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star (star) 3 pts

January 29, 2007 7:14 AM

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How come there are bubbles when taking night time pictures using Sony T50?

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

January 29, 2007 10:17 PM

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Do you mean bubbles show up on the LCD?

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star (star) 3 pts

February 1, 2007 6:09 AM

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Nope. Bubbles are seen in the picture itself...meaning when you look at the pic in the LCD and when you print it. any idea why?

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

February 1, 2007 10:03 AM

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(A stab in the dark)
I have a small camcorder, which is "pocketable". I put it in my pocket one day, but I had forgotten to close the lens cover. Alas! I later discovered that when I played the videos, there was a weird white spot (sort of bubble-like) that moved around, as the camera angle moved. I looked at the lens, and found that I had chipped the glass---just a tiny spot, about the size of a pencil point. I must have dropped the camera on my keys, when I put it in my pocket.

I was really surprised that such a small spot, ON THE LENS SURFACE, could create such an annoying spot on the movies. But it sure did.

A couple of ideas: (1) Look carefully at the lens; is it scratched or chipped? Does it need cleaning? (2) Does your camera have movie mode? If so, shoot a movie, and while shooting, move the camera around, and see if the bubbles move around too. If so, that would seem to indicate a lens problem.

Please update me if you find out anything; this is really curious.

Rich

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star (star) 3 pts

February 2, 2007 5:56 AM

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Thanks for the suggestions. There's actually nothing wrong with the lens. If I take day time photos, no bubbles at all. It is only when i take night time pictures that bubbles are seen in the printed copy of the pictures. Could it be that i have to set my camera in a certain pic mode? My friend who have a T10 have the same problem and we are wondering as to the whys...

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

February 2, 2007 8:35 AM

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I dunno...I'll have to mull that over...Maybe somebody else out there has an idea. I'll get back to you if I think of anything.

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

February 4, 2007 12:06 PM

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I experience the same, and it's pretty disturbing. I'm not sure what it is, trying to find it out right now.

I bought the camera just a day ago and made about 200 pictures to test. I must say the pictures I made outside with decent light are of excellent quality. Those I made in lowlight with flash are 50-60% useless due to this bubble problem.

I read somewhere on a german site that it's supposed to be a typical ultra-compact camera problem. Those cameras having the lens and the flash so close to each other have it sometimes. I don't understand fully the theory behind, but the dust and moisture particles in the air reflect the flashlight in a way that they appear as such bubbles on the pictures.

I have made a series of 10-12 pictures of the same subject and uploaded three sample pics to my webspace, check them here (big picture warning):
http://endrem.mystic.hu/images/t50/DSC00214.JPG and http://endrem.mystic.hu/images/t50/DSC00215.JPG and http://endrem.mystic.hu/images/t50/DSC00208.JPG

On the picture no 214 you see the worst bubble I had in these 200 pictures.
I imagine making pics on parties in lowlight conditions and having these bubbles everywhere... I'm not sure I want to have that. I'm researching if there's a way to solve this problem and if I don't find one, I'm gonna send my cam back. For so much money I want to have decent pictures in lowlight too.

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

February 4, 2007 2:34 PM

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To Endre and Star,

Do the bubbles only happen when the flash is used?

Thanks for the sample photos. It almost looks like an internal reflection problem (of course exacerbated by a flash).

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

February 4, 2007 2:43 PM

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PS Does the use of wide-angle vs. telephoto change the bubble situation? A lens at the wide-angle setting obviously would be more likely to pick up interference from the flash that is nearby.

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

February 5, 2007 3:30 AM

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Hi Richio,

I tried it with several settings. On the first go I used the Auto settings. In auto the flash level is very high, it gives an unnaturally bright result in closer distances. Apart from this I started to get these bubbles, too. I then checked what possibilities I have, and found the 'P' (program) setting which lets you to set some advanced features. Here you can set the flash level in 3 steps, so I chose the lowest one. Still with that setting I get the bubbles, the 3 samples were made with this setting. I also tried to play with other settings (EV, color, etc ) but nothing really helped.

I'm not a photography expert, I wanted to have a nice and easy cam (possibly without this 'feature'). What is an internal reflection problem, you mentioned?

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star (star) 3 pts

February 5, 2007 7:34 AM

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Hi Richio & Endre,

I was told that there's an add on flash for T50.....don't know if it would help make the bubbles disappear. I have tried all the settings too. But if it's a night time picture, for sure bubbles will be present. I think other sony cameras doesn't have this problem except for T10 and T50.

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star (star) 3 pts

February 5, 2007 7:39 AM

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Endre, when you take a picture that is colorful.....example: an attraction that is surrounded by lights...like Xmas lights, are there lesser bubbles? because i was looking at some pics taken in darker places, tendency is more bubbles will appear.

