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Nikon D810 Service advisory
- Thread starter Guy Mancuso
- Start date
Ben Rubinstein
Active member
Glad they're sorting out problems fast now. They have learnt their lesson from the D600 debacle.
This whole issue is very interesting to me. My D800e has done this same thing from day one. I attempted several times to reach Nikon about it, but never go anywhere. From reading the posted link, the white spots are definitely the same issue that the D800e has, identical. I have the latest version of firmware on my D800e.
The article implies that a firmware update from Nikon will fix this issue, however my camera serial number, when entered on the Nikon site, came back with a "send camera to Nikon".
I have used the D810 2x out at night in exposures of 1' 40" and 2' 35" and it showed this issue. I called Nikon today, and they want the camera back. So mine goes back tomorrow. I hate to send it in just for a firmware update, but so it goes.
One note, Capture One Pro will get 96 go 98% of these spots out by using the single pixel noise slider. This slider does a great job and does not really detract from over image details. LR on the other hand requires a pretty harsh application of noise reduction to the entire file. Which mean two runs, one for sky, one for non-sky. This issue really only seems to show up in sky, or solids.
I wrote about this same issue on the D800e over a year ago:
http://paulcaldwellphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/close-up-Reticulation-issues-no1-D800.jpg
Hope they can turn this around quickly and I wish they would make a fix for the D800e. Surprised to see in the featured post that they showed a D800e not having this problem. Mine was an early unit, I need to remember not to be on the bleeding edge so darn much. :banghead::banghead:
Paul
The article implies that a firmware update from Nikon will fix this issue, however my camera serial number, when entered on the Nikon site, came back with a "send camera to Nikon".
I have used the D810 2x out at night in exposures of 1' 40" and 2' 35" and it showed this issue. I called Nikon today, and they want the camera back. So mine goes back tomorrow. I hate to send it in just for a firmware update, but so it goes.
One note, Capture One Pro will get 96 go 98% of these spots out by using the single pixel noise slider. This slider does a great job and does not really detract from over image details. LR on the other hand requires a pretty harsh application of noise reduction to the entire file. Which mean two runs, one for sky, one for non-sky. This issue really only seems to show up in sky, or solids.
I wrote about this same issue on the D800e over a year ago:
http://paulcaldwellphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/close-up-Reticulation-issues-no1-D800.jpg
Hope they can turn this around quickly and I wish they would make a fix for the D800e. Surprised to see in the featured post that they showed a D800e not having this problem. Mine was an early unit, I need to remember not to be on the bleeding edge so darn much. :banghead::banghead:
Paul
dogstarnyc
Member
Tash,
I spoke to Nikon UK today, postage is free and turnaround is 3 days. Also they say you don't 'have' to send it in right away, inferring that once the rush is over, turnaround time quite possibly will be shorter. Mine is affected too but i hardly ever expose that long.
Steve
I spoke to Nikon UK today, postage is free and turnaround is 3 days. Also they say you don't 'have' to send it in right away, inferring that once the rush is over, turnaround time quite possibly will be shorter. Mine is affected too but i hardly ever expose that long.
Steve
Looks like it's both a firmware and hard code fix as they are changing part of the algorighims on the processing. Sending mine in today.
The postage is prepaid, ground in the U.S.
Still puzzles me that this was noticed so fast by Nikon on the D810, but no one but myself seemed to notice it on the D800e. I do wonder if the D800e has the same fix, but it was applied to later bodies and thus never released as a service fix. That's too bad. I would like to have someone with a more current D800e test this.
Paul
The postage is prepaid, ground in the U.S.
Still puzzles me that this was noticed so fast by Nikon on the D810, but no one but myself seemed to notice it on the D800e. I do wonder if the D800e has the same fix, but it was applied to later bodies and thus never released as a service fix. That's too bad. I would like to have someone with a more current D800e test this.
Paul
Jack.
I would try for about 1 minute. Also try it at night with a solid night sky. If the camera has the issue they will start to show up as faint grain. Once showing they stay illuminated for all following exposures.
The fix appears to only take a few minutes as they reprogram part of the chip then add a new firmware that takes advantage of the re-programming.
Most won't see this unless they are into stacking time lapse or doing really long exposures in daytime with a ND 10 stop.
I noticed the problem with my D810 as soon as I started to shoot during a 3 hour session last week. My D800e takes longer for the dots to show up but they eventually get as bad.
Paul
I would try for about 1 minute. Also try it at night with a solid night sky. If the camera has the issue they will start to show up as faint grain. Once showing they stay illuminated for all following exposures.
The fix appears to only take a few minutes as they reprogram part of the chip then add a new firmware that takes advantage of the re-programming.
Most won't see this unless they are into stacking time lapse or doing really long exposures in daytime with a ND 10 stop.
I noticed the problem with my D810 as soon as I started to shoot during a 3 hour session last week. My D800e takes longer for the dots to show up but they eventually get as bad.
Paul
k-hawinkler
Well-known member
Details here: Nikon D810 Thermal Noise Issue
A night sky is absolutely NOT a valid test for sensor problems at any place on the planet.
