadrant of the image among the tree branches.

dave rogers said:

bclaff said:

Iuly said:

... I have noticed purple spots that appear on photos and I want to ask you if is there any way of resolving the situation.

The camera is an Olympus OMD EM5 mark II. I know the spots are from the sensor because I tried with another lens and they didn't disappear.

...

Click to expand...

FWIW, not in the shot taken November 22, 2020 that you posted .

My first impression is laser damage.

I have an interest in documenting pixel defects.
If you're willing/able to take a few specific test shots for me please email or send a Private Message (PM).

Click to expand...

They're there in the 22 Nov photo. Look at the jpeg, you'll see them in the upper right quadrant of the image among the tree branches.

Click to expand...

You're right. I didn't look closely enough!

Thank you all for your responses.

A few remarks. I bought the camera used a few months ago(around October) and I didn't checked then in detail (my bad). So I don't know its history.

@ bclaff That shot is cropped so the spots seem fewer, but if you view the image in original size they are there (they don't appear on black).

@ cba_melbourne I haven't tried anything,

@ everyone else: It might just be laser damage as I don't know what the previous owner did.

I have noticed that the spots fade on darker areas.

I spent a lot of time looking through the shots I took and peeping and I found out that the spots appear on almost every photo, but I found out two shots taken seconds apart on the first the spots appear and on the second they don't.






The spots are on the right side.




On this image there are only two spots on the bottom left corner.

Almost every picture I take has the pattern of spots that appear on the first image. BUT, once in a while, I get clean images like the second, or with one or two spots on another location.

Please, does anyone have a logical explanation?

I believe this is damage to the color filter array in front of the sensor. It is caused by pointing the camera at a bright object for a while (sun). If you take a photo with the lens cap on with a similar exposure of your sample and don't see the purple marks, that will confirm it. Replacing the sensor is the only way to fix it.

I can’t explain why the damage only shows up in some images, probably to do with the local colour.

There are lots of reports about this, for example https://fstoppers.com/originals/las...my-cameras-sensor-creating-dead-pixels-297453

Andrew

Iuly said:

Thank you all for your responses.

A few remarks. I bought the camera used a few months ago(around October) and I didn't checked then in detail (my bad). So I don't know its history.

@ bclaff That shot is cropped so the spots seem fewer, but if you view the image in original size they are there (they don't appear on black).

....

Please, does anyone have a logical explanation?

Click to expand...

The defect pixels don't show on black because the defect is too much response to light.
So when there is no light there is no defect to show.

pannumon said:

Might be hot pixels, those can be remapped from the camera.

There was similar post not long ago in the Beginners forum. The spots looked similar and were in the same part of the frame even. I don't remember what the conclusion was, though.

Click to expand...

Found the thread:


Unfortunately there was less discussion than I remembered.

Simon97 said:

I believe this is damage to the color filter array in front of the sensor. It is caused by pointing the camera at a bright object for a while (sun). If you take a photo with the lens cap on with a similar exposure of your sample and don't see the purple marks, that will confirm it. Replacing the sensor is the only way to fix it.

Click to expand...

I think you are spot-on. Look at this enlargement of the OP's first pic:





These are not dead pixels. The sensor pixels are working fine and are showing what they see through the damaged Bayer mask.

There are even some dark shadows at the extremities, where presumably the laser beam stayed for longer and had more time to heat up the Bayer array. These shadows could be where the color dots and microlenses where heated up so much as to give off fumes and remain charred.

It's just speculation. To be sure, one could remove the sensor and observe it under a microscope. Or, if the OP has access to a reflection microscope (as opposed to a transmission microscope), he may be able to put the whole camera onto the stage and look at the sensor through the filter stack.

Anyway, I do not think repairing an EM5.2 makes financial sense. This is an older camera, there are plenty of near new ones on sale for less than the sensor repair would cost.