Joseph Chamberlain, DDS wrote:
Dear colleagues:


Another thing that concerned me was the statement made by the customer
service agent about being considered acceptable to have a certain number of
dead pixels on the sensor. I asked him what would be the best way for me to
verify if there were any dead pixels so I could exchange the camera for
another one if any were present. His claim was that Canon considers it to be
within the range of acceptability (meaning the camera will pass its quality
control inspection and reach the customer) if up to approximately 11 pixels
on the sensor are dead. This is not what I would like to hear from the
manufacturer after purchasing a camera as expensive as this one.

The issue of acceptable faults in products is one I find hard to tolerate.
Many years ago I bought a new car which I firmly believed should have
been replaced because it was a lemon. As it turned out, the faults it
had were documented and addressed by the maker under warranty. Not the
best outcome but a workable one.

Dead pixels have long been a manufacturing problem. Not just with
cameras but also computer monitors. I was disappointed to learn the new
LCD screen I bought had some dead pixels. I screamed long and hard only
to discover the maker had 2 types of screens. The lower cost one I
bought thinking it was on special and the zero dead pixel count ones for
quite a lot more. Viewsonic should have been more up front with their
product description to be sure but none the less, they refused to
address the dead pixels until it reached 7 of the same colour.

The problem you have is addressable with processing software. I don't
own any Canon cameras now but my current DSLRs all have a pixel mapping
ability built in to identify and obfuscate any dead pixels. Considering
the resolution of a 1Ds, I'd say the dead pixel allowance is quite
conservative and easily addressed. You shouldn't worry at this stage of
DSLR evolution.

You might be surprised at what other tolerances your camera has in other
areas too. Just because these cameras are the most expensive Canon sell,
does not in itself mean they are the 'best' they sell. It is very
subjective. Most sports Photographers using Canon cameras prefer the 1D
for it's high speed sequencing. Studio Photographers seeking as much
resolution as they can get buy the camera you have.

Why not just concentrate on taking photographs and see if they are any
good before blaming the equipment? You never know, it might be just what
the Doctor ordered :-)

--
Douglas...
Specifications are good to read but
When it comes to judging Digital Cameras...
I'm in the "how do the pictures look" category.