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Rich Watson (Richio) 5683 pts

February 5, 2007 7:45 AM

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The interior of a camera has (or should have!) a matte black finish, since the light that strikes the film or the CCD sensor could bounce off, strike the interior of the camera, and then be reflected back onto the film/sensor.

I noticed two other questions about the bubble problem at this web site, as well as at two other web sites, all concerning the Sony T-line.

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

February 5, 2007 8:09 AM

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Star, I don't have a Christmas tree at hand ;), but I also had the feeling if there are other supporting lights around then the bubble effect is somewhat less. The darker the picture (the background) the worse it is. I also made a picture of a tree in front of our house in complete darkness with some rain. All around the tree I had lots of bubbles, but in this case it created an interesting effect.

I contacted Sony Support, I'm curious what they say. Regardless what it is, this is too disturbing for me and I'm gonna give the camera back.

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

February 6, 2007 6:03 AM

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According to Sony Support, they don't know about this, they wanted me to send the camera in to their service center for further examination. This is just too much for me, I'm gonna go on holiday in 3 weeks, I don't have time for that now. I'm not even willing to do all that hassle with a camera costing $350.

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BlushN 10 pts

February 8, 2007 5:08 PM

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Hi,
I just bought the t10 and I too have the same problem, it has happened on most of the pictures taken at night. I took pictures @ the beach and there were heaps of them all over the photo. I'm thinking it might be dust on lens...but then i wonder if it's that internal flash problem

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star (star) 3 pts

February 12, 2007 4:46 AM

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Hi BlushN, we can't seem to find the answer to the bubbles question.... but most probably, it has sonething to do with the flash. maybe sony digital cameras needs an add on flash.

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SportPack 0 pts

February 12, 2007 5:03 PM

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I have exactly same problem - I already sent camera to Sony to repair - so I got it back with same problem. Completely useless to send them to fix - it is a design problem.

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BlushN 10 pts

February 15, 2007 12:33 AM

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I have done some searching and this is what Sony E-support site has suggested; If there are dust particles floating in the air [FIG. 1], they can be illuminated by the strong light of the flash and sometimes appear in a recorded image as white, round glare spots.
go here to read more....
http://www.iq.sony.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=352,E=0000000000752993307,K=8794,Sxi=3,Case=obj(388461),VARSET_OBJ=388461,VARSET_TSRC=results,UseTemplate=case.tem,VARSET_TOP=TRUE
***(copy the link)***
so it's got to do with the flash and dust particles in the air?????.....
how crap is that. i'm not going to send it to sony for repairs cos when i recieved my 1st camera from them, it was dead on arrival. Had to send it back for exchange and that itself took weeks....

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

February 15, 2007 3:58 AM

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That's really crap. Seems to be a serious problem with the DSC-Txx models... I don't really understand how could this get through the QA.
I tend to believe that there are worse and okay series of these models, because just recently saw in a tech paper a comparative test of compact digicams, and the T10 won it.
The other thing can be that they do sloppy testing.

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Stefan 0 pts

February 19, 2007 6:07 AM

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I have bought this camera as well and found such white round spots as well. However, I think that Sony is right in that the spots are from dust near the lense. Of course this is only for two reasons:

- the objective is very small
- the flash if very close to it

However, it cannot be dust in the camera, since then the spots would stay at the same points in the focal plane. Experiments have shown that the reflections must come from 0.5 to 5 cm in front of the lense. Other cameras cameras do not have this problem due to the different construction. Therefore, you should decide, whether this compromise is acceptable or not.

Under bad conditions the problem is very annoying.

Best regards from Germany,
Stefan

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SportPack 0 pts

February 20, 2007 11:35 AM

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Do we have any option to exchange t50 model to another? NO chance. I spoke to Sony, they never done that, you should live with this problem. It was our small investment to Sony. :) I had 3 Sony cameras. It is my first mistake to buy t50. Maybe we will wait for a class-action law suit. Not big chances. Right now camera is useless with Flash.

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star (star) 3 pts

February 26, 2007 5:08 AM

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Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions. I guess since i can't return my T50 anymore, I'll just use another camera when taking pictures at night.

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PB 1 pts

March 1, 2007 10:01 PM

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OK don't laugh... Awhile back my sister showed be a picture of her son throwing snowballs out side, there were a dozen bubbles - they looked just like bubbles from a bubble blower. She claims they are fairies.. she is into some sort of fairy cult. We figured maybe it was due to the processing as it was a digital camera. Then she started to point out to us all our digital pictures that have bubbles, they really are perfect bubbles when you blow them up. This is really freaky, most are taken inside - we have a cannon and an olmpus. Maybe it's not just the t50.

