Help - is this sensor dying

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I gave my GRD to my brother when I got my Sigma DP2. Recently he took this picture and it looks quite odd.

Since we are not in the same country I cannot pop by and try it out. I believe he has not pushed a button by mistake or something - the picture has had no pp except re-sizing.

It reminds me of an infrared converted camera I bought that had a problem with the sensor.

Has anybody any idea what this is? Is this the sensor dying?

Thanks in advance,
Xpanded

 

[Arjay]

The picture doesn't relly look as if anything were wrong with the camera. It looks like normal birch trees in front of a (normal) blue sky. What would you have expected the picture ought to look like?

I don't see any red tint, so the 'IR look' isn't obvious to me. What are the white balance settings for this shot? Did your brother use auto white balance? If he did, then that might be a possible explanation. If you use AWB in bi- or monocolored pictures, then the camera will likely arrive at white balance settings that produce odd colors.

Ask your brother to test the camera either with pre-defined WB settings such as daylight, tungsten, fluorescent light (depending on predominant illumination), or if he wants to test AWB, then have him photograph a motive that contains more than just two colors - the more the better.

 

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Thanks Arjay for your input. I am afraid the issue does not translate fully in a smallish upload like this. It looks exceedingly "mushy" in the absence of a better word and nothing like I have ever seen before with this camera. And I have seen more than this with more colours.

Auto WB was used. I will try investigate further with different WBs. Thanks.

 

[sevo]

Sensors dying does not cause mushiness, but striping and blocking exposure errors and colour shifts. The AF sensor or mechanics might perhaps be failing - but mid range tree pictures are hardly a suitable AF test.

 

[Justin Smith]

Were all of the "mushy" photos you have seen from the same session?

Based on the one shot, I'm thinking maybe condensation in the lens.

 

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Were all of the "mushy" photos you have seen from the same session?

Based on the one shot, I'm thinking maybe condensation in the lens.

Sorry for late reply - man machine interface problem - thanks for your input both of you. But unfortunately not condensation. Still dunno what it is.