There are innumerable light sources in the sky below the human vision threshold.
Shooting the inside of the lens cap, with the lens and cap wrapped in heavy black cloth, is valid.
- Leigh
It's this post that confirmed to me that sometime during the manufacturing run of the D800e, Nikon figured out that this issue existed on the 800 series cameras. I noticed on mine from day one and tried to get Nikon to fix it.
As your 800 is clean it's safe to assume this fix was implemented to later models but was not offered to earlier cameras which is unfortunate.
My D800e looks just like your D810 shot.
Glad to see Nikon is fixing this on all 810s.
Paul
As your 800 is clean it's safe to assume this fix was implemented to later models but was not offered to earlier cameras which is unfortunate.
My D800e looks just like your D810 shot.
Glad to see Nikon is fixing this on all 810s.
Paul
Leigh
We can agree to totally disagree. See my earlier post in this thread where I wrote about this problem on the 800 and 800e. I have examples of the effect.
Shooting a lens cap may help for colored stuck pixels but this problem is best seen with the camera in real use. I have literally thousands of exposures taken at night with either the 800 and e and the problem is very easy to see.
It's a very distinct issue and I have never seen it from any other Nikon camera or Canon.
Paul
Paul,
The night sky cannot be characterized in any meaningful manner by any person using any technique.
Therefore it cannot be used as a valid test target for any valid tests.
Of course you can take pictures of it, but they don't mean anything.
If the problem only shows in images of the sky, not in images of a completely black featureless entity, then the problem is not in the camera.
The internet is littered with comments from people who claim that specific issues can only be seen in images of "valid" subjects, not in laboratory situations like using gray scales or resolution targets.
I challenge anyone to explain why a laboratory test target is somehow not a "valid" subject.
- Leigh
The night sky cannot be characterized in any meaningful manner by any person using any technique.
Therefore it cannot be used as a valid test target for any valid tests.
Of course you can take pictures of it, but they don't mean anything.
If the problem only shows in images of the sky, not in images of a completely black featureless entity, then the problem is not in the camera.
The internet is littered with comments from people who claim that specific issues can only be seen in images of "valid" subjects, not in laboratory situations like using gray scales or resolution targets.
I challenge anyone to explain why a laboratory test target is somehow not a "valid" subject.
- Leigh
Leigh:
I never stated a Lab test target is not valid. Sad you feel the need to use the term littered, as I feel my claims are both well documented by myself and my website and others who engage in this type of time lapse photography. I am sorry that you feel a need to discredit my findings, which are from hundreds of hours work working with the 800 class Nikon bodies.
I have noticed this problem with all long exposures with all Nikon 800 class cameras since I started using them in early 2012. I am shooting mainly all long exposures, 1 minute to 4 minutes with moonlight illumination for the night sky, so I am working with a black sky, or a sky colored by light pollution. The effect shows up very easily on all the exposures I have taken in this manner, and the effect is different than any other Canon or Nikon I have used, in that the images will be covered in thousands of stuck faint white pixels.
My point to Jack was that, I constantly see this issue in the night photography I have done and mainly in exposures exceeding 1 minute. I also feel a photographer needs to be shooting more than one test frame as this is caused by thermal heat build up (Nikon themselves have admitted to this) thus the effect may not be seen on a single test.
Believe what you wish, test as you will. You also might try a D800e or D800 or now a D810 out one night and shooting a series of 1 minute to 2 minute exposures over a period of 20 minutes and see if don't get the same effect.
Paul
I never stated a Lab test target is not valid. Sad you feel the need to use the term littered, as I feel my claims are both well documented by myself and my website and others who engage in this type of time lapse photography. I am sorry that you feel a need to discredit my findings, which are from hundreds of hours work working with the 800 class Nikon bodies.
I have noticed this problem with all long exposures with all Nikon 800 class cameras since I started using them in early 2012. I am shooting mainly all long exposures, 1 minute to 4 minutes with moonlight illumination for the night sky, so I am working with a black sky, or a sky colored by light pollution. The effect shows up very easily on all the exposures I have taken in this manner, and the effect is different than any other Canon or Nikon I have used, in that the images will be covered in thousands of stuck faint white pixels.
My point to Jack was that, I constantly see this issue in the night photography I have done and mainly in exposures exceeding 1 minute. I also feel a photographer needs to be shooting more than one test frame as this is caused by thermal heat build up (Nikon themselves have admitted to this) thus the effect may not be seen on a single test.
Believe what you wish, test as you will. You also might try a D800e or D800 or now a D810 out one night and shooting a series of 1 minute to 2 minute exposures over a period of 20 minutes and see if don't get the same effect.
Paul
Hi Paul,
There is no such thing as a black sky, particularly when resolving the level of illumination achievable with a 4-minute exposure.
Look at images of the sky posted by shooters in really dark areas, like Central America.
Speaking of which, the Mayan culture that lasted for about 2000 years in that area was quite adept at astronomy.
They defined constellations as the dark areas that are found infrequently against the mass of stars.
This is what you are calling a "black" sky.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about (stolen from another thread here on GetDPI):
- Leigh
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