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

March 2, 2007 3:31 AM

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No, it's definitely not just the T50. I made some research and found that a friend of mine has the same effects with flash, it's jut not so much. That is, I think, a Nikon. I have seen pictures from a Kodak V705, it has the same bubbles, but much less, only occasionally one or two. They are also much smaller, although sometimes brighter.
So the problem lies more in the applied technology or camera structure.

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Rin 0 pts

March 10, 2007 4:40 PM

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It is dust particles in the air.

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Mel 0 pts

April 2, 2007 9:13 AM

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Those are dust particles guys, but not floating in the air, but probably on the surface of the CCD sensor. As we handle the camera, some dust particles are shook off but are simply replaced by other dust particles present inside the camera. It clings to the surface of the CCD sensor due to static. Reflected incoming lights made by the flash were partially "masked" by these dust causing the apperance of spots in the pitcure. Spots are blurred due to its closeness on the sensor.

I have same experience with my Canon S50. The spots appear whenever I take photos in the night with flash on but in daytime, there are no spots in my photos. This is probably beacuse of the intense light coming in the lens, hence particles were unable to "mask" the light and appears invisible on the pictures. Some however are big or dense enough to appear as spots.

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PB 1 pts

April 10, 2007 7:59 PM

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Thanks Mel, but...... these spots look like perfect bubbles like one would blow from a bubble blower! I find it hard to believe it could be dust. I would not call them spots at all they are bubbles. Odd huh - how do I post a picture?

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Endre (Endre) 52 pts

April 11, 2007 2:27 AM

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I have posted pictures above as an example, please check.
I think they are reflections of the flash from dust particles floating in the air in front of the camera. BlushN also linked a support article about this, please see above. This is not a malfunction, they say... :-s

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Mel 0 pts

April 14, 2007 1:08 AM

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Yeah you may be right PB and Endre. I've seen now Endre's pix and it looks more of bubbles to me rather than spots. It has some sense of dimensions like a 3D object. Spots have flat look. Was thinking of fungus inside the camera on the lens' sufaces, but it appeared on different areas of Endre's 2 posted pix. Doesn't looked like bubbles to me either. Bubbles don't have that sorrounding glow and blurness, but rather with smooth surface and reflects light only in one area. Have a chilly feeling that it could be paranormal??? Orbs???

Dust particles floating in the air don't have to be that big when lights reflected on them. They should appear like a grainy pix taken at high speed ISO. Let shine a flashlight on dark dusty place and you will see some sort of hazy sorrounding.

I'll check around for some similar experieces and do some researches. I'll keep you guys posted.

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susan 0 pts

April 16, 2007 11:40 PM

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I have the same problem and have an Olympus and screwed up a bunch of pictures taken at night.

I'm reading that the problem is "hot pixels? Google it and let me know what you find out cause I can't figure this stuff out, I'm just a rookie

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riccardo 0 pts

October 16, 2007 6:47 AM

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I have a Lumix Panasonic 10.2 megapixels (great camera) and have the same bubbles....but am very happy about them...I go at night in woods to photography these bubbles and other misterious lights....it is amazing....have taken thousands of these pictures and studied them carefully... they have nothing to do with dust or camera problems...I cannot say what they are but they seem to be energy manifestations...give to them the name you wish...if you want your night picture completely covered with them take pictures when it rains and it is not the rain drops...if you take rapid sequences of pictures you will see that the bobbles appear and then disappear....different intensity, size.....it is funny to read how people get upset about their pictures being ruined by these energy manifestations....and if you have them at home....be happy...you have got energy at home, especially near babys and children

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alex 0 pts

October 19, 2007 9:18 AM

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it's a ghost haha :P
they say if we capture that kind of bubbles it means it could be a ghost:)) saw it on tv

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Kath 0 pts

December 28, 2007 11:11 PM

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I have been trying to investigate these mysterious bubbles on my sister's camera - I definitely do not believe in fairies/energy etc., but she is a firm believer in this kind of thing. I couldn't believe the "bubbles" when she zoomed in on her photos. They are there in day and light pictures - pictures of different people and the number of them ranges from one to hundreds in different photos. There is one photo in particular of a group of children and there were tons of "bubbles" - very odd??

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dean 0 pts

January 29, 2008 2:52 AM

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Guys,its not only a problem with T series but recently I bought H9 and found the same problem.Whenever I take pictures at night I see numerous blurred bubbles and its very annoying.I really dont know what to do.Is there any solution for this problem.Can anyone suggest if there is a camera which doesnt have these problem.

