I'm really not too clued in on how dead pixels are handled, but maybe Bob Talbot might have some suggestions - Bob? Ah, grasshopper ... ... always remember, they lie :o) Whatever the tell you in the manuals and press releases are seldom the complete truth. Hot pixels & dead pixels / raw & not so raw.? However, remembering something from years and years ago (press release before even the D10 I think) - basically, they cheat. When they make a sensor, they test it and map the "dead" (always on or always off sensors). Firmware can then replace these known dead sensor readings with those from "good" sensors nearby - long before the data even gets to be called raw :o) The main problem is new ones, sensor sites that "go bad". I'm reading that Canon etc can remap sensors to disguise the new faults. Heck, it shouldn't be that difficult to "fix" them on a truly raw file either. There are articles http://www.dphoto.us/news/node/21 http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/998087928.html http://webpages.charter.net/bbiggers/DCExperiments/html/body_hot_pixels.html http://jancology.com/blog/archives/2003/10/10/nikon_5700_hot_pixels.html So really, when you buy a new camera the sensor may actually contain any number of faulty pixels which have been mapped out to make them less noticeable. Over the years more will arrive ... don't worry, you should upgrade every 6 months and pass the problem onto 2nd hand buyers via ebay. Digital cameras are not an investment: they are consumables :o) Bob
