Red glow in all pics taken with Nikon D610 and Long Exposure

[Chexov]

Hey guys!

I'm having a weird problem with my Nikon D610 which I purchased one week ago. I took some long exposure pictures (30sec, f/4.5, 6400) lately and noticed that there is a red glow or area on the left side of every picture I take. First, I thought it was the shine of some street lamps, but the glow appeared in 2 totally different settings as well.

I took a long exposure pic with the cap on and attached it to this post. As you can see everything's black except for the left side. I intensified the shadows and put the edited version underneath to make the effect more visible. Weirdly enough, I had the glow in all pictures taken on 2 consecutive evenings, but couldn't reproduce it on the third. I also thought it might be light from the timer flash light but it occurred even without using the timer. I left relatively little time in between shots, mostly around 3sec. Could this maybe cause the pixels to heat up or so?

Given that this camera is only 1 week old, would you recommend bringing it back?

Thanks so much in advance!

[george013]

Just a guess. Try to cover the viewfinder.

George

[Chexov]

Just a guess. Try to cover the viewfinder.

George

Thanks for the advice. Did that already. Didn't help.


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[Black Pearl]

There is little on the net in general about this so I'm going to hazard a guess that its not a common complaint as typically all hell breaks loose when several people have the same issue.

If you have access to the store where you purchased the camera a quick test with one of their bodies should show up a common issue or one isolated to yours.

EDIT: George's suggestion is the most common cause of light leaking onto the sensor so a double check to completely eliminate it from the viewfinder would also be worth your time.

[Chexov]

There is little on the net in general about this so I'm going to hazard a guess that its not a common complaint as typically all hell breaks loose when several people have the same issue.

If you have access to the store where you purchased the camera a quick test with one of their bodies should show up a common issue or one isolated to yours.

EDIT: George's suggestion is the most common cause of light leaking onto the sensor so a double check to completely eliminate it from the viewfinder would also be worth your time.

Thanks for the info. I'll make another long exposure test tonight and if I'll encounter the same problem it will most likely be an isolated manufacture problem in which case I'd bring it back. I'll also check that I close the viewfinder completely though. I'll keep you posted.

[Shadowman]

Which lens are you using?

[Chexov]

Which lens are you using?

A Nikon 24-85 F3.5-4.5, new out of the box as well. Don't have another lens to test whether it's the lens or the body unfortunately.

[Shadowman]

A Nikon 24-85 F3.5-4.5, new out of the box as well. Don't have another lens to test whether it's the lens or the body unfortunately.

When you do your lens test look for external light sources and try positioning camera away to see if alleviates the issue. Also, post actual images of the issue.

[Dave Humphries]

May I wish you a warm welcome to the CiC forums.

As others have said, the viewfinder is the most obvious culprit - are you using the little plastic device to blank it off, or some other method? (that might not have been light tight for the entire exposure duration)

Have you tried with Long Exposure Noise Reduction enabled?
I wonder if this is just what the D610's fixed pattern noise looks like and a dark frame subtraction might remove it.

You might be on the right track with temperature as a cause; can you recall, or retest, whether the camera was vertically oriented and whether this end was the highest? (since heat rises) Of course, if you had it horizontally oriented, this idea is a non-starter

I also wonder what the ambient temperature was when you were shooting?


Could you do me a favour please?
Could you click Settings (right at the top),
then Edit Profile (on left)
and put your first name in the Real Name field
and where you are (roughly) in the Location field,
then click the Save Changes button below and to right,
this helps everyone give you more personal and relevant answers - thanks in advance.

Cheers, Dave

[Chexov]

Hey Dave,

Thank you for the warm welcome! I'll post a brief bio about me in the Members Welcome sub-forum in due time.

Thanks as well for your advice. I tested the camera yesterday evening again in the same environment, but couldn't reproduce the issue. That's already 2 evenings in a row that the glow didn't occur. I reproduced the very same camera settings and composition, but without "success". I tested the camera with 30sec, f/3.5 and ISO 6400 and then went down in steps of approximately 1000s to ISO 1000 and all the way up again. I did the same for f/22 and repeated all of it with the timer enabled AND again with different WBs. As I said: No "success". For now I just like to believe that the pixels weren't "worn in". I know that's totally wrong, but I like to keep this illusion until I have a better explanation. :P

I unfortunately lost the viewfinder eyepiece and used my thumb instead, which had no effect On the glow back then. In the future I'll try to get another eyepiece because I doubt there is a good substitute. Yesterday evening I didn't cover the viewfinder though as I also didn't when I took the original pictures with glow.

I haven't tried Long Exposure NOR, but will do so in the future. I'm only halfway the manual yet and have only recently discovered this setting. I'll use it more from now on.

Regarding the temperature: The camera was horizontally oriented, which means that the glow should have occurred at the top border, but it occurred instead on the left side with its tail towards the right side. So I doubt it was the temperature ...
It also couldn't have been the ambient temperature as it was pretty cold (between 10 and 15 degrees celsius).

