Vertical red line in underexposed pictures that are lightened

[reiseman71]

I am new to this forum, and I hope that you all can help. I just sent my 50D (about 8 years old) to Canon for maintenance and cleaning in anticipation of my honeymoon where I hope to do some night sky photography. Unfortunately, I have been having this weird red vertical line about 1/3 in from the left side of my photos when the picture is underexposed and I lighten it.

I sent it to Canon to be looked at and checked and got it back yesterday. Canon included a reply in the packaging, stating that my camera "has been examined and it was found that the imaging sensor assembly did not operate properly noise appeared in the image from time to time. Electrical adjustments were carried out on the imaging sensor assembly. Product functions were confirmed."

I took an underexposed RAW picture this morning, which I then lightened in Lightroom. Aside from it being very pixelated, the red line is still there! The only editing I did to the picture was to increase the exposure +3.50. Should I send this back to Canon and complain? If I take night shots, this will be the issue no matter what exposure I set it on b/c the pictures will most likely be dark and need to be lightened/edited. I'm new to night photography and don't want to screw it up on my honeymoon. We'll be in Morocco and staying in the Sahara where I hope to get some really great shots. Needless to say, I'm very frustrated.

Why do you think this is happening? Do you think it is b/c it's not meant to be lightened this much? That there's no way to fix an underexposed picture? Or, do you think I should send it back again and complain?  What can I do?

Thanks so much for you help.  

Attached is the original underexposed image, and the edited image that has been lightened +3.50 in Lightroom. You can see the red line in the arm of the couch.

[jrhoffman75]

Hi. Sounds like a great vacation. The red line is probably a row of stuck pixels. 

If you get proper exposure in camera you shouldn't need to be adding that much compensation. I'm not qualified to advise on night photography, but you can Google for pointers. Remember to bring a tripod. 

[ebiggs1]

"The red line is probably a row of stuck pixels."

I agree.  And you should try to get exposuers more close to correct.

[ebiggs1]

Second part of you inquiry....

"... do you think I should send it back again and complain?  What can I do?"

IMHO, if I were going to Morocco on my honeymoon and had your 50D, I would buy a new camera.

Otherwise do this ...........

1. Remove the lens and put the body cap on the camera.
2. Put the camera in sensor cleaning mode. (Press the "Menu" button, then select the middle "yellow wrench" tab, then "Sensor Cleaning" then "Clean Manually".  Leave the body cap in place.
3. Let the camera set for 60 seconds or so.
4. Power off the camera off.
5. Try another picture and see if it helped.

[RobertTheFat]

I guess you've got better eyesight than I have, because I can't find the red line. What I can see is that you were able to rescue a nearly black picture to an arguably usable state. The 50D, one of Canon's better efforts at the semi-pro level, had excellent low-light performance for its time. I used to routinely use mine at ISO 1000 or higher for indoor events where flash wasn't feasible. But its technology is now eight years out of date. I have to agree with Ernie Biggs: for what you're going to pay for this trip, the price of a new camera could be nearly at the noise level. Maybe you could even score a refurbished 7D from the Canon store.

Incidentally, one of our regulars, Tim Campbell, is an expert at night-sky photography. You might want to browse around for some of his recent posts, which tend to be long and very informative.

[Waddizzle]

"I guess you've got better eyesight than I have, because I can't find the red line." 

You and me both.  I don't see a red line, either.  But, I do see half of a translucent green bottle in the lower right corner, sitting on the table. Not only that, but the image of the bottle appears to be cut in half for some reason.  In fact, the "cut line" seems to run from top to bottom of the image.

[ebiggs1]

The red line is there.   But it would be easy to remove or fix in post.

[reiseman71]

Thanks, everyone!  You see it, on the arm of the sofa, if you zoom the picture in. Of course, it's not the best example but the it was the quick one I took when I opened my package this morning.  

I've tried to remove it, but in Lightroom, using the spot remover. Not the best tool for it. I have photoshop but havne't had a chance to learn how to use it.  😞 

I've been wanting to upgrade to a new body, but I've been putting it off.  Haven't even begun the research yet, but I know I want a full frame body. 

[BurnUnit]

The red line is there and more readily visible if you click on the image and look at the larger version. Actually, the line is visible from the bottom clear to the top of the frame but it doesn't appear red above the arm of the sofa. Though I'm curious as to why you shot this at f14. Have you tried shooting this same scene at a wider aperture and more properly exposed? Is the red line still visible in a more properly exposed shot?

[richardgott]

Hey there. Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I too have the same problem and can't work out what the cause is. I'd love to resolve the problem. Thanks!