dSLR Dad

Canon USA has issued the following statement in regards to an “image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions” for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II dSLR:

We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera have identified two types of image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
2. Vertical banding noise

We are currently investigating and analysing the causes, and examining measures to reduce or eliminate these phenomena by providing correction firmware.  An announcement will be made on the Canon Web site when such measures have been determined.

Details of the phenomena and shooting conditions under which they are likely to occur are as follows.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
   When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or above on a monitor or, if large prints of the images are made.
2. Vertical banding noise
   If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background.

• Vertical banding noise is not noticeable if the recording format is set to sRAW2.
• Vertical banding noise does not occur if the recording format is set to RAW or JPEG.
• Noise can be reduced if C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority is set to 0: Disable.

Canon always strives to provide the highest quality products to our customers. We apologize for any inconvenience these phenomena may have caused. We appreciate your kind patronage and support.

The entire statement can be found at Canon USA.  For those of you who remember all of the Canon EOS 1D’s Autofocus issues, word of another new high-$$$ Canon dSLR camera with potential performance flaws right out of the box is a little disturbing.  Well, here’s hoping that they can actually fix this one in a timely manner.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 6:15 PM and is filed under Canon dSLR Cameras, News & Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.