Can a sensor deteriorate?

Avotius

Avotius

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Maybe this is all in my head, I am not sure.

But the last few months my Olympus EP1...it seems to me as if the image quality is getting worse. It is as if over the last while the images are getting noisier and noisier and less and less sharp.

Today I did a test with tripod, iso 200, no IS, delayed shutter, raw (with multiple converters), and all the other stuff to extract maximum quality from the setup. I got photos with poor detail sharpness and bad noise in the images. These compared to images I have shot in the past with this camera dont seem to match up. Before the images seem cleaner and sharper, now they seem mushy.

Is it possible that the sensor or something else is going kaput?

Here is a 100% crop of the center of the frame with the Panasonic 20mm

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I tried a Olympus kit zoom, a Panasonic 7-14 and 20mm, and a ZM Zeiss 50 f2 Planar. All gave really iffy results.
 

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Sejanus.Aelianus said:
Make sure you haven't changed the ISO defaults. I managed that last year and ruined several good shots on my E-P1.
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Its possible to change the ISO defaults? I know you can change what auto ISO will do but I was not using auto. If it is possible to change what ISO 200 is on the camera, im sure its hidden away in one of the unknown menus.
 
No, it shouldn't be possible to change what "ISO 200" is.

Do you, perhaps, have "auto-gradation" enabled? I'm not sure what it might be called on the E-P1, but that's what it's called on my PL2. It results in shadows being boosted, with the resultant shadow noise.

Are you sure the focus is being nailed?
 
ktran said:
No, it shouldn't be possible to change what "ISO 200" is.

Do you, perhaps, have "auto-gradation" enabled? I'm not sure what it might be called on the E-P1, but that's what it's called on my PL2. It results in shadows being boosted, with the resultant shadow noise.

Are you sure the focus is being nailed?
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I have gradation set to normal which as I understand means off and the shading comp thing set to off as well.

Also I used the magnify thing to check focus, especially with the Zeiss Planar since that is pretty much the only was you can focus that lens.
 
The sensor itself should hold up for a very long time. However there have been cases in the past when poor control of manufacturing environment has killed off sensors. The Digilux 2 comes to mind.
 
I guess it's possible your sensor has an electronic problem, but this is extremely unlikely. Perhaps the sensor is uniformly dusty or even coated with a haze of some sort?

If sensors wore out there would be countless posts on places like DPREVIEW by people whining about sensor failure.

Sensors usually fail catastrophically. They just quit working or output gibberish. Otherwise the camera owner inadvertently damages the sensor in wide variety of accidents.

The Digilux 2 has a CCD sensor and it seems in the early days of digital cameras CCD sensors did fail electronically or use to water or high humidity compromising the sensor sealing system.
 
I had this exact feeling wwith my 5d. after a few years the files seemed noisier and just worse than how they used to be. hard to prove though.
 
Is the same degradation problem visible in good light, outdoors? i.e. somewhere you can shoot at 1/1000 f8 iso200 with a subject that has good edges and contrast for the focus to lock on to. (Not that the crop you showed looks OOF to me, just trying to eliminate variables).
 
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Here is a photo from two weeks ago taken in very sunny Thailand. ISO 200, f5.6, 1/500 sec, IS on, Panasonic 20mm, center frame.

Still looks icky. My wife's Samsung S3 phone seems to be doing better....


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I am a long ways from an expert on this stuff but I am seeing a lot of color noise in that cat's fur. Maybe it is just my monitor...or my imagination. Or maybe the cat is multi-colored. 🙄
 
It is a well-known issue in scientific imaging that digital sensors do in fact deteriorate over time. This is due principally to cosmic ray hits that damage pixels. The damage is cumulative and statistically linear over time.
 
I heard something about that before about going in airplanes with digital cameras. My Olympus has probably been on about a dozen plane trips since I bought it, 4 of those rides across the Pacific. Maybe with more cosmic rays it will turn into the silver surfer.
 
I don't know what to say. I have exactly the same combo--E-P1 & 20/1.7--and I've never seen such poor resolution . . . unless the ISO is set very high or maybe the metering is set wrong (?).

It would be useful to know how many shutter activations your E-P1 has had. You can find out here: http://e-p1.net/micro-four-thirds-cameras-and-discussion/checking-shutter-count-of-your-pen/

You know if the camera is worn out, you can buy a new E-P1 for $189 if you are so inclined.
 
My EP1 has about 19,000 shots on the dial. Right now I dont know what else to say about it, I like m4/3 but have been spoiled by my work with medium format digital and high end full frame stuff in the studio. Unfortunatly I dont have the funds for a OMD right now but a second hand Panasonic G3 might be ok, but I have a bad taste in my mouth from using a G1, and Panasonic cameras in general.
 
semilog said:
It is a well-known issue in scientific imaging that digital sensors do in fact deteriorate over time. This is due principally to cosmic ray hits that damage pixels. The damage is cumulative and statistically linear over time.
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Do you know where to find more info on this? Thanks.
 
Avotius said:
My EP1 has about 19,000 shots on the dial. Right now I dont know what else to say about it, I like m4/3 but have been spoiled by my work with medium format digital and high end full frame stuff in the studio. Unfortunatly I dont have the funds for a OMD right now but a second hand Panasonic G3 might be ok, but I have a bad taste in my mouth from using a G1, and Panasonic cameras in general.
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I recall a rather unscientific conversation in which someone was speculating that 20,000 shutter activations is all you can expect from these cameras. If true, you are there.

I am moving away from M43 as well, but toward film rangefinders. Still I like having the E-P1 for certain purposes and occasions and would probably replace it with an older model, either E-P1 or E-P2, if it went out. In other words I am willing to put some money into it but not $1000 for an OM-D. I still think the IQ of the E-P1 is fine for what it is. Poor dynamic range is my complaint about it.
 
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