I just updated my profile. I'm sorry, when I created this profile I was in rural Africa and loading only the main website of CiC took 15min! But now with better internet I put some info in and will introduce myself in the Members Welcome thingy.

I'll also update my original post to put the conclusion (where there is none except that it apparently solved itself) underneath the issue. If the issue should ever occur again I'll let you guys now. Thanks a lot for your advice anyway!


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[Chexov]

When you do your lens test look for external light sources and try positioning camera away to see if alleviates the issue. Also, post actual images of the issue.

Thanks for your advice. I looked for external light sources and shifted around the camera with no effect. Also, the glow occurred in 2 totally different settings, which made me believe that it wasn't due to the light sources. But for the sake of completeness I attach an example pic as well!

[Shadowman]

Thanks for your advice. I looked for external light sources and shifted around the camera with no effect. Also, the glow occurred in 2 totally different settings, which made me believe that it wasn't due to the light sources. But for the sake of completeness I attach an example pic as well!

Peter,

Thanks for providing image. I thought it might be the AF point illumination but the red should appear all edges. However, it can be turned on and off so might be worth looking into.

[shreds]

AS the camera is only a week old, I would definitely be taking it back to the shop and asking for it to be exchanged for another example, to see if you can get the same effect, especially as no one here has come up with a credible explanation.

I would be looking more at what might be adjacent to the sensor internally.

[Chexov]

AS the camera is only a week old, I would definitely be taking it back to the shop and asking for it to be exchanged for another example, to see if you can get the same effect, especially as no one here has come up with a credible explanation.

I would be looking more at what might be adjacent to the sensor internally.

I agree with you. However I'll test it out for 2 more nights and decide after that. I bought it on the fly and would have to drive back 600km to return it ... However I also grew fond of the D810 ...

[Polar01]

Peter instead of the viewfinder cover which always gets lost, use a cap best is a wool watchmen's cap or a torque been using one for both my head and over the view finder when needed.

Cheers: Allan

[billtils]

Peter, You've had good and consistent advice re the problem (or former problem, hopefully), but a comment on the "... fond of the D810". I recently upgraded to a D750 from a D7100 and it didn't take long to fall in love, but like any relationship, some aspects required a little more work than others ... I suspect that your best course of action is to spend time getting familiar with the D610 rather than to spend money on a different body.

If you are keen to part with some cash, try spending a very modest sum on this: https://www.creativelive.com/courses...t-john-greengo I took the D750 version and it was well worth it. (And if after all that you still want to move from the D610, do take a serious look at the 750 )

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Bill, Peter,

Izzie got me in to Creative Live (CL) recently and their courses are usually very good, I have bought and watched several.

I just watched the first 6 minutes of the Buttons lesson (free) on the D610 and was impressed by the course set up, graphics, presenter and his content - if I had a D610, I'd consider this course, for sure.

I also note that the course appears to be "on sale" for the next 21 hours, at $10 less than the usual price of $49.
CL are good at sales, also good at tempting you to buy follow up courses at the checkout (with a further discount on something else relevant)

What I like (compared to say Lynda.com) is that you can download CL course lessons to your HDD and watch even when not connected to internet.

However, like all training resource companies, they do have the odd presenter or two that are less good (than say, this chap appears to be).


Peter, my thought regarding the chronology of the problem and you covering the V/F eyepiece with a thumb is that may explain the red tinge, particularly if the back of the camera was in a pool of light.

Hope it turns out OK.

Cheers, Dave

[billtils]

Dave, I'm sure you are correct on the "thumb" - Peter, press your thumb on an illuminated surface (lightbox, torch or window) and you'll get a red edge ...

[Chexov]

Peter instead of the viewfinder cover which always gets lost, use a cap best is a wool watchmen's cap or a torque been using one for both my head and over the view finder when needed.

Cheers: Allan

Thanks, I'll find a nice cap and try it out :-)

[Chexov]

Peter, You've had good and consistent advice re the problem (or former problem, hopefully), but a comment on the "... fond of the D810". I recently upgraded to a D750 from a D7100 and it didn't take long to fall in love, but like any relationship, some aspects required a little more work than others ... I suspect that your best course of action is to spend time getting familiar with the D610 rather than to spend money on a different body.

If you are keen to part with some cash, try spending a very modest sum on this: https://www.creativelive.com/courses...t-john-greengo I took the D750 version and it was well worth it. (And if after all that you still want to move from the D610, do take a serious look at the 750 )

Thanks for the tutorial recommendation! I'll definitely check it out.

I thought about getting the D810 in the case that I have to bring back the D610, because I think that its specs will be sufficient enough for any kind of photography for many years to come. I am super happy with my D610 at the moment and am eager to learn really how to use it, but if I could get my money back, I'd rather spent the extra 1000 bugs on a camera that might last me a few years longer than the cheaper version. But as I am currently not planning on bringing the D610 back, I'll stick with it until I sufficient reason to upgrade.