White or black spots
 

As some of you may know my canon 350d took a swim at the beginning of october and got some water damage. After being dried out thoroughly it is working fine and as it wasnt insured I continue to use it. People tell me that dark spots on your photos means that you have dust on the sensor but I have white spots on my photos. These only show up in the darkest areas which i subsequently have to clone out. Some say this might be fungal though I cant remember if it started before the camera got wet. Does anyone know what white spots mean and how can I remedy this?
thanks

Hi Annette

I would of thought if it was anything on the sensor it would give black spots as it blocks the light. Could be an electronic fault. Does the effect show up more on high f stop in the same way as dust ? Does it show at all if you take a shot with the lens cap on ?

Hi Rob
I have attached an image to show you what I mean. Its not the worst example but itll do. You can also get the white spots int he water too. At first I thought it might be debris in the water and picked up by the bird but they appear too white for me to think that really. This photo was taken on f6.3. Interesting what you say about taking a photo with the lens cap on I shall have to try that.

My first reaction to this is the light catching the water droplets - I would get a similiar effect when shooting flowers - I think it was the light on pollen. It drove me mad thinking the memory card had a fault.

Could be I guess as it only seems to happen on close ups of my ducks. Having said that wouldnt really explain the same effect in the water? Ill keep an eye on it, thanks Rob.

The effect I get with an Africian Violet when taken with bounce flash. Direct shows the effect even more. I gave up with these. I spent ages trying to capture the colour but the cloning drove me mad. I find Pansy can give the same problem.

I think you have probably got a few dead pixels on your image sensor, you can get a similar effect on an LCD monitor screen, in fact the manufacturers are allowed to sell them with a certain number of dead pixels. I would think in your case, if it is dead pixels causing the problem, that it was caused by the water effecting the electronics either in the sensor or the controller chips. If you can live with it, it's probably the cheapest option, a repair bill would cost more than the camera is worth!

nirofo.

Annette,
My first thought on reading your initial post was 'dead pixels' as nirofo says. On looking at your example, I think it's more to do with reflections from the subject. Do the dots always appear in the same places on the photos? If you take two pictures of different subjects, are the dots in the same locations on the picture? If they are always in the same places then it's likely to be the sensor, if the dots are in different places it's more likely to be subject related reflections.

The idea of taking a picture with the cap on is a very good one and will enable you to determine if it is camera or subject that is the root cause. Post the 'black cat in coal cellar' picture just to see. I suggest you set the exposure compensation to -1 or -2.

Duncan.

Duncan no the marks are not in the same place and as you can see from the attached are not present at all when shot with the lens cap on so I think it must be like rob says and it is the light refracting somehow.
Interestingly on the other shot and this is something i have also noticed. There are small grey smudges on the photo. Not sure if i did this test right. I shot it at f13 2 stops overexposed up at the sky.

The smudges is dust on the sensor if you shoot at f22 you will find them more defined. Also make sure your sky is well out of focus.