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Frank 1 pts

February 22, 2008 12:00 AM

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I have given up on my Nikon Coolpix for the same reason - impossible to take pictures with the flash and not have a high % with random white bubbles. I'm going to buy another camera, and have the same question that Dean has - is there a compact camera out there that does not have this problem? And Sony, don't tell me it is a malfunction - of course it is a malfunction if you put a camera out there with a built-in flash that doesn't take useable photos with the flash.

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photog z 0 pts

March 29, 2008 9:02 AM

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Hi folks ... night time ... flash too ... hot pixels even my D3 has some at times but rarely

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NA 0 pts

April 14, 2008 9:59 AM

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I have the same problem with the Canon Ixus 860 (SD870) - indoor shots are essentially unusable because of white circles/orbs caused by the flash hitting dust particles.

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riccardo 0 pts

April 14, 2008 3:59 PM

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for the people who think it is just a problem of dust particles...please explain those single orbs that appear alone, very strong, with a particular aurea, outside, during a fast series of pictures....certain orbs do not seem to be the same as those of the dust particles...I have tryed to shake a rug ouside....and many orbs do appear, it is true....but there is another kind that it is not explanable with such a simple explanation...in addition, there are strange, very strong light forms that are not round, taken during the night with flashes, which definitely are not dust particles....I believe some, not all, are genuine energy manifestations....just like UFOs...

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Bonnie 0 pts

May 15, 2008 3:14 PM

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they are orbs. look it up. very obvious, common issue. they are orbs. I am well educated in the field. There are many kinds of orbs, it's a result of reflection from dust, moisture, other particles, and rarely, unidentified sources of light. It is in the air, not on the lens. Take succesive photos, one will have them, the next one won't. They are more often seen in areas of spirit disturbance, henceforth the attribution to ghosts. Also, the fairy theme is popular, as they are sometimes seen to take a human form. There is clearcut evidence, but no explanation that people will accept for sure. Don't take my word for it. Look up orbs.

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William 0 pts

August 25, 2008 12:55 AM

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I just bought a Fujifilm Finepix 10 and right at the first pictures I got a whole bunch of bubbles when using the flash at night.
After reading the post and other reviews, it is quite clear for me that it has to do with dust in the air - I took some pictures yesterday at a BBQ party, and the bubbles showed up at a higher intensity and quantity as I was closer to the BBQ grill. Same thing happened when taking pictures close to smoke -either cigarettes or BBQ smoke- which probably carries this whole bunch of dust particles.
Does anybody knows some advices (rathert than controlling the flash level) to prevent this bubbles?
Tks

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Krlos!!! 0 pts

December 23, 2008 1:59 AM

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Hi, first i´m writting form Perú, so sorry if i don't write perfectly.

I've the same problem with a Lumix Panasonic FX35 that supposed to be "the best of ultra-compact cameras", I really don't understand why all cameras models have the same problem... Lumix said "perfect pictures anywhere"... i don't complain about pics in the morning, actually i took amazing pic in my travels...

the problem comes in the night.. actually there must be a solution, maybe changing some settings.. maybe the ISO or something like that.

As we all know, all our cameras are not professionals but... manufacters must create cameras that we can use in every situation.. not only in the day...

Finally, if someone has found a solution for the "bubbles" please help me!!!

Sorry again if i got a lot of mistakes.

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Leila 0 pts

July 22, 2009 10:16 PM

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I recently bought a panasonic lumix zs1 from costco It take excellent pictures during the day but at night especially on the beach it has the spots or bubbles problem I don't know what to do I think I might take it back. Does anyone know of a better small pocket camera with a good zoom to buy.

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S Mehta 0 pts

November 1, 2009 10:53 AM

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Well...lets not talk about ghosts and fairy tales. The bubble problems seems to be there in every digital camera. I have tried hands on Nikon Coolpix, Canon & sony.

The most appropriate reason seems to be moisture and dust particles. Low lights also seem to get the pics very much dotted..

i ges the companies have R&D dept. need to really work hard on getting better pics by their cams at night.

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gracie 0 pts

November 20, 2009 12:59 PM

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sorry guys - hate to say this but I have a non-digital 35 mm "develop the film and wait for the results" type of camera and I get bubbles too. Only in flash photos. I've searched the Internet for some type of answer and there are no answers.
My friend who is into spiritual stuff says its the positive energy coming from people. Who knows. It's kinda weird. I don't know. Anyone know a grouchy person with negative energy? Then they take photograph them and see if bubbles show up around negative people! lol
Just a thought. It is a scientific approach eh?

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A	is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of digital cameras.
B	means they are good, with some standout features.
C	means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F	mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.

How come there are bubbles when taking night time pictures using Sony